Any tips on fixing head/chuck wobble on an delta floor drill press?

[travis howe]

I suppose it's 15yrs old or so... It's the 2 speed time where you have to move the belt to change the speed.

The head wobbles pretty bad until you get the bit into the wood and then it cuts fine.

Where would one start?

[david brum]

My drill press is a generic Taiwanese unit from the '80s. I had trouble with wobble also. I solved it by WD40ing the internals in the chuck and also replacing the belts. If that doesn't work, you might look into reseating the chuck.

[Chip Lindley]

Travis, your problem can come from three sources.

1) something stuck in your chuck jaws cause bits to run off center. Look inside. Look for debris on the jaw faces. See if something raised a burr on a jaw face. Oil the chuck lightly so the jaws open and close smoothly.

2) a loose chuck on the spindle nose can cause wobble. Remove the chuck and reseat it. See if this improves accuracy. While the chuck is off it's spindle nose clean it and measure it's T.I.R. with a dial indicator. Reading should be within .001"-.002"

3) worn bearings can cause wobble. Grab the chuck and see if you feel any side-to-side movement. New bearings are probably indicated unless something is loose as in (2) above. An old DP severely used in uses other than drillling, where a severe radial load is put on the bearings, may have the bearing cup worn larger than the O.D. of the bearing. Shimming and/or use of LocTite will remedy that.

[glenn bradley]

I'll add poor quality bits to the mix. Do your bits turn properly in another machine?

[george wilson]

I bought a new variable speed Delta at work. The Asian made chuck(on the Asian made machine) as usual ran out of true. I had to buy a genuine Jacobs chuck for it, Then it ran true. The head of the D.P. ran noisily so I kept a clamp clamped across the sheet metal housing to quiet it down. Changing belts did not help.

[Loren Hedahl]

I've got a 30 year Taiwanese DP that had the same problem. Replacing the chuck with a Jacob's chuck solved the problem.

Another mod I made was to replace the v-belts with link belts. This cut down on a vibration that set up when running at the fastest setting. They also made it much easier to change speeds. The slight amount of 'stretch' to the link belt allows you to slip the belt easily over the pulley flanges.