# Buffalo forge No. 61. Drill press restoration.



## jaxonquad (Apr 20, 2011)

*Clean up for repairs.*

I've been looking to equip my shop with "hand powered" tools. So when I saw this, It was love at first sight. I had it shipped home, and sadly, It arrived with the frame broken in two. After filling a claim with the shipping company, I was not happy with their offer to refund my money "on further inspection" (meaning give it to them and await payment)--no thank you. I will now have it "welded" by a local machine shop.

1) As it arived. A beauty isn't it?









2) Imperfections give character.










3) On such a beautiful fall day, why not play outside?










4)After disassembling and cleaning.










Thankfully the previous owner coated the drill in packing grease before putting into storage, so cleaning was not too bad. Scraper, brush, and elbow grease. Next up, to the machinist. Then onto the moving parts. It is an honor to return this guy to the workforce.


----------



## 280305 (Sep 28, 2008)

jaxonquad said:


> *Clean up for repairs.*
> 
> I've been looking to equip my shop with "hand powered" tools. So when I saw this, It was love at first sight. I had it shipped home, and sadly, It arrived with the frame broken in two. After filling a claim with the shipping company, I was not happy with their offer to refund my money "on further inspection" (meaning give it to them and await payment)--no thank you. I will now have it "welded" by a local machine shop.
> 
> ...


Wayne,

I am sorry about your trouble with the shipping. I am looking forward to seeing this machine brought back to life.

I love the Buffalo Forge drilling machine. I restored an old Buffalo 18 drill press. My blog is here. I also restored a #50 post drill. I have an old flat belt driven drill press still waiting for me to find the time for restoration. They are wonderful machines.

Have fun with yours.


----------



## Beginningwoodworker (May 5, 2008)

jaxonquad said:


> *Clean up for repairs.*
> 
> I've been looking to equip my shop with "hand powered" tools. So when I saw this, It was love at first sight. I had it shipped home, and sadly, It arrived with the frame broken in two. After filling a claim with the shipping company, I was not happy with their offer to refund my money "on further inspection" (meaning give it to them and await payment)--no thank you. I will now have it "welded" by a local machine shop.
> 
> ...


I think you got a good find. I been seeing those on OWWM.


----------



## jaxonquad (Apr 20, 2011)

*paint*










I have put work into this sparingly. I sanded as little as possible, 2 coats of black spray paint, and a little oil for the moving parts. Now to find an efficient way to mount.


----------



## Beginningwoodworker (May 5, 2008)

jaxonquad said:


> *paint*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Looks good!


----------



## Brit (Aug 14, 2010)

jaxonquad said:


> *paint*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Great job Wayne, that things a beast. Once you get it mounted, any chance of a short video of it working?


----------



## jaxonquad (Apr 20, 2011)

jaxonquad said:


> *paint*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Absolutely, Im excited to see it in action myself….ohh and Thanks guys!


----------



## SamuelP (Feb 26, 2011)

jaxonquad said:


> *paint*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Very handy. A hand powered drill press seems like it will be very accurate and pleasing to use.


----------



## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

jaxonquad said:


> *paint*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That's some cool drill press.


----------



## jaxonquad (Apr 20, 2011)

*Fin*

I finally have it mounted, and have tested it.
Im gonna atempt posting a couple videos of it in action.
By the way… Im an idiot. The lever in the video engages the bit into the wood not disengages. It is slower…but it is designed to be sort of an automatic feed…yep…i know…... I blame it on the excitement.

here

And here


----------



## hhhopks (Nov 22, 2011)

jaxonquad said:


> *Fin*
> 
> I finally have it mounted, and have tested it.
> Im gonna atempt posting a couple videos of it in action.
> ...


Great fun.

Now I got to make room in my garage for my post drill. I purchased mine about 3 years ago for $35. It is still laying horizontally.

I will be sure to come back to your post to check out the settings/adjustments.

Quetion:

Mine came with a Jacobs drill chuck. I don't think it belongs there. Shouldn't these drill use auger bits?


----------



## jaxonquad (Apr 20, 2011)

jaxonquad said:


> *Fin*
> 
> I finally have it mounted, and have tested it.
> Im gonna atempt posting a couple videos of it in action.
> ...


You should posts pics!

If its able to feed the bit into the wood I dont see why you would have to use auger bits. Mine seems to function with my dewalt bits fine, BUT I am no expert…thats a sure bet.


----------



## hhhopks (Nov 22, 2011)

jaxonquad said:


> *Fin*
> 
> I finally have it mounted, and have tested it.
> Im gonna atempt posting a couple videos of it in action.
> ...


Ok,
Got a cell phone shot. Not a very good pic.

Folks, this is not the proper mounting position. Go with Wayne's
Unless there is such thing as a hand cranked lathe.

Actually mine is in fairly good shape. I had been repainted awhile back before I got it. I did remove the Jacob's chuck.


----------



## Brit (Aug 14, 2010)

jaxonquad said:


> *Fin*
> 
> I finally have it mounted, and have tested it.
> Im gonna atempt posting a couple videos of it in action.
> ...


Very cool. Thanks for the vids Wayne. Nice to see it working.


----------



## jaxonquad (Apr 20, 2011)

jaxonquad said:


> *Fin*
> 
> I finally have it mounted, and have tested it.
> Im gonna atempt posting a couple videos of it in action.
> ...


*hhhopks-* Wow! Glad to see another one survived!

*Andy*-Thanks! I can't blame my faults on the drill now…


----------



## 280305 (Sep 28, 2008)

jaxonquad said:


> *Fin*
> 
> I finally have it mounted, and have tested it.
> Im gonna atempt posting a couple videos of it in action.
> ...


That is very cool. I have a similar post drill that I bought a few years ago. It is a smaller version, I guess. The number of mine is 50.










I cleaned it up, but left it looking old. It works well and it is fun to play with.

Here are some before, during and after pictures:


----------



## jaxonquad (Apr 20, 2011)

jaxonquad said:


> *Fin*
> 
> I finally have it mounted, and have tested it.
> Im gonna atempt posting a couple videos of it in action.
> ...


This is GREAT!


----------



## 280305 (Sep 28, 2008)

jaxonquad said:


> *Fin*
> 
> I finally have it mounted, and have tested it.
> Im gonna atempt posting a couple videos of it in action.
> ...


Wayne,

Thank you for sharing your blog with us.

I have to admit that I have three Buffalo Forge drilling machines - should I be concerned? One is described in this blog. The other is still on my to-do list. It is a flat belt driven drill press:


----------



## jaxonquad (Apr 20, 2011)

jaxonquad said:


> *Fin*
> 
> I finally have it mounted, and have tested it.
> Im gonna atempt posting a couple videos of it in action.
> ...


Concerned?...nah… you can never have too many tools right?
Ive actually drooled over your blog a couple of times(check my favorites). 
One of the best things about LJs, is to see these classic machines/tools being brought back to life.


----------



## mrbutton1952 (Feb 6, 2012)

jaxonquad said:


> *Fin*
> 
> I finally have it mounted, and have tested it.
> Im gonna atempt posting a couple videos of it in action.
> ...


Great piece of equipment. A little grease and sawdust will take a lot of slop out of those gears.


----------

