Got another oldie. This one is a Champion No. 97 post drill. It looks a lot
like the red one on this page: http://www.beautifuliron.com/thepost.htm
but has a longer driveshaft with two flat belt pulleys on it. The table was
broken in half back where it bolts onto the support, but today Ernie did a
fantastic TIG weld on it using nickel rod, ran a tap through to chase out the
rust, and the original threads still work. An amazing weld. What an artist.

Anyway, there are a couple of things about this drill press (which is in
pieces) I don't understand. I don't get the bit about the 2 flat belt
pulleys. Here's a pic of a similar machine with one flat belt pulley, and
you can see the length on the driveshaft where another one goes.
http://www.owwm.com/PhotoIndex/Images/870-A.jpg

Also, the machine is missing the thrust bearing entirely, and it
doesn't look like the same setup as a No. 90, shown on this page:
http://home.att.net/~ilikerust/postdrill.html

Here's a tantalizing fragment:
http://www.roseantiquetools.com/site...res/HSB174.jpg

It mentions no. 97s and one says it has a tight and a loose pulley and something
about 250 rpm. Hoo boy this has my curiosity going bigtime! It says the tool
weighs 175 pounds which seems about right - lot of cast iron in this pup.

Can anyone shed any light?

Thanks,

Grant Erwin
Kirkland, Washington