Thread: 17" Transpower Pedestal Drill

Welcome to the forum Len.

Ross

Also a big welcome

And, whilst I sadly cannot assist in providing any information on Transpower, I would like to ask what your process is to go from the badly flaked and spot rusted metal to such a wonderful finish (both in the bare metal areas, and the painted finish areas)?

It has me curious, and intrigued, and I'd love to know more if you're willing to share?

Welcome to teh forum!

Nice job on the restoration it looks like it's come up really well.

We have/had 2 Taiwanese DPs donated to my mens shed that looked identical to yours - sorry can't remember the name.
They have a really good lowest speed at 50Hz (125 rpm) making them suitable for large hole saws and Forstner bits.
The top speed (2000 rpm) is a bit low for smaller bits but the shed also has a Waldown DP which can go to 3200rpm?

Both of the Taiwanese drills were in better cosmetic shape than yours was originally but one was quite noisy and had significant run out.
The only thing I did to them was remove the old switches and replace them with a no volt switch.
This is quite important on a DP because eg if the power fails and then comes back on without you knowing it, . . . ie you could have the chuck key in and your hand on it and . . . . .

Because we two of these DPs and we also had 3 other DPs the most mechanically worn/noisy Taiwanese was sold but not sure about the other as I don't go there much any more.

Thanks for your comments gents, much appreciated.

This drill is the first gizmo I've restored so I pretty much got into it with whatever was at hand. The hardest part of the disassembly was removing the base and the head from the main column - using a club hammer, a steel rod, and lots of WD40 to bash the shaft out. I applied paint stripper to the painted surfaces then scraped and wire-brushed them, several times. This was probably unnecessary for some of the parts as I subsequently used a wire wheel on a 4" angle grinder followed by flap discs on the same machine. I'm sure these would have removed the paint as well. The main column I finished with WD40 and increasing grit wet & dry paper on a random orbital sander. That worked a treat. I sprayed the finished surface with lanolin and wiped it down, but I'll keep an eye on that to see how well it keeps rust at bay.

The head unit was pretty crudely cast and primed with a fill coat to disguise most of the ugly bits. I ground it back to bare metal (within reason) and then ground off the worst of the protrusions before filling some of the dips with a Bunnings bog and sanding back again. I'm not good enough to make it perfect (and it's a tool after all), but I'm happy with the end result.

The electric motor was a PITA. It was coated in two or more layers of paint and took forever to clean. Although multiple applications of stripper softened the paint it took hours of fiddling with wire brush, screwdrivers, old chisels, and a wee pointy thing to get most of the paint off. Then I decided I liked the look of the bare metal which would complement the painted head so I buffed up what I could on the bench grinder (with a buffing wheel of course) and gave it a couple of coats of spray lacquer. So far so good, although it probably won't last forever. This could have been a tedious process but it didn't seem too bad because I had the luxury of no deadline and I only did more when I wanted to. That made it almost enjoyable, and when it all came together it was worthwhile. I'm glad I didn't succumb to the initial temptation to buy a new motor.

The various small metal shafts and levers I also buffed on the bench grinder and lacquered. I must say I was impressed at how easily they were transformed. The holes for the clamping bolts holding the motor sliding rods were mangled and had ill-fitting bolts in them (I hope you know what I mean by that!). I drilled them out and put in 'key lock thread repair' inserts, followed by new knurled clamping knobs. Much nicer, and they actually work.

Paint: I primed with Killrust Heavy Duty Primer, then Killrust Epoxy Gloss Enamel. The primer was fine but I'm disappointed in the enamel. I thought it would be a tougher finish, but it is easily damaged. This was my first use of a spray gun and I'm relieved at how it came out.

BobL: I'll definitely seek out a No Volt Switch, and I don't like the way mine has turned out so that's a good incentive to change it out. The original switch worked very well despite it's age but I wasn't fond of the drab green colour. I sprayed it white, but now it looks like a drab green switch painted white. As for the RPM I'll attach a photo of the belt arrangement which gives all the info - the slow speed is the same as the one you mention.

The Transpower has a distinctive 'nose' arrangement on the front of the head casting, below the nameplate, with three socket head screws to adjust tension. This nose doesn't appear on drills today so I imagine mine was a pretty early Taiwanese design. An almost identical model is the Orbit OR-1758. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sJ6eh6_V98

But wait - there's more! I haven't drilled a hole yet. There is one bearing at the base of the quill that I didn't replace, and it has a bit of play. I might even need a replacement chuck - that was always on the cards - but I'll get the bearing first.

20190216_162956.jpg20180901_204550.jpg20180907_154912.jpgB2. After.jpg20190510_165640.jpg20190428_112340.jpg

I posted a long reply but it seems to have vanished.
Oh dear, but here are some pics. I'll try again.

Thanks for your kind words gents.

This drill was my first attempt at a restoration. In fact it wasn't meant to be a restoration at all, but when I bought it on impulse and maneuvered the 10 ton brute into the shed I realised it needed a little more than a cleanup. Funny, it didn't look that bad when I handed over the money. And it didn't even look that heavy when I watched the two Arnies load it onto the ute. With hindsight, the language and the puddles of sweat should have alerted me.

Anyhow, I didn't have a pressing (hoho) need for a drill so time wasn't an issue, and I figured (correctly) that it would be an investment in time and effort more than money. And it was making my shed look shabby. The tools I used were a 4" angle grinder with a wire wheel and flap discs, a 6" bench grinder with wire wheel and various rag type wheels (a la Super Cheap), my 40-year old orbital sander with wet & dry paper, paint stripper and assorted scrapers, wire brushes, and the like. All pretty basic stuff.

After dismantling everything that looked like it should separate, I applied a liberal coat of paint stripper to all painted surfaces, allowed the paint to soften, wire brushed, and scraped. Repeated as required.

When the paint stripper had done as much as could be expected it was time for the little grinder, first with the wire wheel, then the flap discs. I'd never used those little discs before and they are impressive. I've since found the $1+ discs off eBay are as good as the $6+ discs from Bunnings). I used the orbital sander with wet & dry & WD40 on smooth surfaces like the centre of the base, mating surfaces, and the main column. I then sprayed the column with lanolin to see if that will prevent re-rusting for a while.

I ground the worst of the excess metal from the head casting, including the original filler material. I filled the major dips and hollows with bog and sanded it back to a reasonable finish. Then came my first spray gun experience. The undercoat was Killrust HD Primer, followed by Killrust Epoxy Gloss Enamel. The enamel finish isn't as hard as I wanted, but there you go. Can anyone recommend something better for a novice painter for next time?

The motor was a bugger to clean down with all the ribbing etc. By the time it was done I liked how it looked so much that I sprayed it with clear lacquer (pressure pack), and it turned out really well. How long it lasts time will tell.

Thanks for the tip about the switch BobL. You might have noticed from the pics that the original switch was dull green but is now white. I painted it. Unfortunately it looks like a dull green switch painted white, which is pretty crappy. You've given me a good excuse to replace it with something nicer. I managed to find an old lookalike drill at last - an Orbit OR-1758 (I think the number represents 17" 5/8" chuck, same as mine). This short video shows the head section to be almost identical: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sJ6eh6_V98

I need to replace another bearing and maybe get a new chuck before I drill a hole, but all has gone alarmingly well so far.

And best of all - castors! 4 x 100kg. The thing can be moved easily.

Len