Adding a VFD to 120v drill press

[toplessHO]

I have a floor model 1 hp 16 speed I would like to set on highest speed pulleywise
and use a VFD to set speed.
Does anyone make a VFD that has a in and out thats cord connected? ie just plug
in the power cord vs splicing in?
I could then move from one drill press or machine to another also

 

[LopezBart]

First of all, a 16 speed drill press is likely used for drilling metal; this requires fairly low speeds and lots of torque, a poor proposition for a motor with a tall gear ratio. If you're set on this, leave it in a middle range and overspeed the motor some (up to 2x) for high speed operations.

Second, VFDs output three phase power; you'll need a 240V three phase motor on that drill press to make this work. Third, VFDs can and will fail if the connection from the VFD to the motor is interrupted while the motor is powered. At least use a twist lock if you go this route.

 

[mike93lx]

You will have to change the motor to a 3 phase to get speed control