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24th July 2015, 02:02 PM
Tough drill presses were made in Western Australia.
My TOUGH Drill presses:
Tough-bsm #4356
Tough-green #2553
Tough-VH #995
#4356 (I scrounged18months ago) is heavier duty machine than the subsequent 2 and 3 and has a number of differences. It also goes back in the family for 45 years or more, its life spent from new in a sheet metal factory. As elsewhere reported, it was stripped down and tanked, primered, and the quill fettled to fit a new Albrecht chuck. And there it sat since, once the state of the quill rack (not so bad) and the pinion teeth (bad) were considered.
The second acquisition Tough_green (#2553) sort of fell in my lap. An unsightly green but full height, a good enough deal at the time for $150. A bottom mounting had been fabricated in ¼ inch angle iron by the prior owner, and 2” of concrete added just in case. More awkward than the average to move. A set of Whitworths on the day dissembled it into manageable chunks. Moving it within my small workshop was unduly difficult, and the base unsightly, so it had to go. It was then of course unstable sans base and so a plinth was made from 2 layers of 3/4” ply. Smooth and quiet, but still unsightly green.
Number 3 Tough_VH (#995) came up on Gumtree a month or so ago. A Friday night random glance (first in numerous months), and there it was. The pics were small and no detail, but the table despite this looked worth a chance; a replacement for the first (#4356) I thought, which bore the scars of long years of factory use. A trip 50km down the coast to Victor Harbour, brought it and yet another heavy ( even heavier?) stand back. On disassembly the stand is Jarrah (some 4”x4”). Quite a bit of work in construction, angle tensors and such.
There was plenty of surface rust due the coastal history, but a couple of hours cleanup, it was surprisingly good.
My TOUGH Drill presses:
Tough-bsm #4356
Tough-green #2553
Tough-VH #995
#4356 (I scrounged18months ago) is heavier duty machine than the subsequent 2 and 3 and has a number of differences. It also goes back in the family for 45 years or more, its life spent from new in a sheet metal factory. As elsewhere reported, it was stripped down and tanked, primered, and the quill fettled to fit a new Albrecht chuck. And there it sat since, once the state of the quill rack (not so bad) and the pinion teeth (bad) were considered.
The second acquisition Tough_green (#2553) sort of fell in my lap. An unsightly green but full height, a good enough deal at the time for $150. A bottom mounting had been fabricated in ¼ inch angle iron by the prior owner, and 2” of concrete added just in case. More awkward than the average to move. A set of Whitworths on the day dissembled it into manageable chunks. Moving it within my small workshop was unduly difficult, and the base unsightly, so it had to go. It was then of course unstable sans base and so a plinth was made from 2 layers of 3/4” ply. Smooth and quiet, but still unsightly green.
Number 3 Tough_VH (#995) came up on Gumtree a month or so ago. A Friday night random glance (first in numerous months), and there it was. The pics were small and no detail, but the table despite this looked worth a chance; a replacement for the first (#4356) I thought, which bore the scars of long years of factory use. A trip 50km down the coast to Victor Harbour, brought it and yet another heavy ( even heavier?) stand back. On disassembly the stand is Jarrah (some 4”x4”). Quite a bit of work in construction, angle tensors and such.
There was plenty of surface rust due the coastal history, but a couple of hours cleanup, it was surprisingly good.