# What to watch out for: never used drill press in basement storage 20yrs



## SteveEl (Sep 7, 2010)

Folks, I need some help with this one. A craigslist seller has a 20-yr old new-in-box benchtop Shopcraft drill press to sell. I haven't used a drill press since high school. When I size it up, I'll bring a flycutter and some scrap 2x10. 

Besides the obvious things you check on any power tool, what *drillpress* , parts/function should I check? Bear in mind the thing has been (supposedly) sitting in a finished basement in the Pennsylvania mountains for 20 years. Should I expect belt and pullies to be happy after all that time? Motor winding? 

Help! How can I tell if its a lemon? 

Thanks!

SteveEl
CentralPA basement slug


----------



## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Not me*

Personally I would not bring a fly cutter to start out. Maybe a 1" Forstner bit. Those thing are dangerous and if the workpiece is not securely fastened down and will throw it .....somewhere.
The belt may be dried out no big deal. It might slip. Hopefully he's turned it on before you get there to see if it "works"/
There shouldn't be any serious wear since it hasn't been used.
Might be a steal of a deal. :thumbsup: bill


----------



## Colt W. Knight (Nov 29, 2009)

Check to see if it has the Chuck Key, some drill presses don't have standard chuck keys, and it will forever be a pain in your ass changing drill bits without the proper chuck.


----------



## SteveEl (Sep 7, 2010)

Thanks Bill, and Thanks Carol. I'll be checking it out in a couple days. Hopefully I'll find the box unopened, and the unit sealed in plastic inside.

SteveEl


----------

