Another Craftsman 150 drill press restoration

[admranger]

So I have had this Craftsman 150 drill press for a few years. My nephew bought it at my urging from a government auction in South Dakota.

I finally got off my lazy **** and decided to tackle this now that I'm retired. I have been watching Jeff's Shop rebuild series to get an idea of what I was in for, but decided to go ahead anyway.

Disassembly was going pretty well, but when it came time to take the chuck off the spindle, I ran into a problem. I used an old Park bicycle bottom bracket tool to turn the collar down onto the chuck. I had to slightly modify it for the tighter radius of the collar. Everything was going well until I ran out of threads and the chuck was still firmly attached to the spindle. Hmmm. Now what? I have it soaking with copious amounts of PB Blaster, but I'm not sure what to do if that doesn't help things out. Wedges? The chuck is a Jacobs 633C and as far as my old eyes can see there's nothing mechanical, like a screw or bolt, holding the chuck to the spindle. It appears to be just friction.

The good news is the motor spins freely and runs well. Unfortunate about the switch box that was mounted to the head, but these things happen. The drill itself does not spin very well at all. It is very stiff. Hoping to rectify that with the restoration.

Here's some pics for your enjoyment.

 

[FrankLee]

So I have had this Craftsman 150 drill press for a few years. My nephew bought it at my urging from a government auction in South Dakota.

I finally got off my lazy **** and decided to tackle this now that I'm retired. I have been watching Jeff's Shop rebuild series to get an idea of what I was in for, but decided to go ahead anyway.

Disassembly was going pretty well, but when it came time to take the chuck off the spindle, I ran into a problem. I used an old Park bicycle bottom bracket tool to turn the collar down onto the chuck. I had to slightly modify it for the tighter radius of the collar. Everything was going well until I ran out of threads and the chuck was still firmly attached to the spindle. Hmmm. Now what? I have it soaking with copious amounts of PB Blaster, but I'm not sure what to do if that doesn't help things out. Wedges? The chuck is a Jacobs 633C and as far as my old eyes can see there's nothing mechanical, like a screw or bolt, holding the chuck to the spindle. It appears to be just friction.

You have to keep turning the collar to force the chuck off the taper. Sometimes it takes significant effort.
Is the quill/spindle assembly removed from the head casting yet?

The good news is the motor spins freely and runs well.

The date code on the motor badge is H64... August, 1964.
The model number prefix of the drill press, 103, means it was manufactured by King-Seeley. That would be the last model year before Emerson Electric started manufacturing them.

Unfortunate about the switch box that was mounted to the head, but these things happen.

Those handi box switches are very common. That is a very nice vintage Cutler-Hammer switch though.

The drill itself does not spin very well at all. It is very stiff. Hoping to rectify that with the restoration.

New bearings should fix that.

Here's some pics for your enjoyment.

 

[Zeus36]

It is a Jacobs taper fit. You ran out of space when you turned the collar to the chuck. Now you have to add more space so you need spacers between the safety collar and the chuck. Back off the collar and stack some washers between the collar and chuck body, then crank down on the collar. If you have two pieces of metal the same thickness, then place them equally apart on each side under the collar. If you have a large thick washer, cut it in half and use both halves to add height to the chuck body. All of these options work the same way. Tighten that and the chuck should pop off.

Be sure to retract the jaws into the chuck body and place a box underneath to catch the chuck.

 

[FrankLee]

Yeah, Zeus is correct if the collar is still turning. I've never seen that on a 633C.

 

[admranger]

Yeah, Zeus is correct if the collar is still turning. I've never seen that on a 633C.

Leave it to me to be the first. I did try some washers but was afraid I'd strip the collar so I didn't crank down on things.

You have to keep turning the collar to force the chuck off the taper. Sometimes it takes significant effort.
Is the quill/spindle assembly removed from the head casting yet?

The collar is just spinning at the bottom. I haven't figured out how to take the quill/spindle from the head casting. Any "how to" threads would be appreciated. My search skills are pitiful.

 

[FrankLee]

Leave it to me to be the first. I did try some washers but was afraid I'd strip the collar so I didn't crank down on things.


The collar is just spinning at the bottom. I haven't figured out how to take the quill/spindle from the head casting. Any "how to" threads would be appreciated. My search skills are pitiful.

Interesting.

 

[admranger]

Interesting.

To remove the assembly...

1. lower the table all the way if possible
2. remove the feed handles from the hub
3. remove the feed stop collar
4. grab the chuck with your left hand
5. pull the hub out to the right about 1" with your right hand
6. the assembly should slide out from the bottom

I've always found it easier to dismantle and reassemv\ble the head with the head assembly removed from the column and resting on the back, motor mount side.

How does the top pulley come off? I didn't see a set screw or anything like that on it (or doesn't it have to come off?).

 

[FrankLee]

There are two screws accessed from each side outside of the head. Remove those and you should be able to pull the assembly out from the top. However, they are usually stuck because of dirt and grime. You'll need to use a dowel to tap it out after the quill/spindle assembly is removed.

 

[FrankLee]

To remove the hub assembly...

1. draw out the hub about 1/2"
2. from the bottom, with needle nose pliers, grab the spring loop and lift it off the roll pin
3. remove the assembly from the head casting

Again, this is easier with the head off the column.

 

[admranger]

Well, looks like I have some work to do tomorrow on this drill press. Thanks!

 

[Roberts210]

Ditto on that nice Cutler-Hammer switch.

 

[admranger]

Made some progress today thanks to the responses here and some messages from Jeff!

The quill is out! Those two little screws were a bit stubborn, but with some patience (I'm out for the day, used up my entire allotment) and PB Blaster magic, they came out.

Unfortunately, two of the handles were bent when I took that piece off. Looks like Godzilla wanted to drill through some weapons grade "hardnium" or something similar and put his weight into it.

I had to quit early as I have an evening commitment tonight, but will attack sometime tomorrow after the honey-do list is done.

Thanks again to all that have offered advice.

 

[admranger]

Quick update: I have the drill press fully disassembled except for the chuck from the spindle assembly. The chuck and spindle assembly are spending some quality time in the freezer until their attitude improves.

I have some of the smaller parts soaking in some all in one cleaner I had that was leaking in my upper cabinet (second time a jug has decided to spontaneously crack and leak). This stuff stripped the paint from my cabinet (Lista) shelf so I'm not happy right now. I have paint to fix it, but didn't need another project while I'm doing the drill press.

I need to go get some big containers of simple green or other cleaner so I can soak the bigger parts. The head, in particular, is filthy.

As you can see, the shaft is really rusty. Is electrolysis not as good as a citric acid bath? I've done electrolysis before on my Wilton vise and it worked out really well. Since I want all the paint off the head, base, etc. I was thinking of just using that method instead of the citric acid.

Bearings all appear to be toast. Motor bearings are slightly noisy, but I'm not sure I'm confident in my ability to disassemble it and replace them without making a mess of things. Let's see how the rest of the project goes as I can always do the motor later.

The last pic is of the feed handles and two are really bent. They will work, but aren't ideal, that's for sure. I don't have a way to make them so I'll make do as this doesn't need to be perfect, just in good working order.

 

[admranger]

Ordered some new quill handles from @oldironowner yesterday as mine are in rough shape (see picture above). I picked up the drive belt at Autozone as well.

Had to buy a big enough tub to fit the base in to soak it in Simple Green. Lowes had a 27 gallon tub for sale for $11 ($10 each if you buy 4). It was a bit larger than I needed but all the smaller ones that they had in stock were much more $. Surprisingly more. While I was there I picked up some threaded rod for my poor man's lathe setup for the column sanding operation. I already have some spare casters, wood, nuts, washers, end caps, etc., etc. My 1/2 inch drill will be very happy to come out of hibernation and get used (abused) for this.

I pulled the spindle and chuck out of the freezer. I was able to get it to move slightly more using some thicker washers. It moved enough that the collar came off the threads and now it won't thread back on. It's been chucked (ha!) into the simple green bath now and then I'll put it into the citric acid bath once I get done cleaning everything. Hopefully I don't have to buy wedges or something to try to get it off. This has been the only frustrating part of the project (so far). The pulleys and bearings all came out without much effort at all.

I ordered up some sanding discs for my Porter Cable random orbital sander since I didn't have a full assortment of grits. I do have plenty of flat sandpaper for the column, etc. In addition I ordered the 2 sets of 2 bearings as most in the drill press were shot and I'm not putting it back together with old ones in it. The most expensive phrase in the English language hit me again: "While you're in there, you might as well..." I should order the o-rings but I haven't done that yet. Figured I should get some time and space between spending money. It limits the "how much would a new one have cost" questions from the other side of the house.

Now I continue to soak and clean until everything is done and then it is time for rust removal w/citric acid. I'm in no rush as it sat for 2+ years collecting dust so I'll just take my time and not make this project seem like "work".

 

[admranger]

Base is out of the simple green and the sticker came right off as well as a bunch of built up crud. Table went in the simple green tub and I was able to stand the head up in it so I'll get part of that cleaning as well.

Spindle and chuck are still not cooperating, though I was able to get the collar off the spindle so now it's just the chuck and spindle married together (with rust it appears). Back into the simple green bath until the citric acid arrives on Tuesday.

 

[admranger]

More progress. Took parts out of the simple green bath and wire brushed the crud off them. The old paint on the head came off so I was happy to see that.

The citric acid bath for the small parts yielded fantastic results. I have some of the bigger parts soaking now so hopefully I have those out in a day or two. Quill and chuck are in the citric acid too. Let's hope that does the trick for getting them to separate...

Here's some pics for your enjoyment. The first one is the before/after of soaking a part in citric acid in case there are any non-believers out there. 24 hours and the difference is massive.



The head after simple green soaking and scrubbing with a wire brush. Surface rust will come right off in the citric acid bath.


After some very light polishing with Mother's polish, these look a lot nicer than before. I'm not going to make them pristine as I don't have any polishing tools other than manual labor and I'm not that ambitious.

 

[admranger]

Big news! The quill came off the spindle after 2 days in citric acid! Hallelujah!

Here's the base and the table. Base flat area has one pass w/40 grit, table is in the after cleaned condition.




And here's where I said: "good enough" (Picture isn't the best, but you get the idea).

 

[admranger]

So I partially disassembled the chuck. 1 of the 3 jaws came out (with a couple of taps of a punch). The other two move, but they weren't coming out so I sent it back to a soak in citric acid as things looked rusty inside. However, being as I'm making this drill press for DIY use, not a pure refurb/restoration, is there a good keyless chuck to use as a replacement if this 633 Jacobs can't be saved. I see Jacobs has a keyless chuck that looks like it'll work, but wondered what the consensus is on this.

I haven't made much progress on painting as the weather has been iffy with a chance of rain. My outdoor "paint booth" isn't weather proof, so I've held off as I don't want to do something in a hurry.

 

[admranger]

Did a little painting. Don't hate on the color please.

 

[admranger]

Well, some windy (60mph peak gust) days got me back into the garage. I made a little progress.

The column was a hot mess of scratches, pits, and wear. I started at 40 grit and went to 2000 grit. Finished with a little metal polish and then some wax to keep the corrosion at bay. Remember, I'm not going for perfection, but just a serviceable and "decent" restoration.

I am missing two of the "pins" that secure the headband. Not sure I'll order 100 just to get the two I need. Might just leave them off (red LEDs for eyes on the alien head? ).

I did hit a big snag with the chuck. It wasn't working when I got the drill press and after disassembly, cleaning, making sure I have each jaw in the right spot, lubing it up and reassembling it still is junk. Again, since this is a restoration not a concours quality one like Jeff's @11b30b4 work, any of the newer style chucks that will work in place of the Jacobs 633 that I should consider using?

Anyway, on to the pictures

 

[FrankLee]

I am missing two of the "pins" that secure the headband. Not sure I'll order 100 just to get the two I need. Might just leave them off (red LEDs for eyes on the alien head? ).

Early Craftsman 80s and 100s had 6-32 machine screws securing the head trim panels. I always drill and tap those holes for machine screws on the later models and replace those panel screws (I hate those!). I also drill and tap the bases for the model badges, the motor badges and elsewhere.


The 150s have a larger panel screws, so I drill and tap those to 8-32. I also use brass screws on the 150s.



I do polish and reuse the panel screws on the Craftsman heritage logo badges.

 

[admranger]

So I finished the drill press today. It's rotated 90 degrees from how I'll have it on the table so I can take pics of all sides easier.

I added a cheap, aptly named, Kaka keyless chuck with the Jacobs JT33 taper on it as the original 633C was toast, or at least beyond my ability to rebuild even after watching the meticulous videos by @11b30b4 Jeff's video series on the 150 is what gave me the confidence to finally tackle this project in the first place.

@oldironowner provided the feed handles and they were flawless. They look so much nicer than the bent up and abused ones that came with the drill press.

@FrankLee, I used some hex head bolts I had sitting around to attach the headpiece on. I drilled and tapped the existing holes (that apparently were drilled by a drunk worker). Not as sleek as what you showed me above but it works for my purposes and I had it on hand so bonus points.

I did put new bearings in the motor. I had to adjust the stack up and remove a few spacing washers as the cheap chinesium bearings I could get were on the tall side. Amp draw is show below at a bit over 7.3 amps which I think is pretty decent (correct me if I'm wrong here).

Unfortunately, there's some runout so I won't be making any precision drilling, but it works for what I'll use it for.

I do need to buy a new belt as the old one is a bit crusty, but I'll pick that up next time I'm at the auto parts place (or when this one breaks).

Overall I'm satisfied and, even better, my wife thinks it looks amazing! That's a win. Thanks to all for the help. It's nice knowing that this resource was there should I get into too much trouble doing this restoration.

 

[11b30b4]

That turned out great, how it the runout with that keyless chuck?

 

[admranger]

That turned out great, how it the runout with that keyless chuck?

Thank you. I do like the end look.

The runout is not good. At least 0.01 inch using my cheap chinesium dial indicator.

I may not have seated the chuck perfectly as it is friction fit, but I believe the quill is tweaked from abuse.