I saw this drill press at my local swap meet 3 weeks ago and thought by now it would be gone.  It was priced lower than some of the new plastic imported drill presses that they sell today and not one hole drilled into the upper or lower table from a careless user! I knew if I didn’t get it I’d kick myself later on down the road.

Its a well taken care of 1945 Craftsman made by Atlas in Kalamazoo MI. You also see the brand Dunlap on the motor. According to the history found on the Vintage Machinery website, Dunlap was a Sears brand used on their lesser-grade machines, however, some of the older Dunlap machines were really good quality. The Dunlap brand was first used in 1941. The name came from Tom Dunlap who was the head buyer of the hardware department at Sears at the time. Atlas was just one of many companies that manufactured for Sears. If you find a vintage Craftsman machine with the model number starting with 101, you know it was made by Atlas.

The Atlas company still exists in Kalamazoo under the name Clausing Industrial. Looks like they are coming out with a new drill press completely made in the U.S.A.