Drill Press Dilemma

[Christopher K. Hartley]

I have an old Delta Rockwell DP220 that was passed down from my Dad. It has seen some pretty serious use and handled it well up to now. Just recently it has started running off center when pressure is put on the bit as I drill. I can actually see the bit move to the off center position. I don't know the cause but wondered if a rebuild is possible on this old a machine or if it has given up the ghost so to speak. I hate to loose it as everything else about it is good. Any advice appreciated. Thanks:)

[Bob Vallaster]

Chris,
I am not familiar with your make/model, but had a similar condition on the one I bought ~10-12 years back. It had slop in the quill which traced to a loss of location for one of two bearings: a set-screw stop collar had loosened and the bearing floated. The fix was an easy one...and it has given good service ever since.
Try a partial disassembly; check for wear-n-tear, loose parts, worn bearings before you give up on a keeper.

Bob

[Pete Bradley]

The center of the universe for machines like this is the Old Woodworking Machines site. I'd start with the forum at www.owwm.org.

Pete

[Roy Wall]

Chris,

the dp can (most likely)be brought back to life with new bearings / and or a new chuck. You'll need to remove the upper pulleys and then remove the hand lever gear to let the quill fall down and out.

I'm not familiar with this model...but a little resto and you get a nice little tabletop DP for the rest of your days.

The place to find out everything you need is owwm dot com ..........

[glenn bradley]

Before I got too far into it I would try to identify if there is play in the quill. Can you grab it in your hand and move it side to side noticeably? If not I would remove the chuck, clean the taper and the hole in the chuck and re-install. You may find this i s all that is necessary. I would still forge ahead and restore the machine. they don't make 'em like they used to.

[John Schreiber]

Amazing what computers can do:
71599
I can see it now.

[Hank Knight]

Christopher,

I am a fan of those old drill presses. I just rebuilt a Walker Turner bench model similar to your Delta Rockwell and I love it. Parts are available for your machine and it's a fairly simple task to replace the quill bearings - or anything else that might be worn and causing your problem. Check out the Old Woodworking Machines web site: http://www.owwm.com/. I'll bet they have a ton of information on your drill press; I noticed several photos of the Delta 220 in their photo index. I think you should go for it. You'll end up with a great drill press (they don't make 'em like that anymore) and a piece of family history to boot.

My $.02

Hank

[Christopher K. Hartley]

Thanks everyone, I'll take your advice and look at restore.:)

[Jon Lanier]

Good idea. I would restore if at all possible. They just don't make them like that anymore. Well, they do but boy will you pay for it. I like having a few vintage machines in my shop. I hope their history and experience will rub off on me. ;)

[Kermit Hodges]

I see you have all ready decided but let me just say that anything can be restored! Some may be more work than it's worth of course. But that DP is well worth the effort and is in fact a pretty simple restoration.

Check at OWWM.com for dirty paper. Good chance you will find a manual and hopefully a part breakdown. Keep in mind that another year model will probably be very similar. So you don't have to know the exact year. Nothing handier than a diagram showing all the parts!

Next go to to owwm.net and sign up. These guys are great at helping you locate parts, quick with advice and just general encouragement when you need it.