Union (Boxford) PD4 Pillar Drill

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

Good result. You can buy stepped pulleys on eBay in standard sizes that could probably be adapted to suit if you wanted.

[Phil PParticipant @philp]

To be honest, when I measured the pulleys for you it was the first time I have opened the pulley cover for years.

My belt is permanently left on the second to highest speed pair and all I ever do is drop it into back gear when I am using bigger drills.

The reason for this is that it also has a three phase motor and VFD fitted, with that combination I dont need to swap the belt onto different pulleys.

It might be something to consider before you spend your brass on new pulleys.

I too had a NuTool drill for years, but could never get on with it, the Boxford is a proper machine tool rather than a Chinese toy !!

Phil

[Chris CrewParticipant @chriscrew66644]

I will post some photo's of the simple cosmetic refurbishments I have done on on the machine, it is up and running, looks acceptable and will do the job it was designed to do, but I have to admit it has probably seen better days. However, it does not equal my 'cheap Chinese rubbish' which, after 40 years moderate use, is still accurate, quiet and more convenient to use with a rotating table and a rack rise and fall, all available on the old British machines but at a greatly increased cost which was the way of doing business in those days.

In 1978 I bought a new Myford ML7R lathe for £552 (since enhanced to be a Super7 except for the serial number) but when it arrived it was totally useless. It cost me as much again for a motor, switchgear, a chuck and few other bits of tooling. I still have the machine and nothing, except my passing, will induce me to part with it but if I were to be starting again I would not think twice about purchasing a far-Eastern machine from a reputable distributor because I know it would be almost 'plug and play', equipped with a motor, chucks, steadies, lighting and coolant, you name it.

I understand the sense of nostalgia for elderly British manufactured machinery within a community that values the engineering skills of industry in the past, I feel it myself, but the world has moved on. Modern technology eliminates the difference between national skills, wherever it is written the software that drives modern manufacturing plant will produce exactly the same thing in Sheffield as it does in Shanghai. I put a keyless chuck on the drill which cost me fifteen quid including postage, delivered within a few days and looks to be exactly the same item that some traders are asking as much as four times the price for. Well OK, everybody has to make a living, but whatever the dealers may say, I am not convinced there is any difference between the products. Although some people will disagree, they appear to be identical to me and for my requirements they are all very acceptable.

Edited By Chris Crew on 31/01/2023 19:45:34

[Author]

Posts