Drill Press Question

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Gentlemen,I was wondering what you guys think about this drill press. I am a hobbyist who appreciates quality tools, but is on a limited budget (i.e. this is about as much as I can spend at the moment). It is a Craftsman 17" 16speed 3/4hp? and comes with the clamp in the picture. The guy is asking ~$350. I am wondering if this would be a good DP for the money. I typically don't like newer Craftsman stuff since it seems like their quality has gone down in recent years, but this looks to be a little older. I have emailed the fella and will update with info as I get it. Sorry about the picture. It's the only one available.Thanks in advance,Brian Attached Images
Reply:i think its a fair price.miller thunderbolt 250vlincoln square wave tig 175 prolincoln idealarc mig sp250everlast tig 210EXTeverlast power plasma 50chicago electric (hf) 130 tig/90 arcchicago electric 90 amp flux wire3 sets oxy/acet
Reply:I like the older ones, too. Horsepower is good, number of speeds is good, and 17 inch is good. That is a nice clamp and worth some too, but I think $350 is on the high side. I would expect $250-300 around here. May be worth it to you, if so then go ahead and buy it. Probably not worth haggling over $50 or $75 if it is near to you, and in very good condition.Be very careful moving it as the head is HEAVY and will just pop off if you are not careful when lifting. I nearly got hurt doing it by myself on an unsafe stool. The sudden weight sent me flying and would have been bad if I had taken a fall.Burt _____________________Miller Syncrowave 250Millermatic 211Miller 375 Plasma Cutter Hobart Handler 12010FtDrillBit.com
Reply:I would say in my location, high. The clamp should be worth about  $ 50.00. I would check what the slowest speed is too. The better Craftsman drill presses had a three sets of pulleys. There is one front, middle , and rear. More speed adjustments. Might be worth asking.
Reply:Fair price.
Reply:Offer 300
Reply:Offer him $275 and I'll bet he will counter with $300-325.   BAM!Lincoln Power Mig 216Lincoln AC/DC-225/125Miller  625 X-Treme PlasmaMiller 211 Forney 95FI-A 301HF 91110Victor Journeyman O/PMilwaukee DaytonMakita  Baileigh NRA Life Member
Reply:Check the joints though. If there's slop in the hand lever, the internals are probably worn aluminum; something newer Craftsman were known for. If it's still tight, the tolerances are still good because they're steel gears. Buy it but as SuperArc says.
Reply:I would never buy a new craftsman piece of a equipment. However, I don't mind there older stuff. The drill press there looks good, and a vice is a bonus My uncle told me to shake the handle a little bit and if theres no loose movements its got plenty of life left In the mechanism. Motors I just make sure they run smooth, listen for any obvious problems or any major vibrations.From what ive seen around here I think 350 is to high. I would be happy with 250 or less.PROUD   AMERICAN
Reply:musickbc,It's a good find if the runout of a drill in the chuck while it's turning is small.  A few thousandths, otherwise it might not be very useful.  A couple thou is good.  10 thou is bad.  You can determine this by putting a piece of drill rod in the chuck and turning it slowly *by hand* with a dial indicator  touching the rod.  Maybe the fellow selling it will do that test for you.  If not, buying it is a crap shoot. Good luck.dib
Reply:Originally Posted by dibmusickbc,It's a good find if the runout of a drill in the chuck while it's turning is small.  A few thousandths, otherwise it might not be very useful.  A couple thou is good.  10 thou is bad.  You can determine this by putting a piece of drill rod in the chuck and turning it slowly *by hand* with a dial indicator  touching the rod.  Maybe the fellow selling it will do that test for you.  If not, buying it is a crap shoot. Good luck.dib
Reply:The drill press appears to be Asian sourced. Of course it could be old enough to be American made...and the prototype of the one the Asians copied. A number of years back I had some time at the mall waiting for my wife to finish shopping. Headed into Sears and took a look around their tool department. Stopped at the drill presses to admire the fit and finish and lo and behold when I was checking out the tables and columns I noticed the same casting numbers on the parts as my Harbor freight drill press. Sure the sheet metal and switch were different, but not enough to pay double the price.Lincoln PrecisionTig 275Miller 251Miller DialArc 250Bridgeport millHossfeld bender & diesLogan shaperJet 14 X 40 latheSouth Bend 9" 'C'Hypertherm 900Ellis 3000 band saw21"Royersford ExcelsiorTwo shops, still too many tools.
Reply:One thing I see on that one that does help the value is the crank handle table lift.  My dad has a similar 17" Craftsman drill press, and back when he bought it (likely '70s), the crank was an option that he didn't opt for.  Mistake that was.Got another pic of it?Who is John Galt?
Reply:Thank you everyone for your help. I did hear back from the guy and this is what he wrote:"BrianI could not find the model number as you can see in the photos it is a Craftsman 17" , 16 speed, 3/4 hp drill press.  I am not sure of the age it was before they went to cheap parts made out of aluminum, it is all steel, everything works perfect as far as I can tell.  Usage has been to a minimum as I was over seas or on the road the last 40 years my wife gave it to me as well as most of my tools so do not have a set date at lease 25 years old.  It has a metal adjustable table on it now the original table for wood etc. is still here and in good shape.  I have the original manuals just need to find them it will have a date on it as I maintained all parts and instruction manuals. Nothing else I can say it has set mostly in my Model A garage for years and always did a perfect job when needed. So yes it works fine, it is extremely heavy  hope you have a truck or car it will slide into very easy."He also included these pictures. It sounds like it might be worth the drive to take a look at. I think I might go by HF and pick up one of those gauges that let you test the runout, unless you guys know of a better one or better place to get one. Let me know what you think.Brian Attached Images
Reply:Originally Posted by musickbc I think I might go by HF and pick up one of those gauges that let you test the runout, unless you guys know of a better one or better place to get one. Let me know what you think.Brian
Reply:16 speed,3/4 H.P.,very little use. Again I would buy if it were near me.Crank up table nice to have but I have been lifting my old Atlas/ Chraftsman drill press table up and down with a vice on it for over 50 years.
Reply:Very similar to my newer model craftsman DP. I have no complaints with mine, good stuff! That vise like mentioned is worth some stuff by itself!
Reply:I think its way too much money. I would rather have a new one from Lowe's that I can take back if I find it does not meet my needs or quality/price ratio.
Reply:Originally Posted by mikecwikI think its way too much money. I would rather have a new one from Lowe's that I can take back if I find it does not meet my needs or quality/price ratio.
Reply:This may or may not help, bit I have what looks like the same drill press in the 13"   5 speed size model.  I paid to Sears $227(including tax and shipping) in 1985 for it.  The only indication I have of the place of manufacture is that it says made in Taiwan on the motor.   Mine is not used heavily, but I have been happy with it.  It is also the only floor model I have ever used too.
Reply:So, I'm going to look at it today. I just found out that the Model # is: 113.213873. From what I have been able to find out that is a mid-late 80's model. Hopefully everything will look pretty good when I get there. Any knowledge on this model number and its quality?Thanks fellas,Brian
Reply:Emerson Electric by the link below. Emerson, if I remember correctly, owns the Ridgid line of electric tools sold at Home Depot, etc.http://sears.pammar.net/maker.htmlLincoln PrecisionTig 275Miller 251Miller DialArc 250Bridgeport millHossfeld bender & diesLogan shaperJet 14 X 40 latheSouth Bend 9" 'C'Hypertherm 900Ellis 3000 band saw21"Royersford ExcelsiorTwo shops, still too many tools.
Reply:UPDATE: So I went and looked at the DP today. Ended up jumping on it and the fella gave me $25 off. All told I paid $325 for the press + some gas + $16 to replace dad gum trailer lights that weren't even broken (long story...). All in all I am very happy with it. It is a Craftsman Model #113.213873 and from my research, because the fella didn't know exactly when he got it, it was manufactured in the mid 80's. It has a tag on the back that says "Made in Taiwan", but that doesn't really bother me. I'm not sure who made the motor, but it says "Made in U.S.A." and I believe it was like WyoRoy said and made by Emerson Electric. When I turned it on it didn't squeal or hiss or anything. Could barely tell it was running. It did wobble a little, but I think that is because the floor wasn't level. In my garage it isn't wobbling at all. After playing with a Ryobi at HD and seeing how much the handle would move without the spindle moving I was worried. First thing I did was grab the handle on this one and it didn't move a hair. No play whatsoever in this one. Also, you'll notice in the pictures that the table is round with a vise. That table is a second "machining" table that the guy bought so that that vise would bolt to it. And that vise moves in the X direction and the Z direction without any problems. The original "woodworking" table came with it. Also in the pictures you'll notice some duct tape around the column. This had me worried but turned out to simply be the chuck key, which is about $60 according to this fella. Whew, dodged a bullet on that one. I checked the movement of the table and it went up, down, and around without any problems at all. Lastly, if you look closely in the picture you'll see the placards seem to be peeling. That is the original plastic that was on them to protect them and will easily peel off leaving the placards looking brand new. Anyways, sorry this post was so long, but I'm pretty excited. Got a really nice drill press and still have enough left over to get a portable band saw and a table from SWAG Offroad! Thanks for all y'alls help. I really appreciate it.Cheers ,Brian Attached Images
Reply:Originally Posted by tackitMine I'm sure is a 1987 model.  It's a 15", 12 speed,  model number is 113.213850.  I think the only difference is mine has a square table.  I have my owners manual,  if you should need info or part numbers PM me.
Reply:Big congrats. Don't cha love it when a plan works out!Just in case anyone was wondering. I ended up getting a dial indicator and when I checked the runout it was >.034" . Well, after replacing the chuck with a NOS Jacobs 34-33C, the spindle with a new one from Craftsman (about the only thing still available for my DP), and having a new threaded collar machined, I got the DP put back together this evening. Not the prettiest to look at, but when I checked the runout it was ~.002". Ended up costing me more that I had anticipated, but was still under $550 + all the knowledge I gained. I also tore the motor apart and replaced the shielded bearings with sealed bearings as well as replacing the bearings on the spindle. Suffice it to say that I'm pretty happy this evening. Thanks everybody for your help and well wishes.Cheers ,Brian