Craftsman 15" drill press problem

[Tamara White]

We have the craftsman 113.213151 and we have a problem! The motor is working fine, the drill spins fine the problem is the drill isn't lowering properly. You turn the handle and it lowers just a little bit and then springs right back up even though you are still turning the handle. And if you turn the handle and it starts to lower and then meets the wood surface it will not lower any further. We've never had an issue with it and used it to drill a bit of metal yesterday, heard and bad sound and then bam, this is what we have now. Any ideas? We are thinking we will try taking it all apart and see if there is something broken. It's like something isn't catching right. Sorry I don't know the proper terms for all of the parts but hopefully my explanation makes sense to someone. It seems like a pretty basic machine and if the motor isn't having a problem, I'm hoping we can fix it quick and easy. Any ideas of what might be going on, or what to look for when we start taking it apart? Thanks!

[Bill Dufour]

I would guess the handle is slipping on the gear shaft. If the spring is pushing the quill up then the gear is engaged into the rack. On my Walker turner the entire handle and gear can walk out to the right and disengage from the rack on the back of the quill. The spring is broken so things can drift apart.
First step, push the handle to the left and see if it moves a good distance. rotate it a little while trying to align the gear teeth.
Put a hunk of wood under the chuck and push down on the handle and see what moves after it touches the wood stop block. I bet the handle spins on the shaft while the left hand end does not rotate.
Probably a sheared key in the handle hub or a loose taper. Look or a screw or nut on the right end of the horizontal shaft.
Bill D