# Atlas 1020 Floor Drill Press



## coxhaus (Jul 18, 2011)

I just picked up yesterday an Atlas 1020 15" floor drill press. It does need some TLC but the spindle is true. I now have a project to keep busy. I need a spindle pulley, base, depth control knob, paint, and few other things. I think it will be a good drill press in the end for which I paid $80.

The drill press runs but the spindle pulley wobbles and is not the original pulley.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Lots of old tools like that are built better than many of the new ones. You might wind up about $200 into if you can find all those parts but I paid $500 for a Delta roughly the same size that probably isn't as good a machine.


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## Shop guy (Nov 22, 2012)

Nice find. As Charles said the parts will add pretty quick but you will have a good solid drill press when your done and the fun of having done it.


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

http://www.routerforums.com/show-n-tell/48777-ye-olde-vintage-atlas-drill-press.html

I love my "reconditioned" Atlas drill press. And it has about a 4 " quill travel too, with a quill lock that many now don't have. 

Herb


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## hawkeye10 (Jul 28, 2015)

I have been looking for an older drill press. A few months ago there were several on CL but of late there is none that I would have. I bet if I bought a new one there would be several for sale on CL the next day.


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## coxhaus (Jul 18, 2011)

Don that is the way of the world. I had been looking for a year and finally decided to bite the bullet and buy one. I think they all need work when buying an old tool. It went that way with my old Delta Rockwell table saw.

Herb I really like your refurbed drill press. I hope my drill press will look that good when I am finished. How long did it take you? I think I am going to get my drill press working well with different speeds before I think about painting it. The spindle pulleys seem to be a unique size of 15/16 inch shaft and are impossible to find. I will need to bore a 7/8 inch hole pulley to 15/16 or shim a 1 inch down to 15/16. I don't know which would be best. Probably last on my list is to build a nice woodworking table for my drill press. I like yours and may lean toward trying to build one like yours. Are you happy with your table?

Shopguy you just never know when you buy used what it will cost in the long run until you finish the restore job. This one is going to cost a little, probably more than what I paid for it to start.

I have been playing all day with my drill press taking things apart and looking the parts up.


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

coxhaus said:


> Don that is the way of the world. I had been looking for a year and finally decided to bite the bullet and buy one. I think they all need work when buying an old tool. It went that way with my old Delta Rockwell table saw.
> 
> Herb I really like your refurbed drill press. I hope my drill press will look that good when I am finished. How long did it take you? I think I am going to get my drill press working well with different speeds before I think about painting it. The spindle pulleys seem to be a unique size of 15/16 inch shaft and are impossible to find. I will need to bore a 7/8 inch hole pulley to 15/16 or shim a 1 inch down to 15/16. I don't know which would be best. Probably last on my list is to build a nice woodworking table for my drill press. I like yours and may lean toward trying to build one like yours. Are you happy with your table?
> 
> ...



Lee, it took about 3 days to clean it up. The only thing wrong with it was the belt housing screw in the front was worn so the housing was rubbing on the pulley. After I fixed that it was just cleaning it up, a lot of wire brushing on a drill motor and a abrasive wheel I got at Harbor Freight to clean off all the rust from the cast iron table and pipe column and the base. Then I just spray painted it from pressure cans. 

I did put a link belt on it. 
The wooden table just sets onto the cast iron one and has a couple of wooden clamps you can see the red thumb wheels under the front edge where the clamps hold the table onto the cast iron one . Pretty simple construction. 

You might be able to bush a 1" diam. hole pulley to work.

Herb


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## Web Shepherd (Feb 8, 2012)

Lee ~ I'm in the same boat with you. In my case, I am going to restore an old Craftsman (early 1950's) DP. I get my inspiration from the web site, vintagemachinery.org. I notice that they list your Atlas 1020.  Does this look like the one that you have? On second look, this appears to be a bench top version, not the floor model that you have. Good luck on your restoration.

Bob


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## coxhaus (Jul 18, 2011)

I think it is the same drill. The only difference is the longer pole and bigger base. In the picture the top part looks small but it is about 23 inches long and weighs about a 100 pounds of cast iron. My drill is not near that pretty.

You know Bob some of the early Craftsman drills were made by Atlas. Is yours one?

Here is a link to the only other Atlas 1020 I have seen which is not a bench top.
Restored & slowed down drill press - Pirate4x4.Com : 4x4 and Off-Road Forum


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## coxhaus (Jul 18, 2011)

I have an update.

I have not been able to find a stepped pulley for the spindle on the Atlas 1020 drill press. I have talked to the guys at my local machine shop. Did I tell you this is a real cool old machine shop which repaired trains in the old days. They have a lot of fun big toys. I think there is a lathe about 15 or 20 feet long when you walk in on the left. 
Any way they can bore out a pulley to the right size so I may do it. They need to weld a crack in the cast iron body so they could do it at the same time for very little additional cost.

I am not sure which pulley to buy. I found a Maska MAS63x7/8 6-5-4-3 In. OD 4-Step 7/8 In. Bore Cast Iron A Belt Step Pulley. Do you think this would be a good pulley to bore out? Is there a better pulley to buy? I want to use as big a front pulley as I can find to keep the RPM low. I have a 2 inch on the motor. I plan to use a link belt when I am finished. Does anybody make a 7 inch step pulley?


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## coxhaus (Jul 18, 2011)

I finally have my drill press together. It has taken I while as I was slowed down buy rain, painting. It is all rewired with a new switch. I have a coat of Rustoelum primer and 2 coats of light machine gray. I replaced the motor with an old GE 1/2hp 1180 RPM instead of the 1/3 hp 1750 rpm. Here are some pictures.

PS
I am having picture problems again. They look right on my machine.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

I know James our greeter knows how to rotate them but I don't. Anyway you've done a stellar job on the rebuild. It looks great. If you are drilling wood the extra speed is okay. If you are drilling metal then very slow is better. I have an old metal lathe that turns 25 rpm and it has a bit adapter that replaces the live center. You wouldn't believe the ribbons of steel that come off the drill bits at that speed. And because they are turning slow and cutting more metal they don't get as hot.


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

Great job that looks similar to mine only the knobs are steel. You will love it, I use mine a lot.

Those old machines are a dream to use.

Herb


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

coxhaus said:


> I have an update.
> 
> I have not been able to find a stepped pulley for the spindle on the Atlas 1020 drill press. I have talked to the guys at my local machine shop. Did I tell you this is a real cool old machine shop which repaired trains in the old days. They have a lot of fun big toys. I think there is a lathe about 15 or 20 feet long when you walk in on the left.
> Any way they can bore out a pulley to the right size so I may do it. They need to weld a crack in the cast iron body so they could do it at the same time for very little additional cost.
> ...


nice restoration...
found these...
Step Pulleys & Sheaves for Electric Motors - Electric Motor Warehouse
http://www.electricmotorsite.com/pc/pul_step_0750/MAS52x0750
*
Determining Pulley Speeds*

the calculations are based on a motor speed of 1725 rpm, with the motor pulley and the spindle pulley having equal step diameters but inverted placement (see drawing below). We will assume the 4-step pulleys have step diameters of 2", 3", 4", and 5". Follow these steps to find the approximate spindle speeds:

1. Divide the diameter of the driving (or motor) pulley step by the corresponding step size of the pulley mounted on the drill press spindle:
2 ÷ 5 = 0.4
3 ÷ 4 = 0.75
4 ÷ 3 = 1.33
5 ÷ 2 = 2.5

2. Then, multiply the motor speed by the results of the above calculation to get the approximate spindle speed at each pulley step:
1725 x 0.4 = 690 rpm
1725 x 0.75 = 1293.75 rpm
1725 x 1.33 = 2294.25 rpm
1725 x 2.5 = 4312.5 rpm

.









and an absolute wealth of information...

DURA-BELT URETHANE BELTS, conveyor belts, and urethane belting


nice restoration you got there.. KUDOS...


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## coxhaus (Jul 18, 2011)

Pulleys. I ended up buying the Maska cast iron pulley 6,5,4,3 and having it turned on a lathe to 15/16 inside diameter.

I bought an new old GE motor bigger 1/2 hp with a slower speed of 1180 rpm. Did I say I like the old GE motors. The shaft was bigger so I bought a cheap Congress brand 2.00", 2.62", 3.37", 4.00" die cast pulley to try.

Your formulas.
2 / 6 = .3333 x 1180 = 393 rpm
2.6 / 5 = .52 x 1180 = 613 rpm
3.37 / 4 = .8425 x 1180 = 994 rpm
4 / 3 = 1.333 x 1180 = 1,573 rpm 

I also bought a link belt which I have not installed yet.


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## coxhaus (Jul 18, 2011)

Hey James can you rotate my pictures?


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## boogalee (Nov 24, 2010)

http://www.routerforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=169938&stc=1&d=1449845866

http://www.routerforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=169946&stc=1&d=1449845866

http://www.routerforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=169954&stc=1&d=1449845866


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

Very nice setup and loving the table with the miter slots


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## coxhaus (Jul 18, 2011)

I still need to finish out the drill press table. I need to add the fence and a couple of things.
It's nice as the height is the same as my work bench so I can lay a board on the work bench to make it easy to drill in long boards. It turns out I can adjust the drill head to the table leaving the table the same height as my work bench.


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