Photo Index - Power King Tool Corp. - Bench Drill Press, Model 611

Machinery Photo Index

Manufactured/Badged by:
Power King Tool Corp.
Warsaw, IN

True Manufacturer:
Power King Tool Corp., Warsaw, IN

Machine Specifications
Machine Class:	Wood Working Machinery & Metal Working Machinery
Machine Type:	Drill Press
Machine Size:	11¾"
Submitted By:	Carl Bukowsky

Machine Specifications
Description/Model:	Bench Drill Press, Model 611
Date of Manufacturer:	1940's
Serial Number:	15054 (View SN Registry Entry)
Last Updated	1/8/2018 11:18:41 PM

Comments:

I spotted this one while walking the dog one morning this May. It was buried in a trash pile and the motor was what first caught my eye. Never bashful to pick through my neighbors discards, I realized it was more than just an old motor when I uncovered the rest of the drill press. To heavy to carry back home, I took a gamble (we have freelance, third-world metal recyclers that cruise the neighborhood on trash day!) finished the dog walk and returned with the truck for the prize. At first this was just "salvage that motor" but I was also curious about what I had here; I had never heard of this brand but I could see it was old and it appeared to be complete - I was guessing the motor was probably shot since it was being thrown out in the trash.

Oh well, I separated the motor, re-wired the rotten wires, plugged it in, and that motor spun up and ran great! Next stop, Google it! Found this site and realized I just had to take my crack at restoring this Drill Press.

Photographed the whole thing and started my process to make it new again. It was missing the original lever which had been replaced by a four-spoke lever, power wiring was a disaster, jury-rigged power switch on the front guard, a small ring of shame on the table, rusty, dirty, but otherwise a "jewel-in-the-rough" as they say. I took it completely apart, down to the brads holding the nameplate to the base. I removed all the rust, chemically treated the bare metal, primed for new paint and buffed/polished the plated metal parts. I also plugged the extra holes that some previous owner had inflicted, and re-textured these patches to blend with the original surface. I was able to get the original color from under the Power King badge and I used it to find a very close match that I sprayed to the original paint scheme. The only deviation was not painting the spindle feed cap that covers the spring; it buffed out to such a great shine that I just couldn't paint it!

I understand that these drill press units were sold with or without a motor, so this one has a period-correct Foster 1/4 HP. I took it apart, cleaned it out, checked and lubed the bearing before priming and painting it back to the original factory color, a satin black. I added a plate to the motor base that now holds the power on/off switch. I used a 3/4" PVC conduit body that I trimmed to flush-mount to the plate. The cover plate was drilled to accept the toggle switch, and the power cord is held by a 3/4" cable clamp, same as used on the motor's wiring cover. Its a bit more work but I was going for small, minimal look.

I addressed the somewhat minor "ring of shame" scars on the table by filling them with silver solder. It didn't make them disappear, but its nice and flat again. I resurfaced the table by honing it on sandpaper on my granite slab used for sharpening, working up to 800 for a "good enough" shine. Its not true flat as you can still see the original machining swirls, but I got the gouges leveled. I waxed and polished all the bare and plated metal surfaces before assembly and replaced the motor mounting hardware.

I clear-coated the nameplate after it was cleaned but the badge on the guard was too far gone to use in its condition. What to do? The fine detail work it would take me to restore it seemed beyond my skills. How did they do it originally I wondered. It needed painting but how? I ended up stripping the paint and re-plating the badge figuring a buffed-out badge would be the best I could achieve and it did look great, just not the same as the original. Then my daughter said "no, it needs to be red again." So I painted it a matching red, same as the nameplate. Too much red so I carefully dry-honed the face of it, flat on blank newsprint paper. It worked perfect, the raised face lost the red paint and the paper buffed the plated surface to a bright shine; like new again! I clear coated it and secured it back onto the guard.

My final restoration for this drill press involved replacing the missing lever. I used 7/16" stainless steel rod to fab a new replica of the original lever. I also added a depth-stop collar that slip onto the top end of the spindle shaft. Just lower the drill chuck to the desired depth and lock the collar against the top bushing (just remember to move it back up the shaft to regain full spindle travel length).

The restored Power King Drill Press is now mounted to the re-purposed rolling cabinet (was the router cabinet before!). It has a new home, but right now its got "regal or royal" status in my shop; it looks so fresh and new I hesitate to grime it up! I still turn to the old (81?) 16" Delta Floor Drill Press, with all my accessories, jigs, bits, etc. within easy reach. Just habit. After that lever is made, then I'll put it to work!
UPDATE: I no longer own it; on November 5, 2015 I sold and it has a new shop location in Berkeley, CA. Happy Trails Power King!

Photo 1:

Comments: "After Restoration"
Source: author

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Photo 2:

Comments: "Before" as found, sitting on the tailgate of my truck
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Photo 3:

Comments: "Before" Note that power switch mod and the square cover over the motor wiring access hole.
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Photo 4:

Comments: Serial number sequence would indicate late 40's, early 50's.
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Photo 5:

Comments: I added this depth pointer ( later I added some black to the point for better contrast).
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Photo 6:

Comments: Restored Motor (Note the added depth-stop on upper spindle)
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