Craftsman 150 Drill Press

[src60]

Hello, I'm a new member and just picked up a Craftsman 150 dp. It was obviously well used but in decent condition for its age and did operate. It has a fair amount of surface rust but not too bad. I found this site looking up info on it and found several threads going through rebuilding these old units. I disassembled mine with no problems but did find one issue. My spindle pulley has a broken section about an inch or so long on the largest diameter pulley. As this piece has odd splines I'm assuming its not going to be easy to find a replacement and I doubt it would be repairable. I plan to use this mainly for metal work so I need the slowest speed available. Anybody have any suggestions or maybe a used pulley for sale?

 

[CwazyWabbit]

It may be possible to get it built back up with a TIG welder and then machined back.

 

[bluebolt]

SCR60, I may be able to help you out, I have a parts 150.

 

[src60]

I'm not very good a getting pictures posted (not very tech savvy) plus I'm in the middle of a garage 'remodel' and everything is really a mess. If I can't find a replacement I may try to have it welded but it looks like its probably pot metal and not sure how well that welds. Bluebolt, I sent you a pm about the pulley. FrankLee, mine doesn't look exactly like yours. Its similar, but the sides are a little higher and there's no square screen area on the side. Mine is the gold color which I understand means its late 50's - mid 60's vintage.
Thanks, Steve

 

[bluebolt]

I'm not very good a getting pictures posted (not very tech savvy) plus I'm in the middle of a garage 'remodel' and everything is really a mess. If I can't find a replacement I may try to have it welded but it looks like its probably pot metal and not sure how well that welds. Bluebolt, I sent you a pm about the pulley. FrankLee, mine doesn't look exactly like yours. Its similar, but the sides are a little higher and there's no square screen area on the side. Mine is the gold color which I understand means its late 50's - mid 60's vintage.
Thanks, Steve

Steve, I will post some pictures of the spindle pulley here when I can in the next few days.

 

[src60]

Bluebolt, any update on the pulley?
I also have a couple additional questions. As the original bearings were shielded, would it be best to go back with shielded bearings or use sealed bearings? Also, how much up and down play should the quill have in its shaft? Mine can move up and down about 1/8"-3/16".
Thanks, Steve

 

[bluebolt]

Bluebolt, any update on the pulley?
I also have a couple additional questions. As the original bearings were shielded, would it be best to go back with shielded bearings or use sealed bearings? Also, how much up and down play should the quill have in its shaft? Mine can move up and down about 1/8"-3/16".
Thanks, Steve

Here's some pictures. I have been busy and need to read up on how to remove that pulley without damaging it.

 

[src60]

Bluebolt, thanks for the quick response. My pulley came out pretty easy. I pulled the small snap ring from the bottom of the pulley's shaft using a small pick and drove the pulley out using a wooden dowel and a small hammer. Make sure you remove the 2 small screws on the sides of the housing that hold the top bearing in place. It only took light taps. I also understand you can also drive it out without removing the snap ring by driving both bearings out together. Please pm me or send me an email to discuss price and method of payment.
FrankLee, I checked my quill and all it needed was to adjust the collar on the quill shaft to take up the up and down play in the shaft. Thanks for the info.
Thanks, Steve

 

[bluebolt]

Brang my parts 150 inside to work on getting the pulley off it's cold out in the big shop! One screw out soaking the other in PB blaster.

 

[bluebolt]

Pulley is out and looks good. Bearing seems OK so up to you if you want to change it.

 

[src60]

I finally found a replacement spindle pulley for my dp and have a question about it. As you can see in the attached pictures, the splines on the replacement pulley are much narrower than those on my original pulley. Both pulleys have the same casting number on them. My question is, are the splines on the replacement pulley just worn badly or did different years have different splines? If they are worn badly, do you think the pulley is usable as is or will it just strip out under a heavy load?

 

[454ragtop]

Sadly, that pulley looks to be worn to the point of not being usable, as evidenced by the varying sizes of the splines.
Jim

On edit, a couple thoughts, your original pulley would probably work fine once the edges of the break were smoothed out. There is so much belt wrap on that large pulley that I can't see it being an issue, unless there was an imbalance problem, but I doubt it. Also, is it possible the splined piece is separate from the pulley somehow? Almost looks like a seam in the middle of that splined tube. If you could figure out a way to get them apart, maybe make 1 good one out of the 2?

 

[src60]

FrankLee, here are some pictures of my original broken pulley. As we discussed, I believe it was broken by an earlier owners attempt to remove it.
Steve

 

[src60]

454Ragtop, thanks for the response. I've also thought about trying to smooth the edges and see if it would work. As for it being 2 pieces, I believe it is a one piece cast aluminum unit but I will look at it and make sure. But, if it is 2 pieces, separating them and getting it back together without damage may be difficult.
Steve