Rant: My old drill press finally gave up on me Tuesday

Been using the same Craftsman drill press since 1998. Pulled it out to drill some 1/2 inch holes in steel plate and the belt just snapped. No warning, no smoke, just dead. Had to finish the job by hand with a cordless drill and it took me 3 hours longer. Anyone else holding onto ancient tools that are about to bite the dust?

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3 Comments

hugo_jones5mo ago

Lol my 1995 drill press is held together with duct tape and hopes.

1

aliceg614mo ago

That old 1995 press is basically part of the family now, right? I've got a little benchtop drill press from 1989 I picked up at a garage sale for twenty bucks. It's got a wobble in the chuck and the belt slips if you push too hard, but I've learned exactly where to stand and how to lean on the handle to make it cut straight. Duct tape and hopes is basically the official warranty for anything that old and useful. There's a weird comfort in knowing every single noise and quirk it makes, like an old friend with a limp.

7

gibson.mark5mo ago

Old tools like that have a different kind of soul to them. That duct tape probably means you've fixed it a dozen times and know every quirk by heart. A new press would feel like a rental compared to that. Isn't there something satisfying about keeping a tool running long past its prime?

4