- Joined
- Oct 15, 2016
- Messages
- 106
Hi folks, my name is James and I'm a power tool repairman; I collect and restore Porter-Cable power tools and have been doing restorations for other people as a sideline for years. Since COVID hit, I've been slowly building my own vintage tool/machine repair and restoration business, and I don't need to tell any of you how vital a decent array of machine tools are to breathing life back into a machine that hasn't had parts support in several decades.
Since I'm a Porter-Cable guy, the lion's share of machines in my shop are of that brand, and the tool room area ( a little presumptuous to call it that, but it makes me feel more official!) is no exception; after all, Porter-Cable's roots are in lathes and milling attachments.
This is as you enter the machine tool area ( woodworking and grinding machines not allowed!). The band saw on the right is a 1920's Porter-Cable BS 20" model that was adapted to metal cutting. The gear motor on the bench is one I'm retrofitting to it to clean up the conversion.
My lathe is a 1918 Mulliner Enlund 14" named Millicent. This lathe was produced, probably for war work, right before the company was purchased by Porter-Cable in May of 1919. It's a great machine, even if there is 104 years of wear on the ways.
To the left of the engine lathe, I have my 1966 Rockwell vertical milling machine, my 1940's Porter-Cable AS-7 &" shaper ( under construction due to a damage tool head), and my 1890's J.E. Costilo horizontal milling machine with a Porter-Cable #2 universal milling attachment fitted in place of the overhead arbor support. This milling machine was badly abused by former operators, and has been fitted with a new lead screw and nut,had the table ( broken in half!) brazed and surface ground, and over a dozen components fabricated. I use it extensively for cutting keyways, spot drilling, and any other operations that require power but not a great deal of accuracy. The cabinet between the Rockwell and the lathe is where I store most of my mill tooling.
another shot of the Costilo, taken for it's entry on lathes.uk, where it is the only representative. No other Costilo machines are known to survive, so this old fellow is an orphan ( I call him Lonesome Jim).
One of the few machines with no Porter-Cable connection ( SSHHH, don't tell him he's adopted), this Keller power hacksaw does a fine job of keeping the other machines fed.
The drill presses- the 1952 Delta 17" is the first vintage machine I ever owned ( a birthday present from my wife and in-laws twenty years ago now), and has been retrofitted with a T- track table from a later Delta, a 1hp repulsion induction motor, and a #2 Morse taper spindle. The 14" is a mid-30s delta with a #1 Morse spindle and a 1/3hp repulsion induction motor.
When I can't bring the work to the drill press, this 1960s Rockwell mag drill ( 1hp, 7" drilling depth) handles the job.
The sanding and grinding machines live on the other end of the shop,
Left to right: 1943 Porter-Cable B6 -W wet belt grinder undergoing repair, 1936 Porter-Cable D-5 horizontal lapping machine, 1951 Delta Toolmaker surface grinder, 1940's Porter-Cable G-4 belt grinder, 1940s Porter-Cable BBS belt grinder, and lastly my 1940s Porter-Cable N-2 bench grinder, powered by a Hoover-badged Kingston-Conley grinder that actually came from the Hoover factory near work.
-James Huston
Since I'm a Porter-Cable guy, the lion's share of machines in my shop are of that brand, and the tool room area ( a little presumptuous to call it that, but it makes me feel more official!) is no exception; after all, Porter-Cable's roots are in lathes and milling attachments.
This is as you enter the machine tool area ( woodworking and grinding machines not allowed!). The band saw on the right is a 1920's Porter-Cable BS 20" model that was adapted to metal cutting. The gear motor on the bench is one I'm retrofitting to it to clean up the conversion.
My lathe is a 1918 Mulliner Enlund 14" named Millicent. This lathe was produced, probably for war work, right before the company was purchased by Porter-Cable in May of 1919. It's a great machine, even if there is 104 years of wear on the ways.
To the left of the engine lathe, I have my 1966 Rockwell vertical milling machine, my 1940's Porter-Cable AS-7 &" shaper ( under construction due to a damage tool head), and my 1890's J.E. Costilo horizontal milling machine with a Porter-Cable #2 universal milling attachment fitted in place of the overhead arbor support. This milling machine was badly abused by former operators, and has been fitted with a new lead screw and nut,had the table ( broken in half!) brazed and surface ground, and over a dozen components fabricated. I use it extensively for cutting keyways, spot drilling, and any other operations that require power but not a great deal of accuracy. The cabinet between the Rockwell and the lathe is where I store most of my mill tooling.
another shot of the Costilo, taken for it's entry on lathes.uk, where it is the only representative. No other Costilo machines are known to survive, so this old fellow is an orphan ( I call him Lonesome Jim).
One of the few machines with no Porter-Cable connection ( SSHHH, don't tell him he's adopted), this Keller power hacksaw does a fine job of keeping the other machines fed.
The drill presses- the 1952 Delta 17" is the first vintage machine I ever owned ( a birthday present from my wife and in-laws twenty years ago now), and has been retrofitted with a T- track table from a later Delta, a 1hp repulsion induction motor, and a #2 Morse taper spindle. The 14" is a mid-30s delta with a #1 Morse spindle and a 1/3hp repulsion induction motor.
When I can't bring the work to the drill press, this 1960s Rockwell mag drill ( 1hp, 7" drilling depth) handles the job.
The sanding and grinding machines live on the other end of the shop,
Left to right: 1943 Porter-Cable B6 -W wet belt grinder undergoing repair, 1936 Porter-Cable D-5 horizontal lapping machine, 1951 Delta Toolmaker surface grinder, 1940's Porter-Cable G-4 belt grinder, 1940s Porter-Cable BBS belt grinder, and lastly my 1940s Porter-Cable N-2 bench grinder, powered by a Hoover-badged Kingston-Conley grinder that actually came from the Hoover factory near work.
-James Huston
