Help identifying antique micro(?) drill press

[kirkbjerk]

Hello,

I'm struggling to identify this piece of equipment I recently picked up. At first, I thought it might be a watchmaker's mill, but it appears to be just a precision micro drill press? Only markings are the motor and the gauges (two gauges - RPM and Table Travel).

The motor is a fractional (1/70th) Bodine NSH-12 R. The gauges are marked Rockford with 1966 and S.L. Gillespie. The table only travels up and down. There is a red light that appears at the 0 mark for table travel, I assume it is for setting a predetermined depth.

Any thoughts are welcome, thanks!

 

[TheOldCar]

Unhelpful post, other than I like the little drill!

 

[FamilyTradition]

Where did you get this drill press from/do you know what shop it came out of?

I am thinking it very well could have been custom-built by a shop for a specific purpose or process, which is why there are minimal markings on it.

 

[Milland]

Where did you get this drill press from/do you know what shop it came out of?

I am thinking it very well could have been custom-built by a shop for a specific purpose or process, which is why there are minimal markings on it.

It's pretty "finished" and detailed to be a one-off, but that could be the answer. I suspect it's a low series-produced machine, but can't claim to have ever seen one before. Cute 'lil thing, though.

 

[jim rozen]

Adorable!

 

[M.B. Naegle]

No idea, but my assumption would be it was made for something lab related, of by a company that dealt more with labs then mechanic-y stuff.

 

[Scottl]

No idea, but my assumption would be it was made for something lab related, of by a company that dealt more with labs then mechanic-y stuff.

That's what I was thinking. Perhaps for dental prosthesis work or something similar. I believe the machine would be called a sensitive drill press.

That spiraled column looks familiar. I've seen similar on either a small drill press or benchtop mill, possibly European.

 

[rklopp]

The Quorn home shop English tool & cutter grinder design includes the helical column.

 

[kirkbjerk]

The machine was put up on craigslist, and as I've been looking to get into some machining work, it caught my eye. The person selling it said he grabbed it from an apartment dumpster, so he didn't have any further context.

There is a .002 metal band that snapped, looks like it was rolled onto the roller in the bottom and used to adjust the pedestal up towards the chuck. I surmise the operator would set the depth of hole with the table travel adjustment, then rotate the knob that controls the pedestal up until the red light would turn on, indicating depth reached.

Dental or some other precision but single purpose use makes sense!

 

[Jim Christie]

Dumore made some similar ones but would have had a Dumore motor.

Dumore micro drill press - Google Search

There were likely other brands that perhaps made them for sale by a supplier to the electronics or medical industries .
Jim

 

[Conrad Hoffman]

Not a clue, but it's a really nice piece. Bodine probably used that motor logo for many years. It has a serial number so you might get a year from them, or even who they sold it to. Something about it says watchmaker. Nothing like it on Tony's site that I could see.

 

[Milland]

Does anyone else think the table and mounting is not original? It (IMO) doesn't fit the design theme, and is so interupted with fasteners, pockets, grooves, etc. that it seems non-optimal for small parts.

 

[M.B. Naegle]

Does anyone else think the table and mounting is not original? It (IMO) doesn't fit the design theme, and is so interupted with fasteners, pockets, grooves, etc. that it seems non-optimal for small parts.

Unless they expected it to be used with fixtures, not free floating parts?

 

[kirkbjerk]

Some more pictures of the table and one with the back plate removed. Welded nuts for the plate mounting, was this common for the era? Or does this just point further towards a one-off specialty item?

 

[rivett608]

That is very cool and I have never seen anything like it before. BTW, I use tiny drill presses all the time and 6 in my shop. I think it was custom made, I don't think any prodection thing would have had hex nuts welded to hold the back cover on. They way the electronics are laid out and a whole lot of things. I wonder if the colunm came of some sort of indicator holder or early measuring machine thing. It is amazing how fancy and expensive companies can be or machinists that have an idea can go to make just what they want. It is super cool. BTW is the broken metal band the return spring?

looking some more I wonder if the base came off a hardness testing machine?

 

[Toolmaker51]

The Quorn home shop English tool & cutter grinder design includes the helical column.

So do substantial height transfer stands (historical mol) and more modern computer monitor frames.
Come to think of it, have a couple spare columns (in a pitch I can't replicate in-house) that have just been assigned a new life, lol.
Oh yeah; comment first THEN hack.
If I'd happened across that machine first, it would be here instead. No question. I have a nice quill type high speed Sigourney which cannot possibly be as sensitive drilling as this little honey.

 

[Toolmaker51]

Unless they expected it to be used with fixtures, not free floating parts?

I had a part to run requiring a fixture, did it with a tiny Burgmaster for the 9600 RPM. Used a floating fixture running along a fence; slots or holes would have been a welcome feature. This little press has some serious and thoughtful features. Unclear why such a little guy lists only 3800 for spindle, unless there is gearbox or sheave & belt arrangement in the motor bell.

 

[kirkbjerk]

There is a motor RPM adjustment knob and at max adjustment, if the tach is to be believed, it maxes out at 6,500 RPM. There are 10 detent steps on the adjustment, but the motor does not respond to all steps. Oddly it did go down to a low RPM when I first turned it on, but since then it only drops as low as 4k or so. I'll be testing the RPM accuracy soon.

The metal strap (looks like a re-purposed SS 0.002 shim) is attached on one end to the table adjustment knob and on the other end to the table pedestal. There is ratcheting spring loaded control on the left side (looking at the device straight on) that feels like it has an internal spring that translates to the pedestal adjustment knob on the right side. There is also a string attached to the table pedestal and further into the body of the machine, I'm guessing this is what translates the z axis to the table travel gauge.

Sorry if my terminology is confusing, I'm a geologist by trade and only aspiring hobbyist in this field. Thanks for all the discussions!

 

[Milland]

Sorry if my terminology is confusing, I'm a geologist by trade and only aspiring hobbyist in this field. Thanks for all the discussions!

It's ok, it's gneiss to have people from other professions in the forum.

 

[jim rozen]

I think this is a DC motor with a stick-build motor controller under the hood. The CJ connector to the motor means it's not home-made probably. The speed control pot should be a linear adjustment.