Fobco pillar drill

[Chris Stevens]

Been looking for a good drill press for quite a while now, and a couple of weeks ago came across a Fobco Star, which had recently been converted to single phase with a new motor. A long journey to collect it, but did some other things same time, so no big deal.

Fobco seems to have had little use from new, and other than inevitable holes in the table (already repaired), is in very good condition. Previously had a Startrite Mercury with a fair bit of wear, and the Fobco is much better than that in every way.

The reason for this post is to say that in many cases a used Brit made drill press, seems to me well worth looking at for anyone who needs to do much drilling with any degree of precision, and is probably a much better buy that something new from Machine Mart say.

Personal inspection before parting with any money though is a must, as good quality machine tools can wear out like anything else.

 

[brightspark]

a mate of mine has a fobco rather un loved and rusty after 40 years in a damp building but hardly used or abused I went to use it .squirted the chuck and quill spring along with the column with wd40 freed them off and it works perfect

 

[gaz1]

I have the startrite mercury bench pillar drill just needs a little attention to it as it came from college the only thing it needed was a motor and gear cog on top of it to get it running again and a little oil to free the chuck due to being stored as owner had 2 machines the same

 

[Chris Stevens]

a mate of mine has a fobco rather un loved and rusty after 40 years in a damp building but hardly used or abused I went to use it .squirted the chuck and quill spring along with the column with wd40 freed them off and it works perfect

Real shame that nothing that good quality seems to get produced nowadays.

 

[Turbo]

The reason for this post is to say that in many cases a used Brit made drill press, seems to me well worth looking at for anyone who needs to do much drilling with any degree of precision, and is probably a much better buy that something new from Machine Mart say.

I agree with that 100%. I was looking for a bigger drill and I checked out the drills at a tool retailer. I checked all the drills & even the most expensive sealey models at over £700 had play in the quill! I went and bought an old meddings, made in the 1970's and the quill was as tight as a drum.

 

[Chris Stevens]

I agree with that 100%. I was looking for a bigger drill and I checked out the drills at a tool retailer. I checked all the drills & even the most expensive sealey models at over £700 had play in the quill! I went and bought an old meddings, made in the 1970's and the quill was as tight as a drum.

Sadly today poorly made sub standard tools and equipment seem to be the norm rather than the exception, which I guess is driven by the need for the lowest possible price, with little regard for quality or durability? Still possible to find very good quality used items at bargain prices though, and I would think my £100 Hitachi Tig is far superior to any budget Tig being sold today.

 

[MattF]

Pics? You can't post a tool thread without at least one photo.

 

[Richard.]

Real shame that nothing that good quality seems to get produced nowadays.

Sadly today poorly made sub standard tools and equipment seem to be the norm

and I would think my £100 Hitachi Tig is far superior to any budget Tig being sold today.

I could of put money on these quotes before opening the thread.

 

[daleyd]

I could of put money on these quotes before opening the thread.

 

[Maker]

I could of put money on these quotes before opening the thread.

And I could have put money on some dodgy grammar before opening the thread.

 

[brightspark]

And I could have put money on some dodgy grammar before opening the thread.

are u the new forum English teacher now I hope u don't make any mistakes or we will rub it in

 

[Maker]

are u the new forum English teacher now I hope u don't make any mistakes or we will rub it in

yeh im teh new english teacher i wont make any mistaks 4 u 2 rub in




Just out of curiosity, who was the old English teacher? People have mentioned him a few times and I have no idea.

 

[brightspark]

yeh im the new english teacher i wont make any mistaks 4 u 2 rub in




Just out of curiosity, who was the old English teacher? People have referenced it a few times and I have no idea.

soz cant really say. the member has not criticised my posts lately so its forgotten

 

[daleyd]

soz Sorry cant really say. the The member has not criticised my posts lately so its forgotten

Fixed that for you ^^

 

[brightspark]

Fixed that for you ^^

your on the list I don't care cant be good at everything

 

[daleyd]

your on the list I don't care cant be good at everything

 

[colnerov]

brightspark said: ↑
soz Sorry cant really say. the The member has not criticised my posts lately so its forgotten
Fixed that for you ^^

If we're being pedantic, it should be 'Sorry, I can't really say.'

 

[Maker]

Oh god, what have I started?

 

[Bill Edwards]

Pillar drills. I expect it's possible to buy new ones that are powerful but I'd say that every modern pillar drill I've used is considerably under powered and I don't like them.

I agree with that 100%. I was looking for a bigger drill and I checked out the drills at a tool retailer. I checked all the drills & even the most expensive sealey models at over £700 had play in the quill! I went and bought an old meddings, made in the 1970's and the quill was as tight as a drum.

Sounds about right for Sealey, a lot of their stuff seems to be available elsewhere for far less without a name. For a lot of the stuff it basically guarantees a low to medium quality.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

Oh god, what have I started?

Just the usual.......