Buffalo Drill Press?

[cincimach]

Questions...Can anyone help with what the model of this press is? I believe it is in original condition.? Everything works perfectly. Also, What would you need to do, to turn it from a bench top model to a taller stand up model. What is the value of a Buffalo Drill Press. Thanks

[J Tiers]

All you would need is a longer column. But one that long and that thin would likely be too flexible, so it may not be a great idea.

Value? Well if you can get anyone to look at it, it probably would be up to a hundred bucks or so.

Problem is, "Buffalo" got abandoned as a trade name, and was taken over by an importer of the cheapest possible chinese stuff, so many would, as I did before opening this, assume it was one of those, which are not very desirable and do not get higher prices. That does not appear to be one of the chinese type.

[Randy]

The best Goodwill purchase I ever made was an old, locally made drill press, very much like yours. ($35) I went to a local steel dealer, Pacific Machinery and Tool Steel Co., and bought a 6 foot length of DOM mechanical tubing. The original column was 1/8" wall tubing, so I went heavier at 3/16". I could have gone even heavier than that. DOM (drawn over mandrel) wouldn't be strictly necessary, but I think it has a better finish and tighter tolerances all over that "as-welded" tubing. Mine was press fitted into the base, which was a bit of a challenge for me. With your clamp action base your conversion will be easy. Looks like you have a nice machine.

[reggie_obe]

#15, less than a hundred. Homeowners will buy a Crapsman or Ryobi before buying that.
If I found one like that with no holes drilled in the table, I'd keep it.

[nickel-city-fab]

Well, right here in Buffalo, those turn up on craiglist every so often between 100 and 300. I believe they are worth every nickel of that, having used them on the job.

[Ohio Mike]

Buffalo's drill models were simple. This should be a No 15. Every bit as good as the better known brands but a bit more rare compared to the Walker-Turners/Atlas drills. The floor model would have had a longer column and a larger heavier base. Link to the sales brochure circa 1946.

http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/129/635.pdf

[Peter S]

Cincimach,

That looks to be in very nice condition, not sure about extending it though.

You probably have good reasons for floor mount, but I prefer bench drills, mine has its own steel-topped table with room to put a drill vise, blocks of wood, workpieces etc. Very handy compared to a floor-mounted job. See photo.

I can see that mounting a drill press on a work bench can be a curse with swarf going all over your work area, but a separate small table doesn't have that problem.

Re. making a longer column, I have a couple of 1/2" bench drills with solid steel columns. Solid might be easier, cheaper and better than trying to find the right size, machined OD tube.

Small floor-mounted drills are probably not much good unless they are bolted down, not something I like to do in my shed.

As Ohio Mike says, check the existing (light weight) base can handle the extra loads.

Wait for a floor mounted machine to come up?

Here you go: https://bbs.homeshopmachinist.net/fo...up-drill-press

Photo shows my variable speed Meteor drill on steel table. This is a NZ-made copy of a Walker Turner machine.

[Paul Alciatore]

Yes, if I was converting that one to a floor stand, I would want a LARGER base. With that small base it would be in danger of falling over. And by larger, I mean larger dimensions, both X and Y and more weight. You could get a steel plate, perhaps 1/2" and make it about 4" larger on all four sides and bolt the present base to it. No calculations behind that 4" number, just seat-of-the-pants engineering.

[J Tiers]

Steel is of course heavy, an advantage.

But you'd do pretty well with a piece of plywood. I've done that with some machines, where the base was too small. In some cases ply would work, I used 2 x 4 lumber to extend the base of the T&C grinder out under the table and knee.

[Rich Carlstedt]

Some of you guys are wrong, This is a real drill press made by Buffalo Forge, not some flung Dung import with the name Buffalo.
. I have one and it is 75 years old and kicks butt. Its as good as my Walker Turner Drill Press but far more versatile With a 1 HP DC drive .
It even taps 1/2-13 with ease . Mine is a Floor model 15 and it you get some 2 3/4" DOM Steel Tubing, you should be OK. The Base is about 16x 22 FYI
Mount your motor on a Barn Hinge and Belt changes become a breeze.
Rich

[J Tiers]

I don't think anyone said it was chinese. I said I figured it would be chinese before I looked at the thread, mostly because the OP only called it "Buffalo". But it is absolutely an old US made press. Not that much different from many, single belt, no two stage reduction.

You seem to have put 2 stage on yours, which probably makes the difference, making it able to tap 1/2-13. That's hard to do with single stage reduction, which rarely is more than maybe a 5:1 speed (and torque) difference.

[nickel-city-fab]

Some of you guys are wrong, This is a real drill press made by Buffalo Forge, not some flung Dung import with the name Buffalo.

Nice setup, Rich. I'm a bit envious. I've used those old Buffalo machines and was astounded at their smoothness and power. Many guys don't realize that a hundred years ago, Buffalo made a complete line of fabrication tools and equipment. I've used the old Buffalo ironworkers that have a huge flywheel, for example here: https://nsmachine.com/product/65-ton...al-ironworker/

The one I used had a 4-ft dia flywheel about a foot thick, solid cast iron. It would pop a 1" hole thru 1" plate almost in silence. Everything on it had babbitt bearings and you would pull the handle on the one-shot oiler and then go make coffee while it got up to speed.

[Galaxie]

Maybe it's just me, but I don't see the point of making it a floor model unless you're also going to add another pulley for speed reduction or a variable speed motor. In other words, why waste all that tubing and space underneath when it's currently intended to be used for small-ish holes and work?

[Dave C]

Maybe it's just me, but I don't see the point of making it a floor model unless you're also going to add another pulley for speed reduction or a variable speed motor. In other words, why waste all that tubing and space underneath when it's currently intended to be used for small-ish holes and work?

My thinking exactly.

[JohnMartin]

All you would need is a longer column. But one that long and that thin would likely be too flexible, so it may not be a great idea.

Why are you worried about flexibility?

1. It looks like a standard column as used for both bench and floor models.

2. The table to head distance will be the same for most operations, so any flex in the column will be the same.

If he converts to a floor model I would - as others have said - go with a larger base or a plate under the existing base. Drill presses are tippy, and the taller the tippier.