In late 1946, the first production model of the Burgmaster turret drill was sold to Beckman Instruments, a manufacturer of precision scientific instruments then based in Pasadena. At first, a week rarely went by without a trip to Pasadena to fix the machine.
My dad died almost a year ago and left me his dad's wood planer that dates back to the 1890s. It was in bad shape but I wanted it to be restored. I bought some minimal equipment to do the job myself and I left in all of the wear it went through. It turned out wonderfully and gave an appreciation for finding old and cool tools and fixing them up. I second what you said: buy old cool and used tools.
With used and old tools those might be worn down, but now you know where the issues are so when restoring them, you now know what parts need sturdier parts that designer though to be good enough. Reinforced those last way longer, with exception of replacing too sturdy part like mechanical fuse bolt in snow blower and wrecking something else due that. Alternatively you might just have really worn down part like in my old snowblowers 5mm wall 60mm OD shaft pipe was weaker than 10mm fuse bolt XD (vibrations creating cracks over decades of use that finally gave in when hit a rock.
I think the coolest thing about your shop and old tools is that you use them. It's one thing to see this stuff in a museum but to see it working at its intended purpose is much more interesting. Also your shop gets to look like something out of the Fallout world.
Yes, it's cool. For me the coolest part is that it will encourage you to do more mass production, because you can set up multiple sequential operations for many workpieces and do them one after the other without having to stop and change bits. Now all you need is a suitably cool floating vise to use with it.
Every time I watch one of your videos, I think that among the youtubers I watch, you are the one I would most want to just sit down and have a conversation with. That probably stems from the fact that it doesn't feel like your putting on a show or rehersing lines that you thought up earlier. That and you just seem like a decent guy. So thanks for being cool. Keep up the good work!
By far, the most bad-ass drill press I've ever seen. It's awesome that you recognize the "cool factor" in these old machines, but even more-so that you will actually use them as intended. I love your passion for your craft. Keep up the great work, and I'll continue to follow your endeavors.
Personal questions: Feel free to ignore. You spend A LOT of time finding, getting, cleaning, fixing tools. You're good at it!! How much time does that leave you to heat-beat-repeat in say a week? Do yo ever restore/repair/sell any of these dream machines?
Nice purchase. Burmaster was in Los Angeles and eventually went under. The turret indexing function employs the Burgmaster trademark application of the Genova wheel, arguably the coolest mechanical function ever! Our shop owned several versions and sizes. Your manual machine is the simplest design that I have experience with. We also had a couple much larger automatic machines. We also purchased some of the very last CNC Burmaster mills that they made around 1984. These mills had about the coolest mechanical automatic tool changer (ATC) design. The tool magazine indexing function was a neat twist on the Genova wheel, but it was boring and not very cool. We replaced some vintage flood damaged manual machines with machines sourced from the orient in 1993 or 1994. Our shop junked the flood destroyed CNC machines from the 1993 flood in favor of multi-pallet and more advanced technology Mazak CNC mills. We kept some of the manual drill presses, but CNC quickly made them obsolete. We did still have one of the automatic drill presses running full capacity when I retired in 2017. Repairing these old machines is a parts sourcing challenge. I used to have the only USA parts source information. He was an old Burgmaster employee that bought up all the surviving parts inventory. He inventoried all of this at his home. He was a very old man a decade ago and only sold via phone communication. He had no sophistication to accept purchase orders or send or maintain invoicing. Credit card purchasing was also not an option. I toured their plant when we bought the 2 CNC mills. I spent a week there when I was a novice CNC maintenance technician getting machine specific training. The production plant was already almost an empty shell. Houdaille made a brief stab at resurrecting the brand, but technology advances had already out stripped this very cool machine and company. Your machine is old enough that it doesn't have any turret indexing guards. I pass on these machines, because my hobby demands don't justify the production efficiency advantages that used to make this machine highly valued. In my experience, they are obsolete rather than rare... But still very cool.
I have the fortune to go to a university that owns either this model or a similar one, and was able to use it for a project. It is really useful to be able to change between different drills or taps, especially when you have many students that may or may not know what they are doing. Eliminates some error for projects by not having to change out tools and is just generally a really cool drill press.
Wait... do you have the fortune to attend that university in that you're wicked rich, or do you have the good fortune in that you're lucky? There's a distinction and your wording is ambiguous
It's a Super Outrageous Cool Will. I took Machine shop in HS because I was in the Mechanical Design Program (I was going to be an Architect). But, when I graduated (1972) I had a job lined up for the next year at a big Architectural Firm in NYC, as a junior draftsperson. All my Drafting tools were made by the company K&E (KEUFFEL & ESSER). I had worked as a runner in my 2nd summer in HS. In my HS school, I had we had 9 periods at 45 minutes each. I had Mechanical Design classes in the last 3 years of HS. We had the same classes every day at the same time, and I had 4 periods of Mechanical Drafting two periods in the morning and lunch then two more after lunch. I had to get the 17th Edition of the Machinist handbook. it was this 4.6 X 7-inch x 3 1/2" thick book with tabs & gold leaf gilded edges & the 2300 pages were made from some strong & super thin pages like Onion paper. kids these day's get away with less class time. In my first year in HS, the NYC public school teachers went on strike after we went to school for just 3 weeks. then was out for a month. when we went back they added 10 minutes to each period. So class periods were now 55 minutes each. So our 45 minutes period classes are 6.75 hours/day but at 55 minutes per period, our classes were now 8.25 hours/day for the rest of the year. We had a very tough principal. Anyway still love your videos.
'Jimmy' (of 'Harpua') hitched a ride from Vegas to SLC, Utah in '98, and the guy put in the best rock album ever, for the trip. The result was Jam-Band History!
You are surrounded by very cool stuff all over the shop--WHY-- Simply because you are a cool man as well. Everything matches perfectly around you. Keep up my friend.
I would have happily driven 14 hours for a turret drill press like that. Weight = stability and precision. I have a 1960 10x36 engine lathe that I love. Someone gave me a rock solid drill press that I also love. And I have a knee mill that a friend gave me until I could scrape up the money to pay him. He upgraded to a used Bridgeport and didn’t want to see original mill sit around and get rusty. Cool and useful and I’d love one if I had room.
Yep, that is definitely a cool drill press. Also I completely agree with you about the restoration of old tools like that. It's 75 years old and still working. It has earned its patina. All the scratches, marks and dings in the paint tell the story of what it's been through. "I've done a lot in my lifetime and im still drillin"
You remind me so much of a guy I knew in Maine with all manner of big machines all running off a belt drive he'd designed and installed.. All pre-computer and he possessed an awesome range of skills. Happy Trails! I enjoy watching you work. Thanks.
What a time saver, instead of drilling a pilot hole on 10 different parts then coming back and drilling larger holes then coming back to tap all of them you can finish each hole before moving on to the next one
The option to have so many bits in at once is awesome. Pilot hole, enlarge the hole, tap the hole, chamfer the hole. All without changing the bit! Why aren't these more common?
Good find Will. First thing I am look at in old machines are the table or the bed. Tool marks left by the operator, what tells me how well the machine was taken care of. 🤔👍
Very nice! Just having the ability to quickly switch from the drill to a countersink bit so you can knock off the burr is more wonderful than most people understand. I would love to have a beauty like that. I was almost waiting to see another transport failure that you've become famous for. Maybe there was one and that's why the strapping and traveling was clipped out of the vid??? 🤣 Either way, I'm really happy for you. Yeah, you got a very cool tool. Stuff like that doesn't come up around these parts, so I'm glad to see they're still out there and appreciated.
That is a fantastic machine. Would like to see a video on run out on that machine. I have a feeling you’ll be addressing it anyway given that you will probably be doing some projects with tight tolerances. Great addition to the shop Wil 👍👊.
Tools to make more tools is very cool. (My coolest tool is a 56 inch crosscut saw that belonged to my grandfather who passed away in 1965 and was already old then)
You can read the history of Burgmaster, beginning to end, in the book “When the Machine Stopped” by Max Holland. It’s a fascinating account of the Burg family and the destruction of their company by one of the earliest conglomerates, Houdaille Industries.
This press is beyond cool. Not only super functional, but with perfect patina. For a Vice take a look at a float-lock Vice. Mr Pete and Blondihacks have both done videos on making one yourself. Might have to make one with Damascas jaws 😊
Friend of mine has one of these and it has an electro magnetic work holding plate that u can float holes in then when you let go of the handles the magnet switches and locks down the table wherever you are makes it even more versatile love bergmasters
I was once offered (by a local canon-maker) a very large belt-driven lathe. It probably weighed in at a couple of tonnes. The bed was about 18ft long, and I don't recall what the swing was, but, it was large. I had to decline. I had nowhere to put it, and it would have been too much of a project. Cool though. I'll give it that.
You should put together a wishlist for more cool tools you're looking for. There are a lot of old machine shops out there but more and more seem to close down all the time. It would be great to help something stay out of the scrap yards and get rescued by someone that appreciates that old tool kind of cool.
Nice, I used to use a Herbert multidrill back in the day that had 10 heads all with independent speed and powerfeed control and a very clever mechanism for limit stops. Great bits of kit and with the right type of jig can be very efficient at drilling and tapping jobs.
I'll give you that you have a collective amounts of very cool tools the old factor is amazing I would love to come to your shop just to use some of those tools great job on getting and preserving history....
Definitely very COOL... I love old tools, yes some modern tools may 'do it' better but they just don't have that 'cool' factor.... I'm a believer in the old saying 'they just don't make them like that anymore;......
The six spindles on one machine are pretty farking cool! I don't think I've ever seen that before. Glad to see it didn't go over on it's side when you moved it into the shop.
Get some simple green and hit the dirty painted surfaces, It will look brand new right away. Just make sure you concentrate it a bit so it doesn't remove the paint.
I get anxious every time you move heavy machinery after the power hammer incident that shattered us. That said, I breathe a sigh of relief when everything arrives safely
Use code WILLSTELTER50 to get 50% OFF your first Factor box at bit.ly/3JmwQbS
Nice to see you bring a tool home without dropping it.
Too soon...
Too soon.... hahaha
Sometimes it takes destroying a few power hammers before you figure out how.
Oh no he went there.
really dude?
Not gonna lie. That drill press is stone-cold cool.
“It’s just my opinion (it’s correct) but it’s just my opinion” you are wise beyond your years Will.
In late 1946, the first production model of the Burgmaster turret drill was sold to Beckman Instruments, a manufacturer of precision scientific instruments then based in Pasadena. At first, a week rarely went by without a trip to Pasadena to fix the machine.
My dad died almost a year ago and left me his dad's wood planer that dates back to the 1890s. It was in bad shape but I wanted it to be restored. I bought some minimal equipment to do the job myself and I left in all of the wear it went through. It turned out wonderfully and gave an appreciation for finding old and cool tools and fixing them up. I second what you said: buy old cool and used tools.
What a beautiful tribute 💜
With used and old tools those might be worn down, but now you know where the issues are so when restoring them, you now know what parts need sturdier parts that designer though to be good enough. Reinforced those last way longer, with exception of replacing too sturdy part like mechanical fuse bolt in snow blower and wrecking something else due that. Alternatively you might just have really worn down part like in my old snowblowers 5mm wall 60mm OD shaft pipe was weaker than 10mm fuse bolt XD (vibrations creating cracks over decades of use that finally gave in when hit a rock.
Will is a very unique breed of collector. I am glad that the tools he owns are actually used.
Thats definitly the coolest drillpress ive ever seen
I think the coolest thing about your shop and old tools is that you use them. It's one thing to see this stuff in a museum but to see it working at its intended purpose is much more interesting. Also your shop gets to look like something out of the Fallout world.
Yes, it's cool. For me the coolest part is that it will encourage you to do more mass production, because you can set up multiple sequential operations for many workpieces and do them one after the other without having to stop and change bits.
Now all you need is a suitably cool floating vise to use with it.
Every time I watch one of your videos, I think that among the youtubers I watch, you are the one I would most want to just sit down and have a conversation with. That probably stems from the fact that it doesn't feel like your putting on a show or rehersing lines that you thought up earlier. That and you just seem like a decent guy. So thanks for being cool. Keep up the good work!
By far, the most bad-ass drill press I've ever seen. It's awesome that you recognize the "cool factor" in these old machines, but even more-so that you will actually use them as intended. I love your passion for your craft. Keep up the great work, and I'll continue to follow your endeavors.
Personal questions: Feel free to ignore.
You spend A LOT of time finding, getting, cleaning, fixing tools. You're good at it!! How much time does that leave you to heat-beat-repeat in say a week?
Do yo ever restore/repair/sell any of these dream machines?
Nice purchase. Burmaster was in Los Angeles and eventually went under. The turret indexing function employs the Burgmaster trademark application of the Genova wheel, arguably the coolest mechanical function ever! Our shop owned several versions and sizes. Your manual machine is the simplest design that I have experience with. We also had a couple much larger automatic machines. We also purchased some of the very last CNC Burmaster mills that they made around 1984. These mills had about the coolest mechanical automatic tool changer (ATC) design. The tool magazine indexing function was a neat twist on the Genova wheel, but it was boring and not very cool.
We replaced some vintage flood damaged manual machines with machines sourced from the orient in 1993 or 1994. Our shop junked the flood destroyed CNC machines from the 1993 flood in favor of multi-pallet and more advanced technology Mazak CNC mills. We kept some of the manual drill presses, but CNC quickly made them obsolete. We did still have one of the automatic drill presses running full capacity when I retired in 2017. Repairing these old machines is a parts sourcing challenge. I used to have the only USA parts source information. He was an old Burgmaster employee that bought up all the surviving parts inventory. He inventoried all of this at his home. He was a very old man a decade ago and only sold via phone communication. He had no sophistication to accept purchase orders or send or maintain invoicing. Credit card purchasing was also not an option.
I toured their plant when we bought the 2 CNC mills. I spent a week there when I was a novice CNC maintenance technician getting machine specific training. The production plant was already almost an empty shell. Houdaille made a brief stab at resurrecting the brand, but technology advances had already out stripped this very cool machine and company. Your machine is old enough that it doesn't have any turret indexing guards. I pass on these machines, because my hobby demands don't justify the production efficiency advantages that used to make this machine highly valued. In my experience, they are obsolete rather than rare... But still very cool.
I’m trying to find a clock spring to fit a IC model Burgmaster drill, any idea where to look?
I have the fortune to go to a university that owns either this model or a similar one, and was able to use it for a project. It is really useful to be able to change between different drills or taps, especially when you have many students that may or may not know what they are doing. Eliminates some error for projects by not having to change out tools and is just generally a really cool drill press.
Wait... do you have the fortune to attend that university in that you're wicked rich, or do you have the good fortune in that you're lucky? There's a distinction and your wording is ambiguous
That's the coolest drill press I have ever seen! I didn't know such a beast existed.
Another fireball tools adventure for a fixture table/vise configuration? Awesome shop!
It's a Super Outrageous Cool Will. I took Machine shop in HS because I was in the Mechanical Design Program (I was going to be an Architect). But, when I graduated (1972) I had a job lined up for the next year at a big Architectural Firm in NYC, as a junior draftsperson. All my Drafting tools were made by the company K&E (KEUFFEL & ESSER). I had worked as a runner in my 2nd summer in HS. In my HS school, I had we had 9 periods at 45 minutes each. I had Mechanical Design classes in the last 3 years of HS. We had the same classes every day at the same time, and I had 4 periods of Mechanical Drafting two periods in the morning and lunch then two more after lunch. I had to get the 17th Edition of the Machinist handbook. it was this 4.6 X 7-inch x 3 1/2" thick book with tabs & gold leaf gilded edges & the 2300 pages were made from some strong & super thin pages like Onion paper. kids these day's get away with less class time. In my first year in HS, the NYC public school teachers went on strike after we went to school for just 3 weeks. then was out for a month. when we went back they added 10 minutes to each period. So class periods were now 55 minutes each. So our 45 minutes period classes are 6.75 hours/day but at 55 minutes per period, our classes were now 8.25 hours/day for the rest of the year. We had a very tough principal. Anyway still love your videos.
'Jimmy' (of 'Harpua') hitched a ride from Vegas to SLC, Utah in '98, and the guy put in the best rock album ever, for the trip. The result was Jam-Band History!
You are surrounded by very cool stuff all over the shop--WHY-- Simply because you are a cool man as well. Everything matches perfectly around you. Keep up my friend.
I would have happily driven 14 hours for a turret drill press like that. Weight = stability and precision. I have a 1960 10x36 engine lathe that I love. Someone gave me a rock solid drill press that I also love. And I have a knee mill that a friend gave me until I could scrape up the money to pay him. He upgraded to a used Bridgeport and didn’t want to see original mill sit around and get rusty. Cool and useful and I’d love one if I had room.
Yep, that is definitely a cool drill press. Also I completely agree with you about the restoration of old tools like that. It's 75 years old and still working. It has earned its patina. All the scratches, marks and dings in the paint tell the story of what it's been through.
"I've done a lot in my lifetime and im still drillin"
Not only is the drill press cool, it is magnificent.
Being somewhat old and heavy myself , I agree old things are cool
That is, by far, the coolest drill press I've ever seen.
Love the justification on getting big ass machines because "I need them to fix my other machines "
You remind me so much of a guy I knew in Maine with all manner of big machines all running off a belt drive he'd designed and installed.. All pre-computer and he possessed an awesome range of skills. Happy Trails! I enjoy watching you work. Thanks.
You definitely have an eye for stylish badass vintage tools. The art deco lathe is my #1 favorite!
Looking forward to the complete restoration that you won’t be able to resist.
What a time saver, instead of drilling a pilot hole on 10 different parts then coming back and drilling larger holes then coming back to tap all of them you can finish each hole before moving on to the next one
"spin at the same time"
That sounds awesome. Terrifying yes, but also awesome.
The option to have so many bits in at once is awesome. Pilot hole, enlarge the hole, tap the hole, chamfer the hole. All without changing the bit! Why aren't these more common?
Good find Will. First thing I am look at in old machines are the table or the bed. Tool marks left by the operator, what tells me how well the machine was taken care of. 🤔👍
I love old tools like that and I 💯 agree with you on old tools like that
Very nice! Just having the ability to quickly switch from the drill to a countersink bit so you can knock off the burr is more wonderful than most people understand. I would love to have a beauty like that. I was almost waiting to see another transport failure that you've become famous for. Maybe there was one and that's why the strapping and traveling was clipped out of the vid??? 🤣
Either way, I'm really happy for you. Yeah, you got a very cool tool. Stuff like that doesn't come up around these parts, so I'm glad to see they're still out there and appreciated.
Will Stelter on the Theory of Cool: a work in progress, but the first laws have been postulated! And I saw it happening 😊
That painting tools monologue made me think of Alec Steeles power hammer for some reason.
This is such a cool tool. I'm floored by the logo on the turret, looks like it could have been made last year.
Pretty slick hoss. Looking forward to seeing what you do with this beastie.
Will,
Just admit it; you’re a gearhead!
Keep the aspidistra flying!
God bless,
Paul
I heard "early birdmaster" and that prompted so many questions. Glad I figured it out!
That is a fantastic machine. Would like to see a video on run out on that machine. I have a feeling you’ll be addressing it anyway given that you will probably be doing some projects with tight tolerances. Great addition to the shop Wil 👍👊.
Tools to make more tools is very cool. (My coolest tool is a 56 inch crosscut saw that belonged to my grandfather who passed away in 1965 and was already old then)
I didn't even know a drill like this existed. Sooo freakin cool
You can read the history of Burgmaster, beginning to end, in the book “When the Machine Stopped” by Max Holland. It’s a fascinating account of the Burg family and the destruction of their company by one of the earliest conglomerates, Houdaille Industries.
That is a cool tool. I strive to one day have a collection of cool tools as grand as yours
Will, you make all those tools cool!
That drill press verifiably IS cool. I honestly had no idea drill presses were that complex.
U really hit the COOL again!!
I hate the comment about not dropping it this time, I werpt bitterly for your..
This press is beyond cool. Not only super functional, but with perfect patina. For a Vice take a look at a float-lock Vice. Mr Pete and Blondihacks have both done videos on making one yourself. Might have to make one with Damascas jaws 😊
Friend of mine has one of these and it has an electro magnetic work holding plate that u can float holes in then when you let go of the handles the magnet switches and locks down the table wherever you are makes it even more versatile love bergmasters
I agree. It is pretty cool.
I was once offered (by a local canon-maker) a very large belt-driven lathe. It probably weighed in at a couple of tonnes. The bed was about 18ft long, and I don't recall what the swing was, but, it was large. I had to decline. I had nowhere to put it, and it would have been too much of a project. Cool though. I'll give it that.
So what I got out of this video is that you have a cool workshop.
Thumbs up for Dutch Bros Coffee!! I miss it soo much 😢
The Burgmaster Drill Press is very cool.
LoL - I love it when Will gets threateny. For the record, I dig it and I was happy the gold paint was a joke...
Old school Cool
It's cool because it's freakin AWESOME!
You should put together a wishlist for more cool tools you're looking for. There are a lot of old machine shops out there but more and more seem to close down all the time. It would be great to help something stay out of the scrap yards and get rescued by someone that appreciates that old tool kind of cool.
That's a bona fide cool tool.
Will, FYI at this writing, 02/12/23 0132hrs, Grizzly Forge is completely sold out of inventory and are NOT accepting custom orders.
Another restoration project underway. Hopefully it has no accidents in the future.
Ran a Burgmaster in the early 2000s at a production machine shop. Great machine and fun to run.
Kelly Vermeer-Vella has a smaller version of this type of drill press in her shop. Very cool tool!
Dude, cool tool. Bonus, Tapmatic threading head.
Nice, I used to use a Herbert multidrill back in the day that had 10 heads all with independent speed and powerfeed control and a very clever mechanism for limit stops.
Great bits of kit and with the right type of jig can be very efficient at drilling and tapping jobs.
I'll give you that you have a collective amounts of very cool tools the old factor is amazing I would love to come to your shop just to use some of those tools great job on getting and preserving history....
The wobble on that tap made me wince... lol
Looks like a solid piece of kit though!
Way cool tool. I never knew such a thing existed.
That is one badass drill press.
Another cool tool (and it's one I've always wanted) is a 5 axis CNC lathe, WOW what can be made on those things blows my mind!
"Mo' betta" 😂 I'm tempted to go back and count how many times you said "cool" in this video
That's definitely a cool tool. Great score
I totally love your assessment criteria for tool coolness especially if it’s old, functional and HEAVY haha!
That thing is awesome! Didn’t know something like that existed!
can confirm, this is a cool tool
Just the fact I didn't know a tool like this makes it cool
Definitely very COOL... I love old tools, yes some modern tools may 'do it' better but they just don't have that 'cool' factor.... I'm a believer in the old saying 'they just don't make them like that anymore;......
That's an awesome machine! Thank you for sharing.
The six spindles on one machine are pretty farking cool! I don't think I've ever seen that before. Glad to see it didn't go over on it's side when you moved it into the shop.
Get some simple green and hit the dirty painted surfaces, It will look brand new right away. Just make sure you concentrate it a bit so it doesn't remove the paint.
The music in the car remembered me that your videos have been "silent" lately. I hope your future videos get back to featuring well timed songs
That isn't cool! IT IS ABSOLUTELY FREAKING AWESOME!!! 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰
that thing is sick
1:39 Why did I expect the camera to pan to Isaiah with a melodica?
That has to be the coolest drill press, tap machine I've ever seen.
That's a wicked cool tool, for sure!
I won’t say it because I think it is cool but because you said not to say it I really want to say it.
great video thanks!
Boy that’s neat. You can tell because of the way that it is.
That's a cool tool and to me it's cool because I live in Salt Lake City and I got to learn about a local business.
Never seen one of those, super cool!
This thing definitely is cool!
VERY COOL MACHINE
He really should have strapped the power hammer down. Safety first was the first lesson I was given in shop class.
Would look nice in a neon pink with some copper and golden accents.
I get anxious every time you move heavy machinery after the power hammer incident that shattered us. That said, I breathe a sigh of relief when everything arrives safely
Will your tools are cool and so are you😎
Should i be asleep? Yes. Will i watch this first? Yes.
Same
It’s way cool Will, I’m glad you found that great drill press. I guess the early Berg gets the worm.