Servian SA-1 Drill Press Restoration

Hi All,

I've currently got my old Servian Model SA-1 drill press in parts on the workbench. It's all part of a radial arm saw / drill press station that I'm making in the workshop. My inspiration was the RAS / DP set up in the Wadkin Temple workshop tour. So I dragged my drill press from the far corner of the workshop and am setting it up to go with the BRA350. When I put the old Servian next to the newly painted radial arm saw, it looked poorly indeed so I decided a spruce up for the drill press was in order. I've taken it apart as much as I can and am giving it all a clean, derust and repaint. I've got the chuck, bearings and other small greasy parts sitting in a tub of degreaser. I'll post some pics soon.

My question is this: all the bearings are unsealed and the inside of the quill column was chockaz full of old grease. Like I removed about a metric cup of old grease from in between all the parts. Do I replace the unsealed bearings with new sealed ones? I'm going to be using the drill press for woodworking and don't want heaps of grease leaking out all over the outside to pick up dust.

Cheers,
Zac.

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My advice has been to keep the unsealed bearings as they are because they are able to be regreased by the grease nipples located at the top and bottom of the shaft. I'll purchase some bearing grease and repack them when I put everything back together.

I've attached some progress shots below but I have been very lazy taking pics this time around. I have repainted parts with some blue hammertone that I had left over from a previous project.

Cheers,
Zac.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...87b4b66640.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...0cab31b586.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...2fb01ea62a.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...6728d6ce19.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...faad23c716.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...142b9b99c4.jpg

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A few progress pics. Still need to reattach the switch and replace the plug. Then set it up next to the radial arm saw. Also this thing is really heavy. Thought at first it was the cast head and tables and motor, but it became apparent once they were all off that the post is solid steel. Must be necessary for balance.

Cheers,
Zac https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...2c922329ce.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...436cb10c84.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...4b3b4c1d03.jpg

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Here it is in its final resting place. Still need to make the table and fence but you can see how the table will form part of the outfeed for the radial arm saw. Thanks for reading! Zac.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...eb1a6d1585.jpg

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you didnt by any chance take note of the bearing model/sizes?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by koshari

you didnt by any chance take note of the bearing model/sizes?

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Unfortunately not sorry Koshari. If you are in Perth and have bearings that need replacement I would take to old ones to Statewide Bearings in Welshpool and see what they have. I don't have shares in Statewide or anything, just been happy with their service over the course of a couple of machine restorations.

I should also give an update on how the drill press is going. I mainly use is for general drilling in wood and with forstner bits for drilling the waste out of mortises. For this general work it has been fantastic. I have in my mind that I'm going to build a fancy drill press table for it, but this hasnt happened yet. Maybe I'll post a final picture when I do. If you are doing something similar I would recommend a light attached somewhere that illuminates what you are doing. I also came to the realisation pretty quickly that a drill press table doesn't give good outfeed for a radial arm saw as you are always changing the height of the drill press depending on what you are drilling, so it has changed positions in the shed again.

Let me know if you have any questions and I'll see if I can help.

Thanks, Zac.

Does the front pully just press off?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by koshari

Does the front pully just press off?

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Hi Koshari,

Here is a photo of my front pulley. You can see it's held there by a nut. My recollection is that once this nut is removed, the pulley just slides off.

Attachment 529904

Thanks, Zac.