Thread: Tough pedestal drill build

Hi Greeny,

Looks like a very useful drill press. Should look nice when you get it sorted.

They are great drills. We have 3 of them (2 pedestal and one bench) at the mens shed.
Well two really, one is in full working order and there are enough pieces from the other two to make one up.

Two of the three had the belt tensioning clamp on the motor mounting plate broken so watch out for this.



One of the broken clamps had been brazed back together but that had broken as well.
I fabricated a completely new plate.

Thanks for the kind words chaps, i got lucky with this one everything is intact and functional no broken or cracked parts, even the bearings were in good nic but i've already got replacements just for peace of mind. the only thing that is annoying me is one missing handle and a few mishaps on the table, i plan to bore out the center hole on the table to hopefully clean up most of the mess then face it.

what really surprised me was the weight of the thing, the post is solid unlike these cheap chinese things available today, im pretty sure even waldown used a hollow post... i could be wrong though i often am.

Originally Posted by BobL

They are great drills. We have 3 of them (2 pedestal and one bench) at the mens shed.
Well two really, one is in full working order and there are enough pieces from the other two to make one up.

i don't suppose you happen to have a spare handle or two lying around you might consider selling to a young fellow enthusiast do you?

cheers Greeny

Originally Posted by lindsgreen

Thanks for the kind words chaps, i got lucky with this one everything is intact and functional no broken or cracked parts, even the bearings were in good nic but i've already got replacements just for peace of mind. the only thing that is annoying me is one missing handle and a few mishaps on the table, i plan to bore out the center hole on the table to hopefully clean up most of the mess then face it.

The first one we did up had a badly mangled table which I just filled with metal filled bog.


The centre hold was plugged with a piece of pine and then the bog was applied.
What I found out was just how clean the holes need to be for the bog to stick.
The most difficult ones to get to stick were the very shallow holes and the ones near edges but eventually I got most of them to stick..

what really surprised me was the weight of the thing, the post is solid unlike these cheap chinese things available today, im pretty sure even waldown used a hollow post... i could be wrong though i often am.

Yes and their weight also helps with stability.

i don't suppose you happen to have a spare handle or two lying around you might consider selling to a young fellow enthusiast do you?
cheers Greeny

All three of the drills we have have one handle missing so we can just make up the 6 needed for two machines.
Parts are still available and the fellow that sells the parts is a member of this forum 0 can't remember his name - hopefully he will read this thread.

Hello Greeny,

I have a solid posted benchtop Tough and a couple of hollow posted Waldowns so there is a good chance you are right.

I replaced the capstan arms with 1/2" 316 versions and did away with the leadish original knobs. I too was missing one and had little chance of finding a replacement so plastic knobs as substitutes seemed an easy solution.

My table resembled a colander and it too has been replaced with something from Asia. One of my Waldown tables had only a few perforations that I plugged. It turned out to be a pretty simple job - https://www.woodworkforums.com/showth...78#post1502378 Could be a solution for your table.

My Tough is my favourite drill press. Simple, quiet and accurate.

And by the way, did you buy your drill from Bill's Machinery in Wangara? If not there's a twin out there.

Bob.

Nice drill, and all my Waldowns have hollow pillars also.

What process did you go through to polish up those parts??

So, quick progress update. Today i dropped a few bits and pieces off to be soda blasted and have the nameplate badge chemically stripped before i got to putting in a few more hours on the buffer for the bright steel and then hit the painted parts with the angle grinder and wire wheel. i was really happy with how it all came up as it was pretty rusted and i expected a lot of pitting but when i got it all off it came up a treat, especially the ROHM chuck which was rusted solid but now functions like the day it was made. i plan on oil blackening all the fixing hardware before final assembly so i gave it all a bit of a birthday on the wire wheel. i know i could have bought new bolts but i like the idea of keeping it all as original as possible.
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Originally Posted by BobL

Parts are still available and the fellow that sells the parts is a member of this forum 0 can't remember his name - hopefully he will read this thread.

i did find a thread from last year by a member called norm and dropped a comment on it asking if he had any parts he might like to part with if that's who you are referring to

Originally Posted by Anorak Bob

I replaced the capstan arms with 1/2" 316 versions and did away with the leadish original knobs. I too was missing one and had little chance of finding a replacement so plastic knobs as substitutes seemed an easy solution.

I'm thinking i might do that too then clearcoat my originals for safekeeping as they do have a tendency to rust.

Originally Posted by Anorak Bob

And by the way, did you buy your drill from Bill's Machinery in Wangara? If not there's a twin out there.

I sure did, only cost me an arm and a kidney. good spotting there, you win the internet for today

Originally Posted by DSEL74

What process did you go through to polish up those parts??

hours of elbow grease on the bench grinder with the hard rag wheel and rough cut compound followed by the soft rag wheel and finishing compound.

Originally Posted by lindsgreen

Thanks for the kind words chaps, i got lucky with this one everything is intact and functional no broken or cracked parts, even the bearings were in good nic but i've already got replacements just for peace of mind. the only thing that is annoying me is one missing handle and a few mishaps on the table, i plan to bore out the center hole on the table to hopefully clean up most of the mess then face it.

what really surprised me was the weight of the thing, the post is solid unlike these cheap chinese things available today, im pretty sure even waldown used a hollow post... i could be wrong though i often am.

cheers Greeny

My FOBCO star bench drill has a solid post. As you say it is very very heavy.

Greeny,

I was tempted each time I visited Bill's. My Tough doesn't feature the intermediate pulley but both Waldowns do so that's why I left the drill there for you.

I replaced the Tough's column with a length of 4140, the original being too battle scarred to resurrect. The Waldown Workmax's column however was resurrected because the top of the column has to be hollow to accommodate the intermediate pulley mount. Having a long bed lathe does have some advantages -

Waldown Restoration 2011 002 (Large).jpg Waldown Restoration 2011 012 (Large).jpg

More here - https://www.woodworkforums.com/showth...61#post1376461

Bob.

Originally Posted by Anorak Bob

I was tempted each time I visited Ross's.

Please excuse my ignorance but is this another name for Bill's or have we gotten our warehouses mixed up?

Originally Posted by Anorak Bob

My Tough doesn't feature the intermediate pulley but both Waldowns do so that's why I left the drill there for you.

Cheers mate! good to have someone in my corner. I was actually looking for a Waldown purely because they're an Aussie machine and chanced upon the Tough in the process, I'd never heard of them before so i did some digging and when i learned they were made just up the road in Belmont i had to have it

That looks the goods mate!! I hope mine comes out looking that good, it's a credit to you

It's an age thing. I meant Bill's.

IMAG1611.jpgIMAG1610.jpgIMAG1609.jpgIMAG1612.jpgIMAG1613.jpg
I made a bit more progress today, i got a bit of painting done then hit the post with some 600 grit wet and dry. it's only got a few battle scars so i can live with that but i'm still not happy with the finish yet, there's really not a lot i can do about that without a long bed lathe though. i also bit the bullet and painted all the handles. i really liked the way they looked polished up but would inevitably just rust and that would annoy me every time i looked at it so i masked the knobs and shot a coat of black over them. i decided to stick with the original colour scheme but i'm going to highlight a few bits and pieces in red to break up all that silver unlike the closed lid paint job they gave it in the factory. killrust hammertone silver and delicious red seemed pretty close to the factory colour so that's what she's getting.

Today i reassembled most of the head, unfortunately there's still a few bits at the blasters that i haven't got back yet but here's what i did get done:
IMAG1619.jpgIMAG1620.jpg
I'm reasonably happy with how it's coming together.

Greeny

Originally Posted by lindsgreen

Today i reassembled most of the head, unfortunately there's still a few bits at the blasters that i haven't got back yet but here's what i did get done:
IMAG1619.jpgIMAG1620.jpg
I'm reasonably happy with how it's coming together.

Greeny

That looks pretty. The red is a nice contrast against the silver.