I was lucky enough to salvage an old drill press. It is a Canadian Forge Model 124. I'm going to rebuild it and use it for larger slow speed drilling in steel and wood. 6" holes and the such should be no problem.

When I dismantled it, I found one of the shafts had a brass plating on it. At first I thought it was an imbeded sleave. This is not the case. I believe it is a brass plating that was machined down to fit the bore the shaft rides in.

What I would like to know is how this process is done. I suspect it is not brazing but rather a crude plating that is then machined to fit the bore. Is it possible to brass plate by heating the shaft and melting brass onto the shaft, similar to how you tin copper pipe? If so, what would I use for a flux? Any thoughts? It would be nice to see this unit running again.