Columbia Millers were manufactured during the 1940s and 1950s by Colombia Enterprises, Inc., of Grays Lake, Illinois. A range of three vertical machine, the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3, appeared to have been produced, all designed along similar lines with a swivelling head carrying a motor which drove to the spindle though a V belt.
The No. 1 miller, illustrated below, had the upper part of its head formed into a strongly-built belt guard to which was bolted a motor platform from where a standard foot-mounted 1/3 hp 1750 rpm motor drove via a 4-step pulley to a hardened and ground spindle (probably fitted with either a No. 2 Morse or B & S Taper) running in Timken taper-roller bearings.  The spindle speeds of 490,  978, 1750 and 3020 rpm were rather high, but suited the compact dimensions of the machine and the type of fine, complex work it was likely to be offered; yet, although the head could be inclined through 180 degrees, there were no feeds fitted to the quill, all depth settings having to be made by elevating the knee, an arrangement which would have caused endless frustration to the operator as he struggled to reposition jobs that could otherwise have been done on one setting.
The spindle accepted Brown & Sharpe No. 00 collets (with a maximum capacity of 0.5" ) which were tightened and released by a spring-loaded mechanism controlled by a handle engaging on a shaft which protruded from between the two swivel clamp screws in the middle of the lower section of the head.
The 4" x 15" table carried two T slots and had a longitudinal travel of 9", a cross travel of 43/8" and a vertical travel of 8".  If the maker's figures are to be believed, their No.1 miller at 365 lbs and 68 inches in height, was a more massive and taller machine than their No. 2.