Drill press general questions

[Jim Mackell]

I inherited a Sears drill press. 15 inch, 12 speed, 1/2 HP motor. Changing speeds involves moving the rubber drive bands from one part of the spindle to another. No matter what speed I use, this thing seems to have absolutely zero torque. It bogs down no matter what I'm trying to drill. I can take the same bit and chuck it into a cheap 1/4 inch drill and make the hole with no problem. Is this a characteristic of all drill presses? Or is this just a bum tool that I inherited? If I replace it, what is a good general purpose DP to look at? Thanks for your thoughts and opinions.

[Paul Atkins]

My first thought was that the belts are slipping, second is that the motor is not good. Is this one that has a counter shaft with 2 belts?

[glenn bradley]

If it is "bogging down" as in the motor is slowing down; that's bad. You'll want to confirm that it is not belt slippage, a loose pulley retainer or slippery stuff somewhere it shouldn't be. You have already confirmed that the bit is OK as it works in another drill but, that was my first guess. Let us know what you find.

[David Winer]

I inherited a Sears drill press. 15 inch, 12 speed, 1/2 HP motor. Changing speeds involves moving the rubber drive bands from one part of the spindle to another. No matter what speed I use, this thing seems to have absolutely zero torque. It bogs down no matter what I'm trying to drill. I can take the same bit and chuck it into a cheap 1/4 inch drill and make the hole with no problem. Is this a characteristic of all drill presses? Or is this just a bum tool that I inherited? If I replace it, what is a good general purpose DP to look at? Thanks for your thoughts and opinions.
It seems possible that you have overlooked the little handle that tightens the motor to the belts. I had one of these DPs. If I forgot to tighten the belts it would still work, but of course without much torque.

[Tom Veatch]

... It bogs down no matter what I'm trying to drill. I can take the same bit and chuck it into a cheap 1/4 inch drill and make the hole with no problem. Is this a characteristic of all drill presses? ...

No. That is not characteristic of all DPs.

If you are getting low or no torque at the bit, it could be one of two things, motor or transmission. When it bogs down, is the motor still turning?

If the motor is turning, the problem is slippage in the transmission. Could be either worn belts, belt tension too low, or binding in one or more of the rotating components. When you change speeds, how do you retension the belts? With the belts removed, do all rotating parts, including the quill and motor, turn freely?

If all parts turn freely and the motor stops turning under light loads, the problem is in the motor. Could be electrical or mechanical. The safest thing is to have the motor checked out at your friendly neighborhood electric motor shop.

If you want to replace the DP, there are any number of brands that folks around here will swear by (or at, as the case may be). Some brands that immediately come to mind are Delta, Grizzly, Steel City, Jet, General and I'm sure there are others. Google the brand names and you can check out the specifications of their offering on their websites. I have no experience with any except my Jet 17" floor model so I'll decline comment other than saying I'm satisfied with mine, although I'd sometimes like more than 4 3/8" quill travel.

Few of them are really set up for woodworkers - tables are usually too small. Most will require some form of shop made table to get the best woodworking use from the tool.

[Bill Huber]

With the drill press running in the slowest speed and with a glove on I would grab the chuck and try and stop it. When you are doing this watch the pulleys. If just the driven pulley slows down then its a belt problem if both slow down then its a motor problem.

If its the belt make sure it is tight and in good condition. If its the motor will I would say its time to get a new one.

Good luck.

[John Thompson]

As David W. mentioned.. I believe you have a lever to move the motor on that DP to tighten the belts. Make sure you put full tension on them and also make sure your tension lever is not stripped and slipping allowing the belts to go slack after tightening.

And.. if you put full tension on the belt and it still seem slack.. the belts have probably streched over time as they do and need to be replaced. I doubt it is a motor problem but there is an outside chance IMO.

Good luck...

Sarge..

[Jim Mackell]

Thanks for the tips. I don't think the motor itself slows down. I'll take a look at the belt assembly and see if I can find a tensioner. Don't recall ever seeing one and I don't have the manual for this machine. I'll post a followup when I get this thing figured out.

[David Winer]

...I'll take a look at the belt assembly and see if I can find a tensioner. Don't recall ever seeing one and I don't have the manual for this machine. ...
Jim, John T. and I are proposing the same thing. Since you don't have a manual or someone to show you, here is an attempt to point you to the little lever.

It's a small round lever, as I recall about 1/4" diameter, about three or four inches long. It should have a rubber tip but that could be missing. Location is right side at the top rear. You rotate the lever and its rubber tip mashes against a small metal plate, pushing the motor aft to tighten the belts.

Let us know how it works out.

[John Thompson]

On my Ridgid.. I have a tension thumb lock screw on both sides for a more positive lock. The tension lever is on the right. I don't know which Craftsman you have but I believe David W. does. But.. if indeed you do have it it will be rather obvious from David's description.

Good luck as I don't personally think you have a major problem.

Sarge..

Edit.. as I was in a hurry and said I have a tensioner on both sides in lieu of tension lock screws...

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Hi Jim,
I own an early 60's or maybe late 50's vintage Sears drill press. It also has a 1/2 hp motor and four speeds changed by moving up and down opposing step pulleys. The motor is tensioned against the belt by loosening a thumb screw under the motor, sliding the motor away from the drill press and tightening the thumb screw. The thumb screw tightens against a tapered shaft so which keeps the pressure of the belt from allowing the motor to slip.

My drill press will stall quicker than I like sometimes but believe me, that can be a wonderful safety feature. If you ever neglect to secure a small work piece to the table and the bit binds and spins the workpiece, you will know what I mean. I can easily run a 1 1/2" forstner bit through oak but I will have to allow my chips to clear often so as not to stall the bit. I drill steel with it but never try to drill too large a hole without drilling smaller starter holes first. I've occasionally wanted to buy a more powerful machine but the old Sears has absolutely no run out, a tight spindle mechanism and a sturdy table. It's not worth trading for a production oriented machine that is liable to get me a broken wrist.
fmr

[David Kreuzberg]

Can you give us the model number?

kreuzie

[John Coloccia]

My big Delta has a tensioner lever, but my small craftsman does not. As mentioned above, you loosen two thumb screws, yank the motor back, and tighten the screws. You almost need 3 hands to do it, but eventually you figure out how to do it yourself.

[Jules Dominguez]

Jim, I had a Craftsman drill press that I boght new about 40+ years ago. It didn't have an adjusting lever. It had two rods, one attached to to each side of the motor baseplate, that fitted into grooves in the cast iron head of the machine. The way to tighten the drive belt on that one was to loosen the bolts (one each) locking the rods in position, force the motor/baseplate assembly back away from the head (by whatever means) until the belt was tight, and then retighten the two bolts.
It only had one belt, so apparently was a different model than yours, but there has to be a way to tighten the belts on your machine and you should be able to see it if you examine the mechanics of the drive.

[Andy Bardowell]

I think that you’ve answered your question then Jim; if you can move those belts without loosening the tension then they are loose. When you find the tension adjustment tighten up and squeeze the belts there should only be about a half inch of travel.

[Marty Paulus]

My craftsman DP has the belt tension lever on the RH side just in front of the motor. It is a chrome piece. The lock bolts are on either side to lock the rods in place. I will try to get some pics posted once I get out to the garage later this morning.

[David G Baker]

Jim N,
Do an online search for your manual. Many Craftsman manuals are on line or can be purchased through Fleabay. All you need to do is get the model number, brand name and do an online search.

[Russ Hauser]

My Sears DP is a model 113-24560 that I got from an estate sale. The tension rod is on the left side of the head stock. the rubber tip on the rod bears against the motor mounting plate. The rod locks in place by a slotted screw that was probably a replacement for a thumb screw. The first thing I did to the DP was to replace the rubber "V" belt with a Link belt. The link belt has never slipped. The tension rod is in the center of the picture.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Sears drill press. 15 inch, 12 speed, 1/2 HP motor.

Stop right there.

If the machine was not made in the 1950's or maybe 1960's chances are you have a very weak motor. Sears went through a rather long and very dark tea time of the soul where all their motorized equipment was concerned.
If the machine is sturdy and you like it, try putting a full horse Baldor motor on it otherwise get yourself a replacement DP.

Half a horse isn't enough for a DP in the first place.

[Jim Mackell]

Well, thanks again for all the tips. Found two levers or thumbscrew type devices, one on each side just forward of the motor and just under the flip top housing. With them loosened half a turn, the entire motor bracket and motor could be shifted back a good inch to an inch and a half. Didn't have time to fool any further but it's obviously going to behave better now. So long as it doesn't stall, the current motor has enuf HP for my projects.