Photo Index - Canadian Blower & Forge Co. Ltd. - No. 15 Production Drill Press

Machinery Photo Index

Manufactured/Badged by:
Canadian Blower & Forge Co. Ltd.
Kitchener, ON

True Manufacturer:
Canadian Blower & Forge Co. Ltd., Kitchener, ON

Machine Specifications
Machine Class:	Metal Working Machinery
Machine Type:	Drill Press
Machine Size:	15"
Submitted By:	Jeff Joslin

Machine Specifications
Description/Model:	No. 15 Production Drill Press
Date of Manufacturer:	1944 (est.)
Serial Number:	3645 (View SN Registry Entry)
Last Updated	2/28/2013 1:53:42 PM

Comments:

I was out for a run and when I was just a couple of blocks from my house, I spotted a drill press and tablesaw sitting beside a garage. The saw was a Rockwell direct-drive bench saw of no consequence, but I recognized the drill press because I already own a similar one: a Canadian Buffalo 15". This one is the "Production" model, which is a benchtop drill press with large integrated table/base. After my run I made myself presentable and then paid the neighbor a visit. The drill press had been used for many years by his father in making Adirondack chairs. Before that it was in a shop at Continental Can (where they make soup cans and the like). The father was winding down his affairs and so the son was planning to dispose of the machines. $25 later the drill press was delivered to my basement.

The black/grey/white spatter-paint pulley cover would suggest a 1960s-'70s date, but the rest of the drill does not match. I believe the cover was a safety-mandated later addition and the original drill press is considerably older.

The acorns stored away in the crevices under the pulley cover nicely match the rust patina covering everything. The 1/3 HP motor is a Westinghouse "converted to 60 cycles by" Wagner Electric. The original motor data plate is on the bottom of the motor and indicates that it was a 25 cycle motor. Ontario Hydro converted their 25-cycle industrial customers to 60 cycle in 1954.

The Buffalo Forge version of this drill was called the 15-M. We don't have a Canadian B&F catalog of the right era so perhaps my drill was a 15-M when it was new. The 1977 catalog calls it a No. 15 Production Drill Press.

Based on the original Westinghouse motor data plate serial number beginning in 44, a 1944 date seems plausible for the motor and drill press.

Photo 1:

Comments: Mismatching paint. Body, motor and base have all been repainted.
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Photo 2:

Comments: From 1977 catalog. Looks like the spatter paint was already history.
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Photo 3:

Comments: Love the prominent name in the base casting. Note the lack of T-slots compared to catalog pic.
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Photo 4:

Comments: Drill bit is as rusty as everything else. Electricals are well done, as befits a factory machine.
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Photo 5:

Comments: Original color was black, maybe. Serial number seems very low.
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Photo 6:

Comments: Acorns, plus mouse nest in top of pulley. The window screen was probably intended to keep swarf out of the open motor.
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