Meddings Drill.

[Sandyn]

If anyone is interested, Just came across this. Price is a bit steep, but it it's in good condition, gears and quill and single phase, it would last for years.

 

[Echo-Star]

That's a lot of machine for the money, I was thinking of going for it myself, rather big I thought though

 

[JoshD]

I've got the bench mounted version of that; it's great, but incredibly heavy.

 

[Sandyn]

That's a lot of machine for the money, I was thinking of going for it myself, rather big I thought though

I have an identical machine and It really is a very well built drill. Solid as a rock and built to last. If you have height above the drill, you can poke the vertical shaft out the top and bench mount it. The table is really substantial. I love the belt release mechanism, makes changing speed so easy. There appears to be a lever missing from the gear change and a knob missing from the belt release. It is big, but if could squeeze it in you would never regret it! At that price, it would have to be a really good one. It comes to bits for transport. I got my one in the back of a Honda CRV with no problem.

 

[Echo-Star]

Thanks Sandy, Josh

I was thinking of an offer £350 I don't have 3ph though

 

[JoshD]

I don't have 3ph though

Nor do I. I use Vfd, cost ~£100 on eBay. Had to change wiring star to delta, I'd not done that sort of thing before but was not hard.

 

[Sandyn]

I checked . It's 3 phase, so that will add to the cost. I paid £120 for an identical drill about a year ago. That was a very good price, but £450 seems way too much. Converting to three phase will be about £130 for good VFD, less than £100 for a far east one. If the gears (2) are worn, I think it's over £150 to get replacements, can't remember exactly I rarely use the low gear having the VFD.

 

[Sandyn]

Nor do I. I use Vfd, cost ~£100 on eBay. Had to change wiring star to delta, I'd not done that sort of thing before but was not hard

If it's the same motor as mine, it was very easy. It is configured by jumpers. The unit on sale has been rewired. They have taken the original switch out.

 

[deema]

I have found from my own experience that Meddings MF4 drills tend to sell for closer to the £1K mark in the condition that one is in. The table looks to be free of Billy do holes from careless use which makes it very rare! The lever handle to change between low and high ratio gears is missing, but thats just a bit of steel rod with a thread in either end. There is one knob off the hand wheel missing and it looks to have a depth stop cut off mounted in the side.
The foot actuated emergency brake is a nice thing to have.
Dropping the head to a lower level isn’t really easy. The wiring for the emergencyfoot switch runs through the column making it a rewire job.
The motor drive pulley is imperial, there is no meat on the aluminium casting to drill it out to a standard metric motor diameter. You are therefore kept with either replacing the motor to make it single phase. A pin imperial motor is expensiv, but if you have a lathe, turning down a Metric shaft is a simple operation. To go this route you also have to change the contactor and current overload relay hiding inside the drill.
the other option is to wire the motor directly to a VFD or get yourself a Phase Converter (you can run any 3 phase kit them without worrying)

The only part I’ve found to be potentially worn is the cog that moves the quilt up and down. This is especially true for exschool machines.
one of the best drill out there IMO.......but I’m biased as I have one as my main drill.

 

[Sandyn]

You don't see them for sale often, especially up here in Scotland. Seems I got a real bargain at £120 I love my one even more now!!