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

[farmersammm]

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!

Attachment 1719265

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...

Attachment 1719266

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

2020? Go F yourself...

I know I shouldn't laugh, but I laugh with experience

I get my casting lead offa Fleabay. Sometimes I buy up to 50#. It's not too rare to get a box with a hole, and quite a few ingots missing Some guys don't pack the stuff too well.

Another time, I ordered a NOS Dorian toolpost set.................................Got an empty box with a hole in it Refused the package (I pick all my stuff up at the Post Office), and took a picture of the damaged box sitting on the Post Office counter. Called the seller, and they sent me another set........this time well taped, and padded. High value stuff is always insured, or should be, when dealing with a legit seller.

I can't actually believe ya started to disassemble a drill press in the store I'da kicked yer azz out of there in a heartbeat

[Shootr]

I know I shouldn't laugh, but I laugh with experience

I can't actually believe ya started to disassemble a drill press in the store I'da kicked yer azz out of there in a heartbeat

You read it as I intended - I can usually laugh at this crap after a cigar and a Wild Turkey...

And I was going to put the HF drill press back together when I was finished - promise!

[Shootr]

"It's always darkest before the dawn..."

Another package landed on my doorstep this afternoon - looks like all my calls resulted in the order being duplicated - and finally, in my hot little hand...



With great restraint, I slowly reassemble the bearings, the pulley, installed the belts...so far so good:



And lo and behold:



So, in closing out this adventure - for $30 (and months of patience) I now have a fine drill press that can drop down to 220RPM and as fast as 2800RPM.

[In Utopia]

There is nothing like the thrill of victory.
Well done sir.

[filetobeef]

There is nothing like the drill of victory.
Well done sir.

fixed it for you....

[Capt B]

Sometimes patience is the most important part. Good job!

[farmersammm]

It's always nice when something works out

[cornchip]

indeed all those china drill presses are sold under many brand names. but shameful junk is all they are. lightly used ones can be found for 100-200 dollars. for woodworking that requires no precision they do ok

[cornchip]

i wish i could get a good qaulity drill press but theyre big money even for used ones. i hate to admit but i had to go with jet. ive managed to make it work but the accuracy and qaulity is completely terrible but thats to be expected given the price

[Shootr]

A very talented scrap artist on youtube used one of these - seems easier to control/work on finer details of parts.

[psacustomcreations]

That should also be good for giving that swirled finish on flat material. Set up a stop and move it forward at regular intervals.

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[dusterdude]

Had a guy quote me 500 bucks to braze this.bought a new one for 80 bucks.

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[psacustomcreations]

Had a guy quote me 500 bucks to braze this.bought a new one for 80 bucks.

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Glad you were able to find a relatively cheap replacement. I would have been in over my head attempting to fix that.

[dusterdude]

Thanks,i was sweating for a bit

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[whtbaron]

A very talented scrap artist on youtube used one of these - seems easier to control/work on finer details of parts.

Ever consider adding the extra shaft/pulley to get the speeds down lower?

[smithdoor]

Looks great.
The only problem is low speed the belt slips.
I took motor pulley flip upside down and remove center pulley.
Later I add a 6" center pulley and a little larger small pulley 2.5" diameter back to slow speed. Only use center pulley when I need slow speed.

Dave

"It's always darkest before the dawn..."

Another package landed on my doorstep this afternoon - looks like all my calls resulted in the order being duplicated - and finally, in my hot little hand...



With great restraint, I slowly reassemble the bearings, the pulley, installed the belts...so far so good:



And lo and behold:



So, in closing out this adventure - for $30 (and months of patience) I now have a fine drill press that can drop down to 220RPM and as fast as 2800RPM.

[Shootr]

Ever consider adding the extra shaft/pulley to get the speeds down lower?

It's the 3-pulley setup so 220-2800 rpm is the range on it. The crappy morse taper doesn't hold in the spindle with this spinning at the higher rpms. I also like the 600+/- range as it is easier to control what I'm working on stuff.

[whtbaron]

Different applications I suppose. I drill a lot of big holes (1/2" to 1 1/4") in heavy iron so I really like the slow speeds to keep the bits from heating up. My big press stays around 80 rpm.

[Shootr]

Different applications I suppose. I drill a lot of big holes (1/2" to 1 1/4") in heavy iron so I really like the slow speeds to keep the bits from heating up. My big press stays around 80 rpm.

Since I don't use the press very often, I'm still learning it's shortcomings as well as feed/speed rates. Anything over 1/2" I drop it as low as it will go.

Belt slippage and lack of torque are its big challenges. I'm grabbing some Power Twist belt this week to replace the ancient original belts.

[smithdoor]

I had large drill press but in retirement they just took up space.
Today for holes to 5/8" I have a bench mill. For large holes I use a mag drill .

Dave

Different applications I suppose. I drill a lot of big holes (1/2" to 1 1/4") in heavy iron so I really like the slow speeds to keep the bits from heating up. My big press stays around 80 rpm.

[whtbaron]

Mag drill is definitely on my want list, but for now I use the big press a lot.

[12345678910]

Grizzly sells parts, they have good manuals and CS

[strangebrew]

Great Job!! I am so glad to find this. I bought the exact same drill press off Craigslist and did not look at it close enough. Somebody welded the chuck to the spindle and I can't replace the chuck. I ordered the Harbor Freight Spindle (part 11176) that has the 6 splines and my original has the 4 like yours. I will also need to replace the sleeve like you did as well. Can you tell me what part number your sleeve was? The ones I looked at on HF website had 47mm bearings and mine are only 40mm. If that doesn't work I would be willing to buy your old spindle if the MT2 taper is still in good shape. Thanks, Tony

[Shootr]

Great Job!! I am so glad to find this. I bought the exact same drill press off Craigslist and did not look at it close enough. Somebody welded the chuck to the spindle and I can't replace the chuck. I ordered the Harbor Freight Spindle (part 11176) that has the 6 splines and my original has the 4 like yours. I will also need to replace the sleeve like you did as well. Can you tell me what part number your sleeve was? The ones I looked at on HF website had 47mm bearings and mine are only 40mm. If that doesn't work I would be willing to buy your old spindle if the MT2 taper is still in good shape. Thanks, Tony

HI Tony,

My 4-spline is in pretty good shape, a little surface rust but not pitted or cracked - should be usable.





If it'll work for you, DM me where to send it. You can have it, it won't do me any good.

[strangebrew]

These are not the easiest parts to find! As Shootr stated earlier, knowing what exact terms to search and patience are the only way to succeed in this stuff. Lesson learned: Look more closely when buying used tools. The welded chuck in the spindle should have been easy to see if I would have paid attention.