Need replacement motor advice for old Rockwell 15" drill press

[Michael D Miller]

The motor on my old old Rockwell 15-069 drill press is dying and I'm looking for a replacement. Unfortunately there are more variables involved in buying a motor than I expected. I know it needs to have 1/2 HP, 1725 RPM, 115 volts, 1/2" shaft, and 48Y frame. Which you'd think would be enough! But there are different types of motors too. Would a belt drive, direct drive, or general purpose motor be best? Is capacitor start something I need?

With luck I can get something for around $100 too.

I appreciate any advice!

[Charles Taylor]

Your existing motor is almost certainly a capacitor start motor. It is also likely not dying but just in need of some maintenance. What is it doing that leads you to believe it needs replacing?

[Michael D Miller]

Blowing smoke! It came with a 1/4 hp replacement motor when I bought it. It had been sitting, unused, in a cabinet shop for probably many years. This motor doesn’t have enough power to turn the pulley with a belt on it. It just hums loudly and starts to burn. I’d like to replace it with 1/2 hp motor regardless, that’s what this model is supposed to have on it.

[Charles Taylor]

Ah. I misunderstood and thought you already had a 1/2 HP motor on it. I have a Rockwell/Delta 15-655, which has a very similar looking head casting. Mine has a 1/2 HP, frame 56 motor. I'd suggest measuring the distance between mounting posts and comparing to a NEMA frame size chart (ask The Google) to confirm which size is the best fit.

Belt drive and direct drive in the listings I looked at showed motors that do not look to me like what you need. Focus on voltage, RPM, HP, and frame size in your search. Also consider registering at the Old Woodworking Machines (OWWM) forum and posting a Want To Buy (WTB) in their classified section (Bring Out Your Dead).

Out of curiosity, can you turn the pulleys/belt by hand without power applied?

[Michael D Miller]

Out of curiosity, can you turn the pulleys/belt by hand without power applied?

Yep, this thing is in fantastic shape except for the quill spring and belt (both replaced), and the motor. Everything functions like it should and the front pully spins easily. I just had to blow a lot of saw dust out of it. It even has the original manual. The original motor in the schematics was a 48Y frame.

Thanks for your help!

[Bill Dufour]

I would buy a three phase motor of the correct rpm, shaft size, and foot mount. then run it with a vfd. As long as it is under 1.0 horsepower you can get a 120 volt single phase input vfd to provide 240 volts output. The motor plus vfd will not cost much more then a single phase motor would.
Bil lD

[Andrew Seemann]

Check the shaft size, some of those old Rockwells had specialty pulleys that don't have modern equivalents. A capacitor start general purpose motor of the right RPM should work just fine, open drip proof is adequate. I've had one my drill press for years; it is actually from my Delta 14" bandsaw originally. You could probably bump up the power to 3/4 or even 1HP if you wanted to. Chances are a 56 frame motor would fit (they might be easier to find), but check the dimensions to be sure.

[Don Jarvie]

+1 on checking out OWWM and get a replacement motor for that model and year. The older motors are much better that new ones and it will fit right on the DP without modifications.