That Craftsman table top drill press doesn't look anything like my Craftsman drill press. LOL! :laugh:
Years ago I broke a trailer spindle in a remote northern community of Ontario. Local parts store didn't have one so the parts store owner wrote some directions down and said go to this guys house, go around back to the shop and knock on the door and they guy there can help you. I follow the directions to small/old little house and go around back to find a huge new looking tin shop. Knock on the door and an older fella answered looking grumpy/annoyed(I was a 19yr old treeplanter with a mullet, full bush beard in my planting clothes, probably looked like a hippy), I'm guessing he thought I was lost or something. I showed him the broken spindle I said that the local parts guy said he might have one. His mood suddenly changed, he smiled and said, "No but I can make one!" With that ho opened the door wide and I saw a fully decked out machine shop. Within 30 minutes I was walking out with a new spindle. I asked how much and he said same price as the parts store, $30. I was pretty impressed.
During my apprenticeship I got the opportunity to use a lathe and mill at school and at my first job we had and lathe an mill so I got a bit of practice on them but unfortunately we didn't have any machinists to teach me. I could make some simple replacement pins for things in our fleet but it was a slow process with some chattering here and there..... I'd love to get a simple metal lathe and mill for my home shop one day.
