It is unlikely that the machine has ‘reached the end of the road’ if the owner is determined to repair it – but it does rather depend on how much that wear might be and the skill and determination of the repairer. It is often simply a case of economics, but sometimes a matter of dogged determination on the part of the user.

A minimal amount of wear could, on the other hand, not be too important for many users. They are not often used for very precise duties.

I've lived with some slop in the lower part of the housing on an old Progress drill for 40 years, it still drills holes and well enough for pretty much all requirements.

Brian

+1. Most businesses have an accountant keeping a close eye on the cost/benefit ratio of owning machines. They compare the cost of repair with the cost of replacing, and there comes a point in the life of working machines when they are all declared 'BER', Beyond Economic Repair, When that happens the machine is out the door.

May still be worth repairing, especially in amateur ownership. As labour is expensive, businesses are more ruthless about BER than hobbyists. The question is, how much time and money do you want to spend fixing an old drill rather than using it?

The cost of spares is often a shock – second-hand prices do not apply to new parts! And if one thing is worn out, the chances are other parts are iffy too.

The repair could be a long job, which stops work on everything else. Might not matter to you because restoring old machines is a rewarding hobby in itself. Restoration isn't for me because I have other priorities. I admire the people who rebuild the mangled remains of crashed WW2 aircraft after 80 years in a peat bog and get them flying again, but it's not for me. Likewise – just me – I wouldn't put much effort into a pillar drill because most of my precision drilling is done by a mill.

I expect you'll get conflicting answers. Chaps who love old machines will recommend fixing it, whilst others wouldn't bother. Where are you? Maybe a local Fobco expert could take a look and advise.

Dave

Hi Rick, I've used many worn / clapped-out drill presses during my day jobs, some with quite q lot of slop in the quill, but like Andrew said, if they drill holes what's the worry. It is surprising how even a very wobbly quill, will drill quite a true hole, providing the drill bit is decent. In my last day job, I had to tap a good number of M8 holes using a auto-reverse tapping head, which it did without any problems, and that was with a really worn sloppy quill.

Picture below is not the best quality, as it's taken from a video recorded on my old phone.

Regards Nick.

Edited By Nicholas Farr on 12/06/2023 12:05:04

Nick, quite agree, I now always clamp down. I have busted very few drills over the years but I had a surprise in recent times. I thought that keeping below 3/16"dia., I might get away with no clamp. Work in very heavy 5" drill vice not bolted down, the 3/16" drill jammed, wrenched drill vice handle out of my hand, vice spun round and chucked off table down on to bench and busted drill. Lesson learned!

John

Around the time Fobco ceased trading, I saw a turquoise-coloured, apparently factory-fresh example. Its ball handles looked a bit rough, and the quill rattled horribly in the main body. I wondered whether this was a trial model from a cheap-labour contract sub-manufacturer, or whether Fobco cobbled together reject parts to flog off. If that was the best they could do, the world's better off without them. Pity, because the cream-coloured ones were good machines, although I thought the belt section was too large for the small pulleys. I would very much have liked the bigger model…