Photo Index - Sears | Craftsman - 103.23131

Machinery Photo Index

Manufactured/Badged by:
Sears | Craftsman
Chicago, IL

True Manufacturer:
King-Seeley Corp.-Central Specialty Division, Ann Arbor, MI; Ypsilanti, MI

Machine Specifications
Machine Class:	Wood Working Machinery
Machine Type:	Drill Press
Machine Size:	15 inch
Submitted By:	Manny Ringel

Machine Specifications
Description/Model:	103.23131
Date of Manufacturer:	1954
Serial Number:
Last Updated	12/19/2018 8:36:26 PM

Comments:

Craftsman “100” Drill Press. My brother’s friend is upgrading his shop, replacing the tools he inherited from his Dad. He offered the old drill press to me (thanks, Randy!).

This was in quite good shape, so it was more of a tune-up than a restore. A thorough cleaning, lubrication where needed, removed surface rust from tables and column, and removed old paint drips.

The motor started right up, but was a bit noisy and stopped almost immediately when unplugged. Shaft was stiff to turn by hand. The born-on date on the motor plate is December 1954; as I’ve noted in other posts, “lubed for life” doesn’t necessarily hold true after 64 years. Disassembled, dug out the old congealed grease with a pointed dowel, and repacked the ball bearings with fresh grease. What a difference! Hums when it runs, takes 10 seconds to coast down when turned off and I can spin it with two fingers. I also cleaned out a bunch of sawdust, and replaced the old two prong cord and plug with a grounded 3 prong setup.

Randy had warned me that the drill would have some vibration in use, he suspected a bad bearing in the quill or pulley shaft. Everything seemed tight to me, quill turned freely with no apparent side play, so I investigated further. I found that the motor pulley was not coplanar with the quill pulley; the axis of the motor shaft was leaning backwards compared to the quill. Some aluminum shim stock between the motor base and the mounting plate got everything aligned. I also replaced the (original Sears !) belt with a link belt.

The net result is that there is now no vibration at all. My dial indicator shows 0.0015” runout at the drill bit when turning by hand, less than 0.003” under power at moderate speed. I think that’s more than acceptable for my hobby woodworking needs.

I have the press mounted to my shop cart, with the electricals wired so I can turn it on and off with a switch mounted on the cart instead of relying on the motor switch. Still need to rig up a knee paddle to the switch for safety.

I was thinking of leaving this set up as a dedicated mortising station. By total coincidence, the Craftsman mortising attachment that I bought at a yard sale 5 years ago just to get the mortising chisels that came with it ( http://vintagemachinery.org/photoindex/detail.aspx?id=16346 ) turns out to be the period-correct attachment for this press. This may be a bad thing, because it will encourage me to keep buying parts for machines I don’t own :-)

Photo 1:

Comments: As I got it. 170 lbs with motor per the 1955 catalog, easier to transport in pieces
Source: me

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Photo 2:

Comments: badge headshot, all cleaned up
Source: me

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Photo 3:

Comments: Model 103.23131
Source: me

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Photo 4:

Comments: motor 115.6962 built 12/54 1/2 horsepower, pardon the glare
Source: me

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Photo 5:

Comments: rust remover and steel wool got rid of all rust and staining. Only one tiny divot
Source: me

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Photo 6:

Comments: mounted to my shop cart with my yardsale mortising attachment
Source: me

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