Refurb'ing a Chinese Floor Drill Press - Parts and Disassembly Discussion

[Shootr]

The price was right - free. First come first serve listing on Craigslist and I finally beat the others.



Amazingly it works - here's the run down:

• Tightened up all the bolts and nuts (plenty were loose)
• Belts are in good shape
• Motor is smooth and quiet
• Surface oxidation isn't bad, steel wool will take care of it

This will be the biggest issue to overcome - the splined shaft that runs thru the drive sheave is worn, as is the bushing in the sheave itself. The other issue is: It seems the splined shaft is too short, because when the spindle is lowered, the splined shaft completely disappears, letting the sheave run loose.





The internals look and feel fine, no movement or slop - (just the shaft in the sheave has movement) So, either the splined shaft broke or was cut - or it was retrofitted before, but with the wrong replacement.

I want to disassemble the quill and shaft so I can get accurate measurements of the shaft length, but I do not know exactly the order of steps or what snap rings, screws, etc. need to come out.



To be continued...

[Shootr]

I imagine the design is similar to this:



If you can guide me, I can take more pics of what you need to assist me with identifying how to take it apart with minimal errors.

I can't find much online for this thing, as there is no manufacturer name I can find, just a model number - and searching it just brings up basic info and old sales listings. The 4-spline shaft is also unique - I see lots of 6 spline and more - but the 4 splines I'm finding are thicker than what I'm measuring. I could go to a different spline count if I can match up the rest of the dimensions with something I find - but then I have to track down the corresponding bushing or another sheave to match it.

[Shootr]

[Woznme]

My guess is you won't find replacement parts to fit. Might be simplest to take the 4-spline to a machinist and ask him to machine up an extension piece to lengthen it with centre pin and bevel. Then weld the extension on and remove the bead with die grinder and file. Then you're not hunting for parts or overcapitalising a hunk of bamboo.

[ronsii]

Maybe the spline shaft has just slipped too far down into the quill adapter???? Have you tried pulling on it upwards??

Or maybe someone modified/lost parts so the quill would go down further than it is supposed to...

[Denis G]

You need to remove the quill return spring and then the feed shaft pinion before you remove the quill.
Here's a disassembly video for one similar to yours:

[Shootr]

Maybe the spline shaft has just slipped too far down into the quill adapter???? Have you tried pulling on it upwards??

Or maybe someone modified/lost parts so the quill would go down further than it is supposed to...

No, the spline shaft doesn't budge when I try to pull it up. I don't think it's going any lower than it is supposed to. When the quill is fully extended, the slot for the drift to remove the chuck just clears the housing. Once I get the assembly out I can look closer at it.

[Shootr]

You need to remove the quill return spring and then the feed shaft pinion before you remove the quill.
Here's a disassembly video for one similar to yours:

That's the ticket - I watched this and a couple others - they mostly are all alike. Thanks!

[Insaneride]

I don't rebuild drill presses but I think I have the identical drill press. Let me know if you need pics.

[thegary]

The spline is not too short. If you look in your second pic that shows the bottom of the sheave and the top of the spindle you will see that the spline part in the sheave is supposed to be one piece with the part that is held by the bearing that the spindle goes through. It is broken off. Pull that top bearing out and the piece going through it could be removed but is probably a press fit in the bearing .By the look of the grain I would say it is cast iron. It could be brazed back together if you remove the spline part from the sheave and disassemble the spindle. I suspect it will break again if abused though. With that said it will be as strong as it was originally if done correctly .

[Shootr]

The spline is not too short. If you look in your second pic that shows the bottom of the sheave and the top of the spindle you will see that the spline part in the sheave is supposed to be one piece with the part that is held by the bearing that the spindle goes through. It is broken off. Pull that top bearing out and the piece going through it could be removed but is probably a press fit in the bearing .By the look of the grain I would say it is cast iron. It could be brazed back together if you remove the spline part from the sheave and disassemble the spindle. I suspect it will break again if abused though. With that said it will be as strong as it was originally if done correctly .

Dang, those are some sharp eyes you have there! Sure as heck looks like it. I was able to press out the bearing assembly without damage, and get the bushing out as well.





Is there anything else I can post to help determine if it is indeed cast iron? I want it to be as strong as possible, but I won't be abusing it either - I wanted one more for accurate drilling than hogging out giant holes with twist bits in plate steel.

Is brazing the best/only choice? I'm going to hire this one out as it is far beyond my available equipment and skill level.

Thanks again for taking the time to help me out.

[thegary]

Dang, those are some sharp eyes you have there! Sure as heck looks like it. I was able to press out the bearing assembly without damage, and get the bushing out as well.





Is there anything else I can post to help determine if it is indeed cast iron? I want it to be as strong as possible, but I won't be abusing it either - I wanted one more for accurate drilling than hogging out giant holes with twist bits in plate steel.

Is brazing the best/only choice? I'm going to hire this one out as it is far beyond my available equipment and skill level.

Thanks again for taking the time to help me out.

Its cast iron , it would not break clean like that if it were steel. A new piece could be made from steel but I suspect it would cost you more than the drill press is worth. I would find a V block or use a piece of angle iron to use as a V block then shim the smaller diameter piece to get it centered. If both parts are shamfered so the braze can penatrate completly it should hold fine. Use the quill spline to clock the spline while clamping it then pull it out before brazing. It might wind up with the pully having a slight woble to it but it should work fine.

[Shootr]

Its cast iron , it would not break clean like that if it were steel. A new piece could be made from steel but I suspect it would cost you more than the drill press is worth. I would find a V block or use a piece of angle iron to use as a V block then shim the smaller diameter piece to get it centered. If both parts are shamfered so the braze can penatrate completly it should hold fine. Use the quill spline to clock the spline while clamping it then pull it out before brazing. It might wind up with the pully having a slight woble to it but it should work fine.

I still don't want to try it myself - I've never brazed anything before. Questions:

Should the mating surfaces be machined down flat for the best joint? I'm assuming so, from what I'm reading the tighter the joint, the stronger it is.

What would be a "going rate" for a job like this?

[thegary]

I still don't want to try it myself - I've never brazed anything before. Questions:

Should the mating surfaces be machined down flat for the best joint? I'm assuming so, from what I'm reading the tighter the joint, the stronger it is.

What would be a "going rate" for a job like this?

Silver braze needs a tight joint. Regular braze does not. It needs to be ground out to a V then use a burr to remove the carbon that the grinding smears on the Ved area.
I do not know what a shop would charge If I were doing it it would be around $100 . There is prep and some machining after it is brazed. Good luck on finding a shop that will do it.

[thegary]

Those drill presses are sold under 100 different brands. I would try to fine some place that sells parts like maybe Jet or tractor supply and see if you can get a new piece. It would be inexpensive in comparison if you can find one. Maybe even Sears.

[Denis G]

I still don't want to try it myself - I've never brazed anything before. Questions:

Should the mating surfaces be machined down flat for the best joint? I'm assuming so, from what I'm reading the tighter the joint, the stronger it is.

What would be a "going rate" for a job like this?

If you go to a welding supply place that refills oxy-acetylene tanks, they may be able to give you a contact for someone who might do the job. Leave the details to someone with a good reputation for their work.
(Edit: They may also know someone that does TIG or MIG brazing with silicone bronze.)

[thegary]

https://www.ereplacementparts.com/dr...-p-442506.html this is the same part for a jet drill press. It looks like it could be the one you need. If not there are several other model number drill presses that you could look at. You might even try typing in your brand and model number, they might have it.

[Shootr]

https://www.ereplacementparts.com/dr...-p-442506.html this is the same part for a jet drill press. It looks like it could be the one you need. If not there are several other model number drill presses that you could look at. You might even try typing in your brand and model number, they might have it.

Now that you showed me the correct name for the part, it's a heck of a lot easier to google! Again, thanks for providing this information. Now the hard part is finding dimensions and/or pictures to try and match it up. My model number (no manufacturer on the tag) only pulls up chinese alibaba type sales sites. I do get the reference West Lake Industries a lot, but still limited search results.

The exact part in your link is close, but uses a 6204 bearing (20mm bore) and mine uses 17mm 6203 bearings. I'm going through different drill press model parts diagrams to see what bearings go with which drive sleeve. This one appears to be it, but I'm waiting for them to email me back - I can't enlarge the diagram enough to make out the dimensions. https://www.ebuy7.com/item/543503583601

[Shootr]

One step forward, two steps back...

I decided to try and MIG the sleeve back together, so I practiced a bunch to get my settings close, then set up the two pieces in a length of angle, with the spindle in them to keep them clocked together. All I have is a yellow mappro torch, so I used it to preheat the parts, then put 4 tacks around the perimeter, where the thickest parts were. No matter how I tried to clean out the bores, there was still gunk in them so I was getting horrible porosity. I did three tries - clean, tack, test - repeat. On the third try I seemed to have gotten it - after grinding the welds down, even though there was still some porosity, I couldn't snap them apart.





Now I'm feeling pretty excited, just cleaning, tightening, regreasing - slowly putting it all back together. The bearings pressed onto the repaired part just right, was able to press the assembly in to the housing, etc. Last thing is the spindle pulley, I put it on and tap it down gently with a rubber mallet - needed a little nudge for the v-grooves to line up. Then, the pulley and shaft go wobbly...I managed to snap the shaft again - further up, where the bearings go.

So it's time to step away and put this aside for a while. Maybe I'll find a chinaman with the right part, maybe another drill comes up for sale for cheap, maybe I'll disassemble the entire quill/spindle assembly to see if I can just switch to a different design that seems to be all over the alibaba ships. All I know now is I'm too frustrated to mess with it for a while.

[thegary]

One step forward, two steps back...

I decided to try and MIG the sleeve back together, so I practiced a bunch to get my settings close, then set up the two pieces in a length of angle, with the spindle in them to keep them clocked together. All I have is a yellow mappro torch, so I used it to preheat the parts, then put 4 tacks around the perimeter, where the thickest parts were. No matter how I tried to clean out the bores, there was still gunk in them so I was getting horrible porosity. I did three tries - clean, tack, test - repeat. On the third try I seemed to have gotten it - after grinding the welds down, even though there was still some porosity, I couldn't snap them apart.





Now I'm feeling pretty excited, just cleaning, tightening, regreasing - slowly putting it all back together. The bearings pressed onto the repaired part just right, was able to press the assembly in to the housing, etc. Last thing is the spindle pulley, I put it on and tap it down gently with a rubber mallet - needed a little nudge for the v-grooves to line up. Then, the pulley and shaft go wobbly...I managed to snap the shaft again - further up, where the bearings go.

So it's time to step away and put this aside for a while. Maybe I'll find a chinaman with the right part, maybe another drill comes up for sale for cheap, maybe I'll disassemble the entire quill/spindle assembly to see if I can just switch to a different design that seems to be all over the alibaba ships. All I know now is I'm too frustrated to mess with it for a while.

What part of "its cast iron" did you not understand. I hope you can find a new one because that one is beyond hope now.

[Shootr]

What part of "its cast iron" did you not understand. I hope you can find a new one because that one is beyond hope now.

I know, I know...I F'd up. All the people I contacted locally were either not wanting to do a "small" job, or didn't reply after giving the details (to braze it). One person said $150 to weld it with SS wire - everything I read on that method wasn't very positive (and for $150 I'll go buy a new HF drill).

I was playing with house money since the press was free to begin with. As I mentioned above, I'll just keep googling and searching until something pops up. I really do appreciate all the help you provided, please don't take my screw up as wasting your time.

[Shootr]

Reason #348 that 2020 is just a f'up year...

Back in September, as a last effort to find the spindle and pulley sleeve, I hit up the local Harbor Freight to see what the internals on their presses looked like.

Unbelievable - two of the medium sized models looked and measured correct (save for them being 6 spline vs. my original 4 spline). Great thing about being in a HF store, all the measuring tools are right there to use. I still wasn't sure about the pulley sleeve as I couldn't get a look at it, but when I grabbed a crescent wrench to try and pull the nut off - the employees had had enough of me and told me to knock it off lol.

Well heck, for $20 +/-, I ordered up the spindle, sleeve, and nut and crossed my fingers...

In early October I received a package - except only the nut and spindle were in it - no sleeve - BACKORDERED!!!!! AAAARRRRGGGHHHH - I'm so close.... But miracles upon miracles the spindle fit perfectly!



So I patiently waited until the end of October, then I called to see if they had an idea when they would get more inserts in. "Oh yeah, they're here - you want we should send it to you?" Uh yeah, that'd be great. A week later - nada. Called again "So sorry, I'm going to just put a new order in and get it sent right out to you 2nd day air". Another week later (this past Wed) I called again - after 3 different people I got another promise to send one out ASAP.

'Ding Dong'...I answer the door today and lo and behold there's a fedex envelope with HF address on it! I eagerly pick it up...



To see a big friggin' tear in it and nothing but a packing list inside...

2020? Go F yourself...

[smithdoor]

I would have made new part over welding parts back.
But I have a machinist background too.

Dave

The price was right - free. First come first serve listing on Craigslist and I finally beat the others.



Amazingly it works - here's the run down:

• Tightened up all the bolts and nuts (plenty were loose)
• Belts are in good shape
• Motor is smooth and quiet
• Surface oxidation isn't bad, steel wool will take care of it

This will be the biggest issue to overcome - the splined shaft that runs thru the drive sheave is worn, as is the bushing in the sheave itself. The other issue is: It seems the splined shaft is too short, because when the spindle is lowered, the splined shaft completely disappears, letting the sheave run loose.





The internals look and feel fine, no movement or slop - (just the shaft in the sheave has movement) So, either the splined shaft broke or was cut - or it was retrofitted before, but with the wrong replacement.

I want to disassemble the quill and shaft so I can get accurate measurements of the shaft length, but I do not know exactly the order of steps or what snap rings, screws, etc. need to come out.



To be continued...

[SlowBlues]

Oh man that is frustrating. At this point you have to finish it or you'll never rest!

Reminds me of the time I tried ordering a slave roller for a bench belt grinder, 3 different companies (all were great though) and 6 different attempts, each arrived dented. That bench grinder is still in the corner in near perfect condition and some day i'll rig something up (don't have a lathe or mill unfortunately).

[Shootr]

Oh man that is frustrating. At this point you have to finish it or you'll never rest!

Reminds me of the time I tried ordering a slave roller for a bench belt grinder, 3 different companies (all were great though) and 6 different attempts, each arrived dented. That bench grinder is still in the corner in near perfect condition and some day i'll rig something up (don't have a lathe or mill unfortunately).

Oh it's a full on quest at this point!