Motor Upgrade for SKIL 3320 Drill Press

[Joe Craven]

I purchased the SKIL 3320 a while back, as my first drill press. I can't believe how I ever lived without a drill press in the shop!

I like most things about this unit, but its motor just doesn't handle some of the tasks that I'm doing now - boring large-diameter holes in hardwood, for example. The motor is 1/4 hp (3.2 amp / 110v) and it just plain stops when the cutting gets tough (i.e., I know it's not a slipping belt or loose chuck).

My question is: so long as it is the same size, can I upgrade this motor to something much more beefy (Grizzly has a 11.2 amp / 1 HP motor on sale today) without any downstream affects? For instance, would I also need to change to a higher-quality belt to handle the increased torque?

Many thanks in advance,
Joe

[John Schweikert]

I have the same drill press.

If the mounting holes for a newer motor are the same position and the spindle size is the same to attach the pulley, then there shouldn't be any issues. But the small nature of the belt is still a weak area. Larger pulleys for a bigger belt would also help too. At that point, I say just buy a bigger drill press.

Personally, the drill press has done fine for me. Feed rate will naturally be slower for a small drill press. But I use various forstner bits as well as hole saws up to 4-1/4" and all works fine.

In similar vein to another discussion, sharp, quality bits help a lot.

Another consideration is also this drill can only go down to 570 rpm which is still too high for larger diameter bits and hole saws. Here is a good chart: http://images.meredith.com/wood/pdf/drill-press-speed-chart.pdf

[Bill Ryall]

Motor swap is no problem. Just make sure the motor RPMs and shaft sizes are the same or you will need to change sheaves to compensate. Quality belts are never a bad idea.

[Joe Craven]

In similar vein to another discussion, sharp, quality bits help a lot.

Thanks John. I think I might try buying another large bit (the ones I've been using are part of a set) and if it performs better with a newer bit, that should tell me if that's my problem. I've done my best at sharpening the bits...just can't remember if I ever had success w/ these larger-diameter bits.