is this a good deal

[Max Mulholland - Tetnum]

Antique Champion Blower & Forge Co. Drill Press
i am in the areia right now and was just wondering if i should get it
but to me it loohs compleate and well kept and for the price i looks really cheap thanks for all responces

[ThomasPowers]

If you want it and it is complete when you check it out; then it's a good deal. (make sure the automatic advance is working!)

Please do not motorize it! I met a knifemaker at the Guild Show once who had motorized a hand crank drill press to "save money" over buying a new one. trying to drill a fussy hole in a knife he reached up to advance the bit and fed his fingers into the gearing.

After several thousand dollars of surgery and several years they still didn't work as well as the OEM ones and he let on that he could have bought the fancies drillpress sold for less than he had spent/lost!

[Jmercier]

I've got a gorgeous little drill press like that which i paid 50$ for, but mine is outfitted with a vbelt wheel instead of a flywheel (it's the original wheel though, not a retrofit), so it's not got quite the momentum it needs to drill through tough stuff unpowered. 25$ is a good price if it's complete and in working order.

http://www.tharkis.com/images/shop/handdrillpress.jpg

I'm at the point where i'd pay the 25$ just for a decent hefty fly wheel =P

[Frosty]

So add one. It's a low speed application so balance isn't critical. Cut a piece of 1/4" plate about 1" larger in diameter and make some bolt tightening clips to hold it to the original. Clamp it on and see how it works. If it still isn't heavy enough you can weld additional weights to it (in the form of steel disks) till you make your weight.

I'd probably buy the drill on Crags list even if it isn't complete, they're pretty rare around here though.

Frosty