Drill Press upkeep.....

[Dennis Peacock]

OK.....I have a drill press (Craftsman) that is about 8 years old. It is getting harder to crank the handle to drill holes. I have sprayed WD-40 on the drill chuck, the exposed shaft that moves up and down. Where else is maintenance needed and how would I even get to it...? Everything seems "enclosed".?

Thanks,
Dennis -

[Ken Garlock]

Hi Dennis. I don't think WD40 is the correct "lub" for this job. WD40 got its name from Water Desiccant 40. The 40th try at making it. I would look at some good quality grease like lubriplate or a moly grease. Personally, I would steer away from graphite as it might fall out of the drill and on to your work. That would be like dropping pencil lead on it

My opinions are worth what you paid - Ken

[Dave Sweeney]

A product that I use on almost everything is called Blaster TDL. Its basically a teflon dry lube (TDL, are'nt they clever ). This stuff is made by a company called B'Laster/B.C.C.I. out of Cleveland. I get it at Menards.

[Ron Jones near Indy]

I've had good luck with all of the "dry" lubricants mentioned above. I had not considered the possibilty of graphite falling on the wood. However, I've never had a problem with this.

[David Rose]

in a few months. As Ken said, it is a good water displacer but will cause gumming on parts that will create the problem you are now having. And the varnish can be really tough to remove. I speak from experience on this as many folks use it on their guns. Cleaning that off and out is a nightmare after it's there for awhile. Even commercial carb cleaner only softens it.

I would be tempted to try something like carb cleaner in the spray cans and see if the parts are just gummed up. If you clean it with that, be sure to have a good lube to go back as rust protection too. You will likely clean some old rust protection off with the cleaner and it needs to be replaced. I would follow it up with Triflow as a personal choice. This might save you having to tear it down. You will have to clean it up as it drains. You don't want that on your wood either.

David

[Ruby in NC]

Thanks David for that info on WD40. I wasn't aware that it forms a varnish over time. Maybe this will help me convince LOML to leave WD40 alone when it isn't applicable.

When he comes out to the shop and wants to lend a hand with something I'm doing, often his first question is "Where's the WD40?" Thinking about locking it up and hiding the key!

Regards,
Ruby

[Doug Edwards]

If I think that there is something gumming up the works, I first spray in a cleaner like disc brake cleaner, carb cleaner or electrical contact cleaner. This clears out the old stuff. Then I add a new lube like spray lithium grease or graphite lube.

[Phil Phelps]

..and after I use it as a cleaner, I Johnson's wax the pole.

[Rick Potter]

As others have stated, I would use carb cleaner first then spray type liquid wrench. It sprays on and leaves a little graphite behind when it dries.

Any possibility you have tightened a lock on the shaft a bit accidentally? Some drill presses have a handle to lock the shaft by way of a split in the housing. Don't know if yours does.

Rick Potter