Clausing Drill Press (new to me)

rwm

Robert
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I just received this Clausing drill press. It is in excellent shape with no functional issues as far as I can tell.

1525633687566.png


Now I need to try to get into the shop and in place! First issue: my shop is indoors with a wood floor. The floor is strong enough to hold this 350 lb item however where I intend to place the machine the floor is not level. It is domed up about 1/8". The floor is solid hardwood over OSB. I am wondering if I could sand or plane it flat or should I just consider leveling feet. The base on this drill is not setup to accept leveling feet so that would have to be engineered.
What are your thoughts on this?

Robert
 
Robert, I need more info on the make up of the floor. What is holding up the OSB. Floor joists. what size? Center of joists. Span of joists.
In your house, In your shed , garage, or crawl space, basement? etc. Al.
 
Robert, That's a nice looking drill press. Could you just shim it with cedar shims? Or cut a piece of 1/2" plywood the shape of the base and scribe it level to the floor. Cut it about an 1" wide like you would a gasket so you do not have as much to sand off, and then set the drill press on top.
Happy drilling
Martin
 
I had one very similar, bought it new, and used for many years until I sold it with my business. In my opinion, leveling of most drill presses is of little importance if they do not rock on an uneven floor; mine was never even bolted down, and still is not, however it is likely a good idea to do so, especially if there is a wood floor. to avoid rocking and roughly leveling, shims would be sufficient, used under the points that are to be bolted down (likely) using lag screws.
You made an excellent choice of machine, they are quite well made and stand up to everyday use for (likely) a lifetime, or even several lifetimes.
 
Oooh, that's my dream drill press right there, Robert! That looks like a Jacobs Super Chuck on it, too. Very well made and it has an angular contact bearing at the end of the quill. Well done, and ...

:you suck:

The drill press only needs to be solid, not leveled. If you aren't going to be moving it, just shim it so it doesn't move and use it.
 
Thanks for all the replies. It will definitely rock if I put it on the floor as planned. I'll need to do something like shims or leveling feet. The house was built in 1942 so it has super thick joists. I also have a jack post very close to where I'm placing this which supports my heavier metal lathe. Also my mother-in-law weighs the same as my drill press and she has stood in that very spot!
R
 
Very nice drill press- what is that device on the front? Beer can holder? :D
Mark
 
Oooh, that's my dream drill press right there, Robert! That looks like a Jacobs Super Chuck on it, too. Very well made and it has an angular contact bearing at the end of the quill. Well done, and ...

:you suck:

I did not get this for a steal. I just wanted a good one. I'm not sure how to fix the idiot Mark in the table. We will address that later in the thread!
R
 
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Very nice drill press- what is that device on the front? Beer can holder? :D
Mark

That is a safety guard. It is spring loaded and flips down over the Chuck. I assume that was an OSHA requirement for the shop that this was operated in. I will not be using it.
R
 
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