Nova DVR Drill Press

[patlaw]

Take a look at your King Seely drill press again and consider installing a 3-phase motor plus a VFD rigged for 120 volt input. Being an electronics guy, you should have a comfort level with this.
A VFD rig will be a lot less expensive than a new Asian-made drill press. You've got pulleys that can be put on a low speed to keep the torque up for low speeds since electronically varying the speed way down on a 1750 rpm motor will result in a loss of power.

The VFD route has some qualifiers. You can't use a GFCI circuit because a VFD will run some current down the ground wire. The circuit you use MUST be grounded. This detail kept me from using a VFD in the basement of my old house although that's been fixed now.

On three drill presses I had, I installed DC motors and controls. That was nice. The worst down side is the very slight DC motor hum.

A Powermatic 1150 A was about $3000.00 twenty years ago. They later started putting VFDs on their presses like they did on their wood lathes. Finding a good USA-made drill press in good condition isn't as easy as it once was. There are fewer for sale and ,as you've noticed, the competition is rather stiff. Condition is also a factor because a good press will be at least 20 years old, and more likely 40-50 years old. That's a lot of exposure to potential abuse and misuse.

Yes, I'm comfortable with the electric portion. Which VFD would you buy? I'm not clear why the three-phase motor. Does the VFD simulate three phases? (I don't have three-phase power at home.) My panel in the garage is grounded. It was installed just for woodworking equipment. Better yet, where would I get a DC motor for the King Seely (Sears)? I'm an electronics guy, not a motor guy by any stretch of the imagination.

On a second note, where would I used a drill press on its highest speed? Not for metal, not for Forstner bits, so?

 

[bob vaughan]

For good advice on VFDs, I call Automation Direct and buy what they suggest for the motor and conditions at hand.
You can save some money (maybe 20%) if you study and fully understand VFD technology. I was too lazy for that and I'm not an electronics guy.

As to motors, there are standard frame sizes. What gets used on an old Craftsman drill press is going to be pretty standard. It will either be a 48 frame or a 56 frame. 56 frames are the most common to get in a three phase motor.

As to exactly what VFD works on a single phase capacitor motor usually found on drill presses, I'll have to defer to TVRgeek's wide range of experience and knowledge on that detail.

Intalling a VFD isn't quit as spoon-fed simple as assembling a piece of IKEA furniture. You can hook it up direct to the box if you like controlling a motor from a keypad similar to an iPhone. I'll put a rheostat and push button controls on a box somewhere apart from the VFD box. There's lots of VFD info on youtube.

Here's one I put on a wood lathe but this one uses a 240 volt VFD since the motor is 1-1/2 HP. Three phase motors under 1 HP can be controlled from 120 volt VFDs.

Powermatic 45 lathe plus Automation Direct VFD - Old Woodworking Machines

 

[tvrgeek]

Only know from WEB research that there are VFDs for single phase motors. 220 of course. I assume they are MOSFET switchers. After reading enough, I decided that was not the way to go mostly for the reduced torque. I would follow Bob's advice, call the supplier!

 

[AllanD]

I have a Nova and have had no problems. I also have a 30 year old Delta, variable speed, 18 inch I think. No serious problems with it either, but I had a problem with the depth stop bending so had to weld in a triangular brace to stiffen it. If the Nova ends up doing that I will do the same. I do like how slow the Nova goes, especially nice with using big Forstners for instance.

 

[Oka]

There are 2 ways of creating a variable speed unit.

1. Use a DC motor, with a speed controller and an AC to DC voltage transformer of rectifier. This is what I did with my Lathe.

The 2nd way is to use a 3 phase invertable motor (meaning it will allow variable frequency control). Then you can use a VFD that will convert single phase to 3 phase running 220v to 3 ph 208 motor up to 2 hp.
Assuming you buy a 1.5 hp motor it is roughly 20-300 bucks depending on what you get, if you get a top line motor it is 4-500 bucks. The controller will be roughly 150 bucks, then it is just wiring. You have to make sure if possible to match the housing type. Not really hard but if you do this, pick a quality drill press with itght bearings, other wise you have a Ferrari motor in a Ford focus drill press.

 

[tvrgeek]

They do exist. Not a great idea, but they do exist:

Wait? There are Single-Phase VFDs? | Wolf Automation

Yes, indeed! With the correct fittings there are single-phase motors that can include single-phase VFDs. Our tech support goes into details here!

www.wolfautomation.com

Makes a good old Reeves drive look that much better.

 

[Warped Woodwerks]

I have the Delta 18-900L, gifted to me for Christmas a few years ago. It is a great machine and I have had no problems with it.
It seems the price has increased some since I got mine, it was (iirc) about $900, now $1399 at Lowes.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/DELTA-8-Amp-16-Speed-Floor-Drill-Press/4741618

The only thing I changed/added was a larger table I built with removable inserts.

Reading reviews on tools is a good thing to do, I agree. Reading the reviews in the link you provided, I saw only three, and only some minor inconveniences or preferences reported. All three reviews were overall positive.

I have purchased A LOT of equipment over the years and I can't ever remember buying anything that was without some little quirk or missing feature that would have made it perfect, or at least better. If your goal is to find the perfect... anything, your search will be long and futile.

Now, that drill press is over $1,600!!

YIKES