In 2013, I was setting up my current shop and my nephew brought over an old Atlas Drill Press that needed some TCl. I was delighted to say the least.I checked it out and the head stock bearings were good, the quill travel was good, and 4 1/2", it was rusty and hadn't been used for some time so I set to cleaning it up and putting it in working order.

 

The table didn't have a crank to raise and lower and was a real back breaker,as it was all cast iron. So I bought a HF trailer hitch jack and mounted it under the table. The table bound up and wouldn't go up and down unless hand pressure was applied to the front lip to raise or lower it. Since it was a 12v jack and I had it hooked to a car battery to operate, I built a shelf on the back of the table for the battery to counter balance the table,this solved the binding problem. Also have a 12v. trickle charger plugged into the battery to keep it charged.

So after I painted it and installed a new table, it was put into place as my main drill press.

Herb

Like it a lot!...reminds me of the one I have in my garage that belonged to my grand-dad/dad...yours looks much nicer and..mine is probably after WWII just guessing...still needs restored. I know it's over 60 years old for sure.

 

Great idea for the table lift. Is the jack base anchored to the press floor base? Do you have the press anchored now, free standing or on some sort of mobile base? Sorry for all the questions; just collecting data...

It is free standing on a low profile rolling base,about 1/2" off the floor. The jack is just sitting on the base,the only thing holding it is the collar I made out of a 2X6 that clamps to the drill press column to keep it upright.

Herb

Thanks Herb...guess that makes sense on the jack...not like it's lifting a car or house, just something to keep vertical and prevent base from moving. It's a really cool idea...

 

Just wondered on the press itself if a 12V battery at that height would off-balance the column/ head /base without anchoring or adding "counterweight" to base.

45 minutes ago, Grandpadave52 said:

Thanks Herb...guess that makes sense on the jack...not like it's lifting a car or house, just something to keep vertical and prevent base from moving. It's a really cool idea...

 

Just wondered on the press itself if a 12V battery at that height would off-balance the column/ head /base without anchoring or adding "counterweight" to base.

Doesn't seem to,Dave, that is a heavy cast iron base and table . No indications,even when I put weight on the table of any instability. The previous old craftsman industrial I had, i used a scissor jack on a stand to raise the table but also had to use hand pressure on the front lip of the table to keep it from binding on the column.

Herb

Herb, that's a beautiful restoration of a great old piece. 

BEAUTIFUL!!!