Repair of Replace HF Drill press?

[John Svo]

Hey Everyone,

I have a Harbor Freight floor drill press (1 HP, 16 speed version) that is about 20 years old. It gets moderate use- mix of DIY projects, woodworking, little bit of crude machining. Has developed significant play in the quill- pretty certain the casting has gotten enlarged through use, bearings still fine.

I always prefer to repair things but this press is pretty old now- hate to fix one problem just to have another pop up shortly. Seems like drilling & tapping for set screws front and side would be the way to do that. Certainly I can handle that.

New one would be ~$320. I'd actually step up to the 1.5 HP unit for $475, which could handle the machining type stuff better.

Advice? Experience?

Can't complain on the unit for what I paid. Sell it on Craigslist with full disclosure I'd still likely get $100+ for it. Just afraid the motor could go before long.

[Richard Coers]

$100 for a Harbor Freight machine with a worn out casting? Pretty optimistic in my opinion. It would easy to go from pretty certain to positive with a dial indicator and some pressure on the quill.

[John Svo]

$100 for a Harbor Freight machine with a worn out casting? Pretty optimistic in my opinion. It would easy to go from pretty certain to positive with a dial indicator and some pressure on the quill.

Don't own a dial indicator. How would that distinguish casting vs. bearing slop?

[lowell holmes]

I have this drill press. It has never failed me.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/PORTER-CABLE-3-2-Amp-5-Speed-Bench-Drill-Press/1000183105

[John Svo]

I have this drill press. It has never failed me.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/PORTER-CABLE-3-2-Amp-5-Speed-Bench-Drill-Press/1000183105

Yeah, I was looking at this Porter Cable, which is closer to what I have now: https://www.lowes.com/pd/PORTER-CABLE-8-Amp-12-Speed-Floor-Drill-Press/1000132463
$400 Laser would be a nice add.

[David Buchhauser]

John,
Generally the bearings are installed inside the quill. With the quill extended down all the way, if you can grab it with your hand and move it back and forth you should be able to feel/see any "slop". You might consider installing brass tipped setscrews to help reduce/eliminate this "slop".
David

[Bruce Wrenn]

Don't know about your HF, but most floor mounts have an adjustment to tighten up quill play.

[Richard Coers]

Don't own a dial indicator. How would that distinguish casting vs. bearing slop?
If you mount the dial indicator on the casting and wiggle the shaft, vs mounting the dial indicator on the quill and shake the chuck. One will measure wear in the casting, the other will measure wear in the bearings.

[lee cox]

I restored a 50 year old Atlas floor drill press. It was in bad shape all over except the bearing. It had been welded not very well to a wheel. The wiring was all cracked and needed replacement. It was a rusty mess which I bought for $75. I found parts on eBay inculding a base. It now is in my shop and has .001 runout. It is so good I can now test the runout of cheap drill bits to figure out what is good or not.

The front pulley was shot and not replaceable. I found a nice 3/4 inch pulley which I had a machine shop drill out on a lathe to 7/8. I also had the shop add to the length of the post because they had to use a lathe to smooth down where it was welded. The table now sits at workbench height so I can use my workbench to rest long things on.

[Lee Schierer]

I replaced the spindle bearings in my old Homecraft Drill press quill a while back. Doing so eliminated just about all of the play in the spindle. The bearings were oilite sleeve bearings and were a common size. I think I had less than $20 invested and that included replacing the thrust bearing ha well.

There should be a lock on the quill to hold it in a fixed position. Lock it in place and see how much play or movement there is side to side in the chuck. Most likely your play will be in the spindle not the quill. It pays to lubricate the quill and the spindle bearings from time to time.

[Jon Nuckles]

Yeah, I was looking at this Porter Cable, which is closer to what I have now: https://www.lowes.com/pd/PORTER-CABLE-8-Amp-12-Speed-Floor-Drill-Press/1000132463
$400 Laser would be a nice add.

I bought that drill press and it had enough run out that I could watch the chuck wobble. PC/DeWalt customer service was completely unhelpful, so I disassembled it and returned it to Lowe's. I have read that quality control is uneven and that you may get a good one or a bad one. I chose to go with a good used Clausing press I found on Craigslist. YMMV.

[Justin Rapp]

Hey Everyone,

I have a Harbor Freight floor drill press (1 HP, 16 speed version) that is about 20 years old. It gets moderate use- mix of DIY projects, woodworking, little bit of crude machining. Has developed significant play in the quill- pretty certain the casting has gotten enlarged through use, bearings still fine.

I always prefer to repair things but this press is pretty old now- hate to fix one problem just to have another pop up shortly. Seems like drilling & tapping for set screws front and side would be the way to do that. Certainly I can handle that.

New one would be ~$320. I'd actually step up to the 1.5 HP unit for $475, which could handle the machining type stuff better.

Advice? Experience?

Can't complain on the unit for what I paid. Sell it on Craigslist with full disclosure I'd still likely get $100+ for it. Just afraid the motor could go before long.


I've looked at the power tools at HF and really can't understand how they really exist honestly. I have a JET drill press and it's in a different class than HF and wasn't that much more money. While I see you are talking about stepping up to the HF's 20" 1.5 HP model, snagging it for a bit under 475 with a coupon, is it really worth investing $500 in a tool that is seriously sub-par anything else out there? For the money, grab something from Grizzly and you'll be getting a better machine or scrub around for a good used model from Jet, PM and you'll be doing your shop a big favor. Also, unless you needs a pretty monster drill press. Step down in size and put the money into quality.