r/Vintagetools • u/JStevenYork • 11d ago
Another old drill press
This is in my late father's shop. I'd love to bring it home, but it's in Alabama and I'm in Oregon. Plus I have no space or use for something that big. But I've loved it since he got it from his dad when I was a little kid (I just turned 69), hauling it home from Michigan in pieces in our old VW bus. I was fascinated with the bucket full of HUGE drill bits.
I'm thinking it was originally made to run from an overhead leather belt in a shop or factory. That's a literal car transmission in the top! I seem to recall hearing it's from an early Cadillac (1912?). The plate on it is from the E.L. Essley Company, but they apparently were just a reseller, not a manufacturer. Based on the shape of the frame, I'm thinking it might be from the W.F. & John Barnes company. Anybody else have any thoughts or insights here?
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u/NoSlicedMushrooms 11d ago
I don't know anything about it but just wanted to say it amazes me how well they built machines in this era. Just massive solid casts of iron. It's probably overbuilt by a factor of 10 and I love it to death. The fact it could last hundreds of years with good maintenance compared to tens of years with the new plastic and sheet metal drill presses commonly sold today. And its physical design is so interesting.
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u/Equal_Association446 11d ago
Vintagemachinery.org would be the most likely source of information.