Need pullies and a bearing

Unfortunately... most here will suggest replacing the press instead of modifying it...

Tim

Your expression "chafing" runout means very little to me. Further, you seem to assume that your spindle bearings are the source of your runout. Many little drill presses have low quality chucks which themselves can easily have 1/32" of runout. If your chuck can be removed from the spindle, then try directly indicating the spindle with a dial test indicator. If its runout is below .002 TIR then the problem is the chuck.

You can buy multi-step pulleys at McMaster-Carr but those are die-cast zinc pulleys and they have a lot of runout. I have given up on buying step pulleys and now turn my own on a lathe. There is a HUGE difference in the vibration of a machine if you have a good belt and pulleys that run true. Anyway, most small DPs vibrate like crazy anyway so if you don't care just order from

GWE

AAvK wrote:

Unless the pulley is sufficiently eccentric so that it rubs the belt on the safety cover.

Agreed. If the *bearings* are giving that much runout, I would be surprised that the motor was still able to turn the spindle. :-)

And you should not need *two* extra pulleys. Just one (for in the middle) and turn the one on the motor upside down.

I've seen some in which the pivot for the floating pulley (both belts are tensioned by moving the motor, and the middle pulley seeks a point to put equal tension on the two belts) is mounted into the top of the column, but in my (inexpensive 20+ year old Taiwanese drill press, the pivot is on a crank fitted to a hole drilled into the casting to the left and in front of the column. When I replaced the belts with good new ones, the idler pulley started to rub on the guard at some settings, so I had to shift the guard -- and that required enlarging the hole in it which gave access to the hole in the casting.

Good Luck, DoN.

Mine is simple:

It is a cheapy Chinese mini DP, $40 at the Homier traveling tool show. Something like

I imagine one could place a larger single gulley wheel on the front spindle, or something like that...? I know a variable speed DC motor and control board would be really expensive, after all the searching I've done. Doing a jack shaft is too much for me.

Slow for a spinning wheel strop with leather on top of the disc. Used for honing wood- working chisels and handplane blades. Don't want the steel to turn blue because it's too fast.

I have had the arbor made with threading, and the wooden discs are glued up but it's not finished quite yet. All that should make more sense.

Alex

Improving a cheap drill press ........ Check out this site.