I have to brag: new to me 15-127 Ram type radial drill

C

Cheapo

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I look around auctions a bit and I found a local auction with two Rockwell drill presses, one was a pretty standard column drill press that was also an automatic-reversing tapping machine, the other was a 15-127 Ram type radial drill press.

As the auction went on, the more standard drill press exceeded my best price before i bid so my focus shifted to the 15-127. As the auction was nearing its end, it was just over $100. I was prepared to go over $200 but i like to leave some room for bidding if someone is bidding against me so I bid $161 and as the auction ended the best bid anyone put in was $158 so $161 won and after tax and premiums the total was a few cents over $190.

In the auction pictures the machine looked clean but it had a wooden cover over the table. When i went to pick it up I removed the wood and found the t-slot table perfect except for one small swirl of surface rust and the four holes in the coolant trough that the wood was mounted to.

Now the bad news: it's a three phase machine so I'm pretty sure I need a VFD unless a perfect single phase motor falls in my lap. The ram way stop doesn't seem to have the right lever hardware. One of the ram way wipers is missing. And finally the handle that holds the rear belt guard up off of the motor bracket is missing so the cover runs on the motor pulley. Only the ram way wiper is a critical thing but I hear Rockwell spares might be available so my restoration might be 100% correct.

Bottom line, I doubt I'll be more than $600 in to this for a perfectly restored "survivor" drill press, upgraded with a VFD...

The VFD is going to be around half of that but I'll try to make it do tricks.

This is one of the best condition auction tools I have ever seen and I got it cheaper than a rusty old column drill press (with tapping feature).

So, that's my brag, now I just have to get it running on a VFD...
 
@Cheapo

Since you are still fairly new around here, I thought I'd best clarify........

The "You suck!" above is really a "badge of honor".
It is reserved for members that get a really good deal on a piece of equipment....good enough to make the rest of us jealous.

It's kind of a tradition here....

Oh, and one more thing:

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You are now truly one of the group!

Brian
 
3 phase motor is AWESOME! Variable speed at the turn of a dial is super useful on a drill press. High speed for drilling, turn it down for counter sinking, a bit further for tapping and then reverse to get the tap out. I change the belt position on my drill press and mill about once in a blue moon.

VFDs in that sort of size aren't expensive either, couple of hundred for a fancy one, seventy or eighty for a basic import
 
Nice, I sold one similar to that but older to a fellow forum member, Rockwell made some awesome equipment....

Plans for it or just couldn't pass it up?

John
 
I am building about 1,600 ft^2 of garage/shop/storage space and I intend to create a fairly capable hobby fabrication shop. I'm looking for a Bridgeport clone and a small lathe with a large spindle bore, welding gear, horizontal bandsaw, shear, brake, woodworking tools, etc. All on a low budget but I might flip a few machines if the opportunity presents itself.

I know the utility and value of the small industrial tools because they will fit in to some hobby shops so the $/lb is high. With inflation and the condition of the machine, it will probably be worth at least $2,000 once it's restored and rewired with a VFD. That's a deal that's hard to pass up.

I also have a pair of good Taiwanese drill presses from the 1980s. I'll probably sell off one, maybe the bench model, mostly due to space. I bought them cheap but they are not desirable enough to make money selling.

This Rockwell is just really capable and creates equity in my shop. If I can get similar deals for the rest of the tools I desire, my shop might be fully equipped for $15,000 or less but if the "flip" value is $45,000, that's $30,000 of equity. Hopefully I'll never have to use it but having that equity is better than a shop of well used machines that don't owe me anything but don't have equity either.

I have projects I want to do which probably justify most of that $15,000 and I'll find more projects soon enough. I have an idea to potentially run a few small businesses out of the shop which will pay off a bit here and a bit there so hopefully it will allow me to recover my costs, then create a small income to pay for my hobbies and reduce my need for my regular job.

I am kind of entering "middle age" and trying to set up the rest of my life to be the way I want it. If I can have my home and shop free and clear, generating a small income in 5-10 years, I'll be able to be semi-retired in my 50s with a decent amount of security, then by my sixties I should be in really good shape because I intend to keep working, save money and reduce my expenses as much as possible. That's after about a 15 year detour spinning my wheels in a cubicle so I'm glad I got out with enough time left to be able to fix my situation.
 
That looks very similar to my Walker Turner Radial Arm saw. Walker Turner made a Radial Drill that looks almost identical. The drill appears to be in VERY nice shape! Good snag of a nice drill!


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