Walker-Turner Drill Press #1: A new aquisition: Walker-Turner Drill Press

When I was a kid, my mom used to shop at garage sales (or rummage sales as they call them in southern Indiana). She found an old drill press that my grandfather suggested would be good for my dad. She somehow got the thing loaded in the family car and brought it all the way back up to where we lived at the time in the Chicago suburbs. It was in fine mechanical condition, but needed a new motor. My dad installed a new motor and pulley, and we used it for years.

I was just at my dad’s house yesterday and found the drill press laying on the garage floor, apart, where it has been resting since he moved into his current house nearly ten years ago. With his blessing, my son helped me load it into our Element and got it home.

Based on the information located at this site, it appears to have been manufactured between 1953 and 1956. It weighs a ton, I cannot image a tool manufacturer making something like this now.

At first I was going to re-assemble and start using it again, but now I think I might restore/paint it as well. It’s pretty exciting to have an old drill press like this, especially since I used it when I was young.

Someone welded a T handle on the front of the table to make it easier to raise and lower it.