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So I bought this neat little drill press on a local auction website for $24 (plus $3 for tax and premiums). And I didn't really do any serious restoration work, just derusting and wire brushing and cleaning up grime and dirt and lubing things up. The gears and everything run quite smoothly now. But I can tell that the shaft the flywheel is on is either bent, or the hole the shaft runs in (bore?) is worn, at any rate, I can tell the flywheel is just a teeny bit off balance. Is this something to be worried about and should it be fixed? The other thing is about the bearings. I had heard that there were bearings in the drill press, but I couldn't find any. Then I found some super-tiny ball bearings on the work table, and realized where they had come from--between two grooved disks that were in between the end of the feed screw and the end of the drilling shaft. BUT, the number of bearings that I found on the table (they had fallen out accidentally without me noticing) weren't near enough to fill up the bearing race. So, did I accidentally lose half the ball bearings? I looked and looked but never did find any more. Will the bearings do fine? If the bearing race is not all the way full, will it cause uneven wear? I tried to find information on drill press bearings, but came up empty-handed. Honestly, I feel kind of dumb asking such a simple question, but it is bothering me! I also was wondering about the auto feed mechanism. It really feels clumsy, but perhaps it will work better once I get a chuck mounted and actually start drilling. What has your experience been with the auto feed? Here are some pictures for what they're worth.

First off, this pic was grabbed off net cause I am at work and cant find a pic on any device I have with me. Now, after five years I have finally gotten the $15 auction find 616 free and spinning. Unfortunately, the top threaded bar and collar( that control the vertical motion) have rusted somewhat so I will have to get new ones machined. Problem is I cant get the collar that connects to the drill shaft to move. Is there something I am missing or am I just not using my manly muscles?

This is the stand alone tripod blower that need some TLC. Not as bad off as the first one. Cleaned polished and added some new shims. She is a 1/47 ratio. Gave her a racy paint job just for the hell of it.

Attempting to determine the exact age (possibly 1929) for my vintage forge. From my research, it looks to be the Buffalo Forge Down Draft #62 from the 1929 manufacturer's catalog. Can anyone confirm?

Does anyone know the years that Buffalo Forge started making and ceased making the 612 post drill . I have a copy of an advertisement for it dated 1941, but no solid dates of manufacture .

So I bought a 616 last week for $23 and it needs a little work sure, but in looking at it I noticed that there was a third drive shaft with no gear on and didn't seem necessary and now looking online I see a third gear in this spot. Its not the gear attached to the flywheel and its not the big gear attached to the main shaft which has the handle through it. So what is this small gear for. Would like to restore it but not going any farther until I know Im not beating my head against a brick wall. Thanks in advance for your time....

So I have this guy selling a motor powered blower very close to where I live. I'm just wondering if it's worth 150 dollars or if it's too much. I just don't ever see any of these around where I live so it's a rare occasion. And I have nothing to use yet other than a shop vac with a brake drum(I know it's pathetic) http://qc.kijiji.ca/c-acheter-et-vendre-outils-outils-electriques-souflerie-W0QQAdIdZ466226566 I translated the ad for you guys. Nice Big blower. Buffalo Forge. For whatever usage, cooling something, machine or other power a forge fire, or or or... New motor 1/3 110/220 volts, very rare, very inexpensive at this price. I tried with a big pipe in my fireplace passing the air into the fire,,, too strong. So if you have any advice I would appreciate it. Thanks a lot.

One of the fins on my little rivet forge blower broke off today. The fan periodically strikes a rivet head inside the fan housing and I had been meaning to fix that but I'm somewhat of a procrastinator. Question: Is it possible to have it mig welded back on? Is there a source for replacement fans? Needing a little help for a little rivet forge, Bill *Procrastinators UNITE tomorrow!*