Learning this new drill press

bradleyheathhays

New User
bradleyheathhays
I got my first full size (used) drill press today and I'm giving it the once over to see how well it works and what if anything needs replacing. So far the only thing I've found is the middle transfer pulley wobbles a fair amount when it's running. When off you can move it with moderate force. The manual calls the knobs on the side of the machine that appear to adjust it the belt tension lever and the belt tension lock knob. The middle pulley is mounted on a piece of steel bar that looks like it would pivot; and from the outward appearance it would seem that the large silver lever adjusts the pivot of the pulley and the smaller black one below it locks it in place. But after working the silver handle into all it's positions it doesn't seem to be affecting the middle pulley at all. Wonder what's going on here. Although the rest of the machine is in good shape I'm led to think something may be broken inside the body.

middle pulley.JPG
 

tvrgeek

Scott
Corporate Member
The middle pulley is an idler, it is free to move. Only the motor moves. You have no problem.

The first recommendation is to get new belts. Gates or Dayco AX series in the equivalent size. For some reason, the Chinese can't make a belt worth a damn. Even when new, they do not run smooth. Almost all drill presses violate the belt specifications with a sheave too small, so the AX series is a little better. Watch out for the numbering as they can't translate either of the standard dimensions correctly. Some belts ae measured by outside dimension, some by "running" circumference. The belt WEB sites will tell you all about that.
 

Michael Mathews

Michael
Corporate Member
Bradley, I've got nearly the same setup on my Drill Press. Here's what I can tell you about mine and my observations when looking at your photo.
Looking at your image below, the motor should slide in to loosen the belts so they can be easily changed to a different sheave (pulley) by sliding <red arrow>. But to slide it appears in your photo that you might need to loosen the bolt <green arrow> then turn the handle <yellow arrow>. There is a Rack on top of the motor sliding shaft and a Pinion on the handle <yellow arrow> to move it in. Mine doesn't move easily. I have to lift up on the motor weight to assist with the sliding in part. On mine, I have a handle that looks like your <blue arrow> to loosen the pinch bolt that keeps the motor from sliding back in on it's own. On your photo it appears yours might be the <green arrow>. Could be some parallax causing me to see wrong. Once you slide the motor in, the right belt will be loose and the middle pulley assembly should be able to move some to the left and right to make changing the left belt position easier. I hope this helps!

1618058064569.png
 

tvrgeek

Scott
Corporate Member
That bolt ( should be one on each side, is usually a knop. It locks the slides. So loosen both sides, move belts, use lever to snug, then lock both sides. Corect tension is when the belts don't flop. Again, get some decent belts.
 

Gotcha6

Dennis
Staff member
Corporate Member
I think someone has reversed the bolts on this assembly sometime in the past. It doesn't make sense to me that you would need a wrench to tighten the belts every time you change drill speeds (green arrow), which is quite often, and are able to use the "whatchamacallit bolt" (blue arrow) to loosen the drill to the column swivel, which is done infrequently. Probably because the "whatchamacallit bolts' are a real headache to get tight, adn may have been stripped out and re tapped to a larger size. I have the same setup on a Craftsman and I'm considering upgrading to a home made T-bolt to get some torque on it.
 

tvrgeek

Scott
Corporate Member
You don't need much torque. Delta from the factory. Maybe the toggle on the head pivot lock if you rotated the head a lot. Not common on a floor stander.
20210410_174103.jpg
 

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