Atlas 63 Drill Press Restoration / Resto-Mod

[designer485]

Complete! Link to finished photos:
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum...ess-restoration-resto-mod.489265/post-9603494



Here is my latest find and next project. Sorry in advance, this will be photo heavy.

It's a 1940s Atlas 63 that been Frankenstein'd quite a bit. It looks to have original paint (quite a bit missing though) under a ton of dirt and grime, a hacked front belt cover and falling apart belt guard, a Square D reversing drum switch, a depth stop from a Delta Press, an unknown concoction of a pinion / handle, an unidentifiable quill lock handle and a smashed start capacitor. The previous owner said he had been running it this way for the past 8 years as the capacitor was smashed when he moved it...crazy. Everything runs smooth despite the belt that is crumbling apart. The only part that I am slightly bummed about is the pulley cover. Somehow I did not notice that it had been cut up, likely from some kind of pulley mod at some point in its life. I can deal with that though, if anything it tells a story. It will get smoothed out / filed down to look as factory as possible.

I am going to resto-mod this one as it doesn't have all original parts and I have been itching to do work on a drill press. Based on the serial number and model, I am pretty sure this is an early 40s press with a ton of history and that's one of reason's I like it. There is just something about these 1940s drill presses. The simplicity, the main casting, the pulley cover, I love it. As it sits, it has 4.5 thou of run out. Not bad considering the condition / age.

I also took a quick look at the wiring box on the side of the motor and was pleasantly surprised that things were done quite cleanly when the drum switch was added. Planning on doing new wiring all around, new bearings and cleaning, polishing, brushing and painting just about everything. The paint on the KC motor is actually in very good shape and may only need touch-up after being pulled apart and cleaned.

This one is going to take me a while to complete so I am going to use this thread to document the work and hopefully share some of the journey. I know this may not have been the best candidate for one of my restorations, but I kind of dig the fact that there is so much "wrong" with it. I have high hopes of putting some lipstick on this pig.

 

[designer485]

The Tear Down:

Before pulling everything apart, I tested the new start capacitor and everything worked perfectly. Spun right up to speed, no issues.



I started with the wiring and motor. Drum switch first.





Front pulley cover came off as well.



Switch off - so much grime.



Motor removed.





Handle and quill parts were next.







Top pulley removed - the amount of dust / oil / dirt was crazy.





Parts:





Just a little bit of old grease in there...



Mostly broken down:

 

[designer485]

Additional Tear Down / Organizing / Cleaning / Polishing:

Started by bagging all of the hardware and spec'ing the bolt / hardware sizes for replacement.



Some of the sub assemblies laid out:

Pinion handle assembly - before and after.




Unknown quill lock handle and bolt assembly - before and after.




What looks to be a Delta depth stop assembly - heavily coated in grime. After taking everything apart and letting it sit in the ultrasonic cleaner, found it had been brazed at some point and needs some file work to look the part. Everything cleaned up pretty good, I just need to spend a bit more time on the clamp.








A very dirty and worn spindle assembly. I am quite surprised by how worn the spline is where the pulley sits in the return position.






Started hitting parts with the wire wheel. Things brightened up nicely, but I wanted better. I have been wanting a bench grinder with a wire wheel and a fiber abrasive wheel for awhile. It was well worth it. These parts looked ok, after the fiber wheel, they looked great.



What I have been using to restore parts. Very happy for the price.



Found a broken bearing in the spindle.





And after cleaning:



Everything cleaned up nicely. New NSK Japan bearings for the quill.


Pulled the spindle pulley bearings:





Cleaned up with new SKF double sealed bearings.


Broke down the Jacobs Chuck - then polished it and reassembled.










Return Spring Handle Assembly:









Quill lock:



Motor plate:



Lock handles after abrasive wheel polishing. There was a ton of pitting and some rust so I actually burned through the chrome into the nickle a bit, but they look good and will work just fine.







All of the polished / brightened up parts thus far:

 

[designer485]

Motor tear down:











Ugly key way, I don't even know how it could have got this bad...not sure what to do with this. It works, but it is bad.







Resistor between the two leads for the start capacitor.



Bolts out.



A ton of dirt and dust.













Wiring is going to need some work.









After a bit of vacuuming.




















Now for the first hurdle...how to pull the shaft / bearing from the bottom housing? There is no access cover. The only thought after seeing a similar issues / solution was to drill / tap a second "oil port" opposite of the original one and use 2 1/4-20 bolts to slowing push the bearing out of the casting seat. In theory it should work great, but it will be a bit delicate. I plan to replace both bearings anyway, so I don't really care about damaging the bearing.

 

[larry4406]

Nice job on the refurb!

 

[designer485]

Since acquiring this drill press, I have been on the hunt for a OE pinion shaft / gear and handle hub. It just so happens that @FrankLee was gracious enough to supply the parts I was after, thanks again! He also had a quill bumper that was in much better shape than the one I pulled out.

New parts include the pinion shaft, shaft collar, handle hub, thumb screw and pin. Also shown is a set screw for the return spring assembly.

All of the parts were brightened up with the abrasive wheel and the handle hub will get painted along with the main castings. I am working on a solution for the handle rods and ball knobs. I'll post that up once I have it all figured out.







Here is the set-up that was installed on the press (now cleaned up and polished) vs the OE parts (without feed handle rods or ball knobs).





I also spent some time cleaning up some of the little parts I had left.

Oil fittings, return spring release, return spring assembly set screw and nut, column bolt and nut, and the chuck key.


I also spent some time working on the pulleys. There is still some grime on the inside of each so I may have to run them through the ultrasonic again for a lot longer to loosen the really stubborn stuff. They are cleaning up quite nicely however.


Motor pulley. Congress Tool and Die Co. 5-4-3-2




Before soaking the castings in Simple Green, I removed the badges to try to preserve them the best I could. The main badge is a little beat up. I am thinking about repainting the red portion to bring it back to life. The plan for now is the try and get rid of the small dent as well as i can and then repaint the red portion, leaving the rest in tact. The base badge is in good shape and that will go back on as is.

I was able to cut through the rivets pretty easily without damaging the badge, but the remaining portion of the rivets in the casting are giving me some trouble. I have new cobalt drill bits coming to deal with that.




Another piece that made its way on to the bench is the Square D drum switch. I am going to clean it up the best I can first, but I am most likely going to drill the rivets, pull the badge and inside hookup guide and repaint to match the castings.
The amount of grime on everything still amazes me...although it shouldn't. This thing is darn near 80 years old.










More to come soon.

 

[csp]

Are those actually rivets on the drum switch cover? They aren't on mine. If they aren't you should be able to get them to loosen and come out with gentle prying with a putty knife in the corners followed by thicker tools as the gap widens.

 

[designer485]

The most challenging portion so far was pulling the armature from the end housing. It took me a few days of looking at it to come up with a way to get it out. I considered drilling and tapping another hole so I could push the bearing out of the housing with some longer bolts but did not want to go that drastic just yet. Then it hit me...a super simple solution and one that required very little effort.

I grabbed 2 pry bars and gently pressed up on the center portion of the armature against the housing. The shaft / bearing came out super easy. I really had nothing to worry about, I just had to think about for a few days.





Then I took apart the housing making sure to keep track of how everything was oriented.







Overall the armature was just really dirty and the bearings were in OK condition, but are definitely being replaced with new sealed units.







Bearing came off both sides of the shaft pretty easily. I hope the new ones go back on without too much issue.





I was hoping to save the paint on the end caps, but after getting everything apart, they are definitely being repainted. With being so dirty and missing some paint already, I put them into a simple green bath. Here is the before images.





I also pulled the oil wiper from the other housing (it still needs to be cleaned up).





New sealed MRC / SKF bearings.









I threw some colored heat shrink on the different color wires on the stater as they were very difficult to differentiate.





Armature cleaned up and ready to install the new bearings.

 

[goingtoarizona]

Very nice.

 

[designer485]

I finally pulled the column from the base. It was a challenge and required a bit more force than expected. I trimmed down a 2x4 on the ends to just clear the ID of the base and gave it hell with a 3lb sledge. It ended up sliding out 95% of the way pretty quickly, but the last 5% felt like it was getting caught on a small lip (this column has no lip, but had a bit of chatter on the edge of the tube). I worked it back a forth a bit, and eventually it let go. Now time to clean it up!







After looking over the Square D drum switch, I decided to do a full tear down, clean and paint to match the rest of this project. I love these older parts, everything comes apart with actual screws and is very easy to work on. No plastic clips to break.





























Here is a quick mock up of the new cable grips on the cleaned up frame.





I am likely going to trim the thread down on the inside of each grip to maximize room as it will be a tight fit.



Exterior parts ready for stripping, sanding and pant.



I also started stripping the paint on the motor end caps. This is after a bath in Simple Green for 48hrs.





I removed the inner fan shroud to better clean it up and allow for painting. It looks like I am going to have to drill some new holes for rivets or screws to re-attach the shroud. I'll figure that one out later (but before final painting). I am going to use VHT wrinkle black on the end caps. Should be a dead on match for the factory finish.







All badges have been removed cleaned up - this is a "before" shot. There is a very fine line of going to far with these...I have hit that in a few spot and stopped. "After" image coming soon.

 

[larry4406]

Nice job!

I like those wire cable grips.

 

[designer485]

I ended up fully breaking down the drum switch to clean all of the contacts and small parts. It made a huge difference. I also stripped the paint off of the pieces that will be getting repainted.



Before and after:















I rigged up some wheels to help turn the column while cleaning after seeing a few similar set ups here. It worked great. I used a fuel filter socket and a zip tie attached to a universal joint in a drill to turn the column will cleaning...it worked really well.

The results thus far are from 400 grit wet sanding and green scotchbrite.













And a reminder of what I started with:

 

[Smniemi]

I really like the caster rolling v setup you are using. I’ll be trying that soon on the Atlas 1020 I picked up from an auction.

It was my google searching for info on this tool that brought me to garage journal and this is my kind of place.

 

[designer485]

A few updates.

I pressed the new SKF bearings onto the pulley sleeve. They went on nice and easy with my vise.












Next, I wanted to get the motor end caps cleaned and painted. Simple Green, wire wheel, sand paper and a lot of sweat later...they look factory new and I could not be happier.

Before and after Dremel sanding with an abrasive wheel.


Before:


After:


Ready for paint, I did hit these with 400 grit sand paper and then mineral spirits prior to laying down the paint.


VHT wrinkle paint is a darn good match for the factory KC motor end caps. Put it on thick and go make a sandwich. I also painted the new capacitor bracket in the same finish.








After curing for about 2 hours:










Tape removed. I am super pumped on how these end caps turned out. The finish is just about a perfect match to the factory finish.
















I also pulled out the last few small parts that needed to be cleaned / polished.

First up, motor housing rods / nuts. These were nasty, but cleaned up great. I may gun blue these to stealth them out.
Before:


After:




Here is the table mounting hardware, before and after:

 

[Jayman17]

Great job you are doing. I’m impressed with that black wrinkle paint, it does look factory fresh.

Jay

 

[scupoli]

I ended up fully breaking down the drum switch to clean all of the contacts and small parts. It made a huge difference. I also stripped the paint off of the pieces that will be getting repainted.



Before and after:















I rigged up some wheels to help turn the column while cleaning after seeing a few similar set ups here. It worked great. I used a fuel filter socket and a zip tie attached to a universal joint in a drill to turn the column will cleaning...it worked really well.

The results thus far are from 400 grit wet sanding and green scotchbrite.













And a reminder of what I started with:

Genius

 

[EngineerNate]

Very nice work so far.

 

[csp]

What's the purpose of the collar around the tube that was just above the base before it was stripped down?

I saw another of these online and that collar was clamped to the tube between the table and the actual drill head/motor mount casting.

 

[designer485]

What's the purpose of the collar around the tube that was just above the base before it was stripped down?

I saw another of these online and that collar was clamped to the tube between the table and the actual drill head/motor mount casting.

The collar was in the wrong position when I bought this press. It should have been clamped just under the head. When the head is loosened to swivel, it supports the weight of the head assembly from sliding down the column.

The original parts diagram shows it in the correct place.
http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/51/2871.pdf

 

[designer485]

I was able to finish up the Sqaure D drum switch this weekend. I decided I liked the VHT wrinkle paint that I used on the motor end caps so much that something else needed to be painted with it...enter the drum switch.

After letting the paint cure over the last week, I riveted on the badge and assembled all of the parts back into a functional part. It is nice to see a "finished" part come together and I am very pleased with the final outcome.

The replacement knob ending up being a bit more complicated than I anticipated. The knob for the switch uses a 10-24 thread...no big deal, I'll just order one from McMaster. Well, come to find out that the knobs I ordered for the quill handle (7/16-20) only come in phenolic plastic and the 10-24 knobs are polypropylene. There both red, how different could they be... Well, they are very different and it bugged me. So, back to McMaster to order a 3/8-16 knob and some 3/8-16 to 10-24 threaded reducers. It worked out perfectly, but my OCD definitely took over on this one. The knobs all had to match, period.

The top row is the 7/16-20 knobs, below are (left to right) the original drum switch knob, the first replacement (polypropylene) and lastly the larger thread size phenolic knob. The color / sheen difference is pretty obvious.



Threaded insert shown:


Parts painted:


Parts ready for reassembly:








Complete:

 

[designer485]

I finished (or so i thought...more on that in a minute) the painted parts for my motor, so time to assemble.












Next up was finishing up the wiring. I decided to cover all of the original wiring in clear heat shrink with the individual colors labeled respectively.












Then I riveted the wiring plate and data plates. I made sure to tape and protect everything so the rivet tool didn't scratch anything.




Next up was the new SKF bearings. These pressed right on...no issues.




Starting to slide everything together and getting the wiring lined up for the center shroud.


Half assembled.






And my first setback...ugh. I covered everything in blue painters tape when I riveted on the badges. I had put some on and taken it off a few times already and didn't think twice. I pulled off the the last piece of tape and along came a big chunk of paint.
WTF. Total buzz kill, I wanted to finish putting this thing together tonight.

I'm not sure why the self etching primer didn't work better. I waited a week to even touch it and it has been nice and warm this week (in the 80s/90s). Time to sand and paint again. Oh well, at least I am not in a hurry.


Next up, repaint the shroud. Hopefully next time the blue tape wont pull it off.

 

[designer485]

Another repaint gone wrong...oh well. I am pretty sure this time the issue was from not shaking the can enough. I used Rustoleum professional, but the one that can spray any direction...I am pretty sure the extra excellent in the can combined with not shaking it enough caused the paint to flash to quickly causing uneven curing resulting in quite the textured finish. I generally go for lots of light coats a few minutes apart, but this was not flatting out like I am used too. Again, I am pretty sure looking back at it that I didn't shake the can enough.







So back to wet sanding for another top coat...





Now, onto some real progress.

I had acquired a 3 spoke factory handle hub, but it did not include the rods / ball ends. Thinking that would be an easy find, I went on the hunt. I get a lot of satisfaction from finding off the shelf components that can work for a specific use case. I was having trouble finding what I needed due to the 7/16-20 thread size.

I finally found a solution. I ordered double sided threaded rods (or as McMaster calls them, connecting rods) in 7/16-20. 9in total lenth with 2in threaded sections on each side. Once cut down, it gives me a ~6.5" rod with ~.75" threads on each side.

These were ordered back in January in stainless steel but were back ordered until March, or so I thought. While messaging with McMaster, they told we they were indefinitely back-ordered, but they had the aluminum version in stock and ready to ship. Done. If i have any issues down the road, I will replace them with steel, but this is a great option for those looking for replacement handle rods.





I used 2 shaft collars as cutting guides to get nice straight cuts on the rods. It worked out perfectly.









All cut to size.



And test assembly. Perfect.









One step closer to having this thing done. I will polish the rods, currently they are just raw aluminum.

I need to finish the motor shroud and get the main casting powder coated. After that, final assembly.

 

[Grant Gunderson]

Then I riveted the wiring plate and data plates. I made sure to tape and protect everything so the rivet tool didn't scratch anything.

Nice job on the restoration.

FYI, factory name plates are usually attached with Drive Screws, not rivets. They are cheap and can be purchased from McMasterCarr.

Also, if you decide to replace the factory wiring instead of just shrink wrapping it, it is SRML wire. Which is Silicone Rubber Motor Lead wire. This is Essentially Machine Tool wire, but has an additional Fiberglass outer sheath and is pretty much an exact match for what the motor leads etc are in this case.

Looking at the paint issues you had, it looks to me like it was due to contamination on the surface. It's worth using a dedicated paint specific wax and oil remover first.

 

[designer485]

The motor is DONE!

The finally got a finish I was happy with on the motor shroud and put everything back together.





Info plate mounted:





And Final assembly. The wiring took a bit of finagling to get everything to slide back together, but no issues.







I added washers under each of the stud nuts to keep all of the paint nice.



I soldered on the resister to the new start capacitor and finished the wiring for it. I still need to modify the cap for the capicitor, the hole for the wiring is too small, but that should not be a big deal.







Wago connectors are awesome.



Done!





I also picked up the powder coated parts this morning. It looks like I may be assembling everything this weekend.

 

[designer485]

Final assembly has begun.

Here are all of the parts back from powder coating. I had a bit of clean up, but nothing too bad.

The color is RAL 5004 (Blue Black).

The color is exactly what I had envisioned for this drill press. I could not be happier. The sheen level is just about perfect too. I wanted something satin / semi-gloss to make it easy to clean, but still have some of the cast iron texture show through. It worked out great.







I also put the spindle back together with new sealed NSK bearings.



I stuck the shaft into the freezer overnight, then drifted them on with a piece of PVC / End Cap + a 5/8 ID fender washer. It took a few smacks, but went on nice and smooth. The spindle feels great now.







Next, I installed the head badge as well as the data plate on the base. I used screw nails and a small ball peen hammer to install.





I decided to not touch the badge and left it as it came off. I like that it has no much patina / wear. It tells the story of the history.





The motor plate went back together real easy, although anyone who has put one back together will tell you there is not enough room around the nuts to really tighten them. I want to know how it was assembled initially.





Sub-assembly of the table. I greased the mating surfaces before tightening everything down.





And here is where it sits for now. Column is in the base and locked down. Table is installed and locked as well as the safety collar.

 

[Jayman17]

That powder coat looks awesome, nice color choice!

Jay

 

[Heats00]

This restoration is looking spectacular! It's also making me re-think the clean and re-assemble that I did on my own Craftsman/Atlas press.

 

[Grant Gunderson]

Looks great!

 

[designer485]

The assembly continues.

I started last night with mounting the head onto the column. I greased the outside of the pinch clamps before putting them into the head, then locked them down. I also moved the safety clamp up to just under the head.



Next up was the pulley bearing assembly. I greased the outside of the bearings and tapped it in. The cover plate was fastened with new screws.







The quill and pinion shaft slid right in. I also fitted the rubber bumper into the top of the head (no photo).



The pinion spring assembly and click lock along with the spring set screw were next.



I need to figure out a way to tighten the fit of the spring cover, it currently fits too loose and falls out way to easily.



The quill lock was next. This is a non factory part (the screw and handle), but it cleaned up nice and I like the design.



The shaft collar on the pinion shaft was locked down and I also fit the handle hub, handles and ball ends.











I fabricated a new cover plate for the original switch location and added some tool holders for a custom chuck key mount.





The quill depth stop assembly was next. This is actually a cobbled together set of Delta parts but it works well with the Atlas. The original clamp has been brazed and welded on (I may look for a new one in better condition), but it all functions perfectly and mounts up like it should.





It looks like a drill press again!



Next up:

Mount the pulley and pulley cover and belt.
Mount the motor.
Mount the drum switch.
Final wiring.

 

[Grant Gunderson]

I really like the chuck key holder!

 

[designer485]

A bit more progress last night.

After getting the majority of the mechanical parts back together, I got ready to finish up the wiring only to realize that the heat shrink that I put on the factory motor wiring was making it too large and stiff to actually fit in the wiring box. I bit the bullet and decided to rewire the leads on the motor.





I ordered 14awg SRML wire and a new ratcheting crimper. Both worked out fantastic.





An adjustable coax stripper works great on the SRML wire.



Before and after:





Factory metal tags were retained.



Removing the old wrap was quite a chore, but it came of relatively clean.





The factory joint was a glob of solder on the end of the wires then a few wraps for a mechanical joint. This was most likely done as a time saver because the coating on the coil wiring is pretty tough and required scraping it off to get a good connection.



I took quite a few images of how everything was ******* to make sure I got it make in relatively the same location.





Color coded to match the factory wiring diagram.



I then when lead by lead and replaced each one. I tested each crimp before heat shrink.







After everything was replaced and tested, I re-laced everything with cotton twine.





Motor going back together (I guess I forgot to take a complete photo).



I also trimmed the inside of the cord grips to maximize space inside the switch and motor wiring box.







Pulley mounted to the motor and the motor temporarily attached to the mounting plate.





Finally, I was able to test the motor with the actual belt. Everything runs nice and smooth.





I am just about there. I ordered an aluminum plate to sandwich between the motor and motor mounting plate as a new spot to mount the drum switch. Then final wiring can be done.

Last item on the list will be to mount the pulley cover.

 

[designer485]

I ordered up a piece of 1/8" thick aluminum plate that was 10" x 7". Perfect to fit in between the motor and motor mounting plate. I drew up a quick template in CAD, printing it out full scale and used it to center punch my holes.


Hole centers transferred.


I drilled and tapped the switch mounting holes for 1/4-20.


Then, I drilled the top and bottom holes of each slot with a 3/8" bit. I had the drill press hooked up temporarily to drill these holes...nice to use itself for making parts.




After drilling, I connected the holes and smoothed everything out. I also rounded the corners off.


Mounted to the motor / motor bracket.








Next up, wiring. Diagram was done in illustrator.




I am using the Southwire Red, White and Blue (made in the USA) extension cord as my power cord.










Testing everything out. I used Wago connectors in the motor wiring box. They are compact and just work really well.




Stuffed after shortening quite a few of the wires. It was a really tight fit.


Closed up showing the cord grips that I used.




Everything closed up.




I also installed the pulley cover. It was a very tight fit with the thick powder coat, but it was the only area that gave me in sort of trouble.

 

[designer485]

It's done!

Here are a few before and after shots before all of the details.

I put a ton of time and effort into this thing, but it was incredibly rewarding. It is probably nicer than it really deserves, but it is a pleasure to use now. Every single part, piece of hardware and motor was completely taken apart and refreshed. New bearings, new belt, custom wiring, a few custom parts (cover place / chuck key mount, switch mounting plate), and some new old parts all made it into this restoration.



















The table has a decent arc of shame, but oh well... it is part of the history.
































































And sneak peek at the little addition that I'm working on. Coming soon.

 

[larry4406]

Fantastic job! Both in the details of execution as well as documentation of the process.

 

[Grant Gunderson]

Very well done restro!
My one question is why is there white wires connected to black, and White connected to green in this image? Generally speaking any time you need to use a wire that’s the wrong color IE white neutral in this case it’s a good idea to use shrink wrap, etc to properly mark its color.

 

[designer485]

Very well done restro!
My one question is why is there white wires connected to black, and White connected to green in this image? Generally speaking any time you need to use a wire that’s the wrong color IE white neutral in this case it’s a good idea to use shrink wrap, etc to properly mark its color.

Good question. The below image should help explain.

Since I used pieces of the 3 wire extension cord cable, everything was black, white and green. I made the below wiring diagram to make sure everything was connected properly. To your point, I probably should have numbered everything coming out of the switch as there are 2 of every color for the 6 connections. I agree, it is a bit weird to have different colors connecting.

The top left of the diagram is the motor leads. The bottom left if power coming in from the wall. The middle sets of 3 wires is the connections from the wiring box to the switch and the numbered circles are the connections inside the switch.

 

[Jayman17]

That’s some top quality work right there, well done. Nice attention to details.

Jay

 

[Thesian]

Very well done! I picked up a Toolkraft model that is similar (and is in similar condition to your "before" pics). It gives me inspiration to see your work and know I'm not alone when my wife walks by and rolls the eyes!

 

[mikeinri]

Wow, amazing attention to detail! Very, very nicely done.

Mike

 

[designer485]

Cross Post from a separate thread:
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum...ress-multi-speed-adapter-for-atlas-63.499343/


When I bought this drill press, I started looking for a Multi-Speed adapter pulley only to realize they were relatively hard to come by and expensive when they did show up. Now that I am done with the restoration, I decided to build my own multi speed pulley assembly. I went through a few iterations in SolidWorks, but ultimately came up with the below design using off the shelf components from McMaster / eBay.

Rendering of the assembly:


Parts needed:
2.75" Shaft Collar (4" OD)
4" x 0.5" 6061 Aluminum Disk
NOS Baldor / Dodge 2 Bolt Flange Bearing (USA Made)
NOS Congress 5-4-3-2 V-Belt Pulley (USA Made) for .625" Shaft
.625" x 6" D Profile Shaft
.75"OD / .625" ID x 1" Bronze Bushing (realized I needed this after the fact)
Gates 29in and 25in V-Belts (Going to replace the 25" with a 27" or 28")
1/4-20 x 3/4" Socket Head Cap Screws
1/4-20 x 1.25" Socket Head Cap Screws
1/4" Washers

#7 Drill Bit
1/4-20 Tap
.75" Drill Bit



The flange bearing / bushing are mounted .625" off center to allow for 1.25" of swing when rotated. This was plenty to tension the front belt.

My biggest mistake was assuming the flange bearing I bought was fixed and not a pillow block. This allowed the shaft to move too much...the bronze pushing through the aluminum disk took care of that. Oversight on my part, but I worked around it. Lesson learned. I actually found an old MTB headset spacer that fits underneath the outer bearing race perfectly that stops the bearing from floating. This combined with the bushing make for a very stable and smooth rotating shaft.

If I were to make another, I would use a completely fixed bearing with no float or mount a shaft into the disk and have the pulley ride on bronze bushings. I wanted the shaft running on a bearing, but I am not sure it is completely necessary.

To drill all of my holes, I made / printed full scale CAD templates with all center punch locations. This made marking all of the holes very simple and insured everything lined up properly.

Low speed should now be: 276rpm

Flange Bearing and Pulley:






Shaft Collar:


D Profile Shaft:


Aluminum Disk (I also bought a steel disk, but ultimately used the aluminum for ease of drilling / tapping):


Belts:


Hole locations marked / drilled using CAD templates:








Test fit of the flange bearing on the mounting disk:


Drilled / tapped the holes to mount the disk to the shaft collar. I used three holes opposite the clamp to allow the clamp bolt to function.


At this point I put everything together only to realize that my pillow block bearing was not going to work. The shaft moved all over the place.


Time to drill the .75" hole to add the bronze bushing into the aluminum disk. It was nice being able to use my newly refinished drill press to make parts for itself:








Time to assemble all of the parts:
















Installed and ready to use:




















I am very happy with how it turned out, especially for less than half the price of the OEM adapters found on eBay, etc. The column shaft collar could fit a bit looser to allow for easier belt tension adjustment, but otherwise it works exactly as intended.