Richardson E39 Bench Drill Press Restoration

I picked up an old Richardson E39 drill press for $30 about a month ago, it had been lying in pieces in a shed on a rural property for many years and was pretty rusted up.

Attachment 267548 Attachment 267549

I already have an el-cheapo floor model that I got from Supa-Cheap but the quill was sloppy out of the box and far from a precision machine. The Richardson looks to have been made in the 60s and is solid as the preverbial.

The wiring was totally perished so I stripped it out (will replace with more up-to-date setup) and temporarily hooked up a plug and reassembled it. It fired up and ran OK but it needed a bit of TLC to restore it to its former glory.

Pulled it right down and wire brushed the rust off (angle grinder driven), followed by a lot of elbow grease and emery cloth... it took many hours to get it rust free... more than a bit of a wire brush that the seller reckoned it needed :)

Then on to the paintwork, first with a flap disk and more elbow grease and emery cloth.

Attachment 267550

Last weekend I welded up some tube for the stand that it will live on, you can see it in the picture above, it still needs a bit of work to finish it off, some drawers need to go in between the framework.

This weekend I got around to putting a coat of hammer finish green on the beast, black on the motor after a coat of rust converter, and got all the parts ready for reassembly.

Attachment 267551Attachment 267552

I will blacken all the nuts and bolts before I re-assemble.

Congratulations on a fine looking restoration, :2tsup: it looks like it will come up as good as new.

The table looks to be in remarkably good condition as well.

It's good to see restorations like this, another machine saved for posterity!..

Regards
Ray

T^hey just don't make tools like this any more ,and if they did you cant afford to buy them, nice restoration. Eddie

Great restro, that will see your life out now.

Dave

Thanks guys. I just love the old stuff... it's well made, solid, feels good to use and it's good for probably several life times. I bought it off a guy who looked to be in his 70s and the drill press was his dad's, a fitter and turner.

Ray, that shot of the base and table is pretty flattering on the table's surface, here is another that shows the inevitable holes that have been drilled in it, still not to bad for a 50-year old machine.

Attachment 267563

I filled the divots with Devcon epoxy.

Finished off the Richardson today, I'm pretty happy with the end result.

Upgraded electricals, the enclosure looks like it was made for it. I've used the same type of LED light on my mill, lathe and and other drill press, good value online for about $20.

Attachment 269524 Attachment 269525 Attachment 269526

Replaced the chuck with a keyless, about 0.03mm runout after some 'fine tuning'

Attachment 269527

Stand is now finished too. Picked up the steel 3-drawer cabinet for $20 from the recyclers and made the stand to suit.

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Nuthin wrong with the old stuff.

I do try n keep my old hand me down gear going as long as I reasonably can. Hard to find stuff built as good nowdays.

Great job. I think that the drill looks fantastic, and I particularly like the stand/cabinet set-up. I've been inspired to do something similar.

Joe

I have the same drill press and i was wondering how to get the shaft further up the quill as your is ,and what do the two bolts at the front do? I tighten them then the quill wont move? thanks bob

Quote:

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Originally Posted by robyn2839

,and what do the two bolts at the front do? I tighten them then the quill wont move? thanks bob

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Yes. Basically there to adjust the amount of play between the quil and the housing

Peter

hi the other side of drill do you have a picture of the earth connection?

earth connection?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Blu_Rock

I picked up an old Richardson E39 drill press for $30 about a month ago, it had been lying in pieces in a shed on a rural property for many years and was pretty rusted up.

Attachment 267548 Attachment 267549

I already have an el-cheapo floor model that I got from Supa-Cheap but the quill was sloppy out of the box and far from a precision machine. The Richardson looks to have been made in the 60s and is solid as the preverbial.

The wiring was totally perished so I stripped it out (will replace with more up-to-date setup) and temporarily hooked up a plug and reassembled it. It fired up and ran OK but it needed a bit of TLC to restore it to its former glory.

Pulled it right down and wire brushed the rust off (angle grinder driven), followed by a lot of elbow grease and emery cloth... it took many hours to get it rust free... more than a bit of a wire brush that the seller reckoned it needed :)

Then on to the paintwork, first with a flap disk and more elbow grease and emery cloth.

Attachment 267550

Last weekend I welded up some tube for the stand that it will live on, you can see it in the picture above, it still needs a bit of work to finish it off, some drawers need to go in between the framework.

This weekend I got around to putting a coat of hammer finish green on the beast, black on the motor after a coat of rust converter, and got all the parts ready for reassembly.

Attachment 267551Attachment 267552

I will blacken all the nuts and bolts before I re-assemble.

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Hey Glen69
It’s a little off topic… but how do you change the belt on an e39?