What's This

Ratchet seams to be there to make it unidirectional or hold the spindle at given location,Not very clear but also it looks like that ratchet is activated or deactivated by that eccentric cam attached with leaver.But not sure what is this?

the ratchet part works.. but the lever that runs off the eccentric was added by my brother. (it was broken)

As you crank the main handle, the main spindle turns fast. The ratching mechanism slowly turns a leadscrew, pushing the main shaft 'downward'..

in modern drillpresses, there is rack and pinion (with 3 or 4 handles) that drives the drill into the work. there is no such arrangement on this unit. just the ratchet.

Also, the flanges might indicated that this was mounted either vertically or horizontally. It may have been a dedicated unit for shaping something... (like a horizontal drill or spindle maker)

I don't really know the final use.. or where the pulley or ratchet systems might have been more common. seems 100 years old to me.

Chris

It may be a dedicated attachment for roller Burnishing, broaching, reaming, taping and as a last choice I would say drilling. Also it may be a motorised clamping device if lead screw pitch is low.

I think you were on the right track..

I found this pic which is the same to 9 points

in the file name.. "jason-edwards-antique-hand-drill-used-for-turning-wood-in-a-remote-homestead-australia"

and this one. and this one.

so that makes it kinda unanimous.

thank you all

The smooth-rimmed, crowned wheel is clearly for a flat-belt (probably leather) drive, as could have been from a common shaft driving many tools. From there, I can't tell.

I figured that too.. overhead or under shaft comes to mind... early factory?

A guess - the crown wheels front and back might mean feed reversing - depending on the handle 'following'.

Is so; might be a 'tapping head'

that would explain the apparent fixed feed rate.

thanks

tcmtech-- You got it. GA. Tomorrow I'll try to post some pics. .... Ed Weldon

"My brother thinks it is one of those old machines like in a ford factory, where many machines were run by belts from the shafts in the ceiling..."

I would have to agree with your brother. The beveled fly wheel in image 5 is the give away.

I think your assumption of 100 years is close.

That is a nice find!

Chris, could the flanges have been used to mount an electric motor on an adjustable plate?

Your camera has excellent shake reduction, does it keep teeth from chattering?

lol... there's no app for that yet.

This called a post drill in these parts. I picked one up at an old farm auction a few years back, refurburshed, and hung it in my workshop, more as a conversation piece than to use. Mine does not have the crown on the flywheel and I've never heard of them being run off the old line shafts.

there is a definite curvature (crown) to the pulley thingy. As I understand it, that helps keep the flat belt centered on the pulley.

thanks

Chris

It appears that crown wheel rotates the mandrel and the ratchet arrangement gives the linier feed. The ratchet looks as if it is operated, tooth-by-tooth, by back and forth arching the hand crank. One of the wheels looks very strange, a combination of 'spur and bevel', wonderful.

It looks to me like a machine for twisting wires together, that is assuming the hole goes all the way through, it looks as if it could be clamped to a post to twist and tension the wire & then fix it to the post,or it could be for making spaghetti.

Bazzer

Rotini, maybe....

After reading all the answers so far, it is clear that no body recognized it. It is an

Alien Aztec Tortilla maker. The forgot a few here on there last trip!!!! No offense you all!

HEY THAT SIG LINE IS DAMN NOISY!

Here-- done.

G'day again Chris. boy does this bring back memories. In days of yore i used to go and visit my dad in the factory where he worked. As he was the maintenance guy he could have been anywhere, but if i heard the sound of the drill with it's distinctive feed mechanism i knew instantly he was in the workshop. His was a hand cranked version only i.e. no crowned flat for a belt. It was instead thick and round to act as a flywheel. Yours has lost it's base plate. If it is the same as the one i have it has a screw to allow the pawl to come down further and pick up an extra tooth on the feed wheel to increase the feed rate. The little handle on the feed wheel is the way to bring the drill down to the workpiece and of course to wind it out once the hole is drilled. I have used this drill myself and i can tell you it develops a strong right arm. Just imagine, you could have all your workers using one of these and save a heap in electricity.

P.S. the one i have is an Australian made. I think it's a DAWN.

it is just the wide design of the wheel that makes me think it could take a 3 or 4" belt. but flywheel works just fine.

thanks

I believe it is an antique drill press and the ratched part on top was the automatic feed. We had a very similar one on the farm only a bit newer. Ours had a chuck to hold the drill bit where this one appears to use a drill with a standard size shank and the set screw to secure it. If I am correct this is a very good drill press since the feed gives a near perfect drill load for excellent cutting.

If I am correct this is a very good drill press since the feed gives a near perfect drill load for excellent cutting.

Not if you load up the feed rate. I have broken drills in one of these. It was too slow and of course the drill was only carbon steel.

I was only a young'un.

Jim

Here is one in a collection in OZ. This is also a DAWN.

Cheers

Jim

This is a post drill more like the one I saw in Illinois many years ago--wish I would have liberated it! But the curved mounting on Chris's looks like it was for mounting on a horizontal post/pipe instead of vertical.

It's a brick making machine. Cranks out 10,000 bricks a day. Total cost was $2,500.

Yep! I'm pretty sure it is a self-feeding drill press. Here's one I saw in a barn in Los Olivos, CA almost 4 years ago. Although rusty, it was in working condition, ant it too had the ratchet feed mechanism.

I have one I inherited from my father. He always referred to it as a blacksmith's drill and it sounds like a pretty good description to me. It was mounted vertically and even has an automatic feed as does the one in your photo.

x