Antique RSB Drill - Help

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dsel74

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2 Mar 2014
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Location
Australia
Hi guys,

I have what I believe is a Uk made old belt driven bench top drill press I am trying to restore. I'm having a real hard time finding any info on the drill or the manufacturer RSB. Hoping someone here may here some knowledge in the matter.


As a new user it wont let me add images or links. If you google

"Anyone heard of RSB??" over on the Australian site woodworkforums you should find my thread there with lots of photos.





The most informative source was here, relating to the RSB lathe


RSB Lathe
Looking similar to the well-known "Relm" lathes, the RSB might have been made by Breeds, in Leeds, a company with a connection to Relm and whose lathes were sometimes branded "Atlas". The only known surviving example, the machine shown below, is of 3-inch centre height and 12 inches between centres and would have been made during the first decade of the 20th century for the amateur market. The bed, very lightly constructed with thin walls, was of typically English style with a flat top, V-edged ways and provided with a decent gap.
Cast as-one with bed, the headstock lacked a speed-reducing backgear - though the 3-step pulley was of both an unusually generous diameter and width - so helping to give the flat belt an improved grip. Where simple and cheap split headstock bearings might have been expected (and cracked castings as a result of enthusiastic over-tightening), the RSB had a proper 2-bolt cap type that survived the decades unmolested.
Screwcutting was by changewheels mounted on a L-shaped bracket and through a very fine-pitch leadscrew fitted with a large balanced handwheel at its tailstock end, a dog-clutch by headstock and a full nut bolted to the underside of the saddle - there being no necessity for a conventional apron. The full nut appears to have been split and fitted with an adjustment bolt at its lower end - an unusual specification on a lathe of this class.
A single swivelling tool-slide was provided, carried in a traverse T slot in the saddle - with two more slots provided running longitudinally down the right-hand saddle wings - and so providing the facility of a handy boring table. Judging from the thickness of the saddle and top-slide castings, it's likely that sufficient room was available to fit a proper compound slide rest, something that the maker may well have offered at extra cost.
If any reader has an RSB lathe the writer would be interested to hear from you.


Ironically Tony finishes his webpage requesting any info readers maybe able to share…….Well he hasn't responded to my email with photos and info of my drill and asking if he has learned any more since he posted the page..



So Guys anyone got any clues????

Thanks.
 
Is this bench drill the style that is driven by a stationary engine? As in it does not have it's own power source, ie; motor?

I believe the RSB stands for Relm, Smart & Brown.
 
Yes it is a belt driven, line shaft drill. There are two types often referred to as a camel back drill, Y shaped with a shaft holding the stepped cone pulley horizontal across the top of the Y, and the other style which mine is. L shaped (Upside down) or F shaped depending if it has one or two arms. The pulleys sit vertical on the top of the spindle and have a mule or guide wheel on the 90 deg bend at the back of the drill, the second set of cone pulleys at the base on the bottom.

Kind of similar to the Junior, and burke 10" sensitive drills in design. Those how ever are about 27" in O/A height where mine is 36"

It be easier if I could post pictures.
 
I should add that some later production versions of similar drill did have the option to come with a motor fitted to the lower stepped pulleys but were still flat belt driven.

There is some form of mount point at the base of my drill the assumption is that is where the cone pulley bracket mounted (similar to a stepped cone headstock).
 
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Lower mount at rear
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I think there should have been a clock spring in here
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Mule Pulley arm should attache to the drill here
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RSB logo
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It must be a problem at my end, images won't load on the blog either. I'll try and sort out my Chrome settings and see if that helps.
 
I believe the images that dsel is trying to post are links hosted on the Aus woodworking forum which requires log in to view, so not your end MMUK. I also have the same issues.

some pics i can see...

IMG_4892.jpg


IMG_4890a.jpg


IMG_4889a.jpg
 
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