Delta 17-925 Drill Press Questions

[Rockable]

I am in need of a more HD drill press. I routinely drill up to 3/4" holes in flat bar (usually no thicker than 3/8") and use holesaws to cut gauge, speedometer, AC vent holes in sheet metal in my hot rod and custom builds.

Tomorrow, I am going to look at a locally listed Delta 17-925 variable speed press. They say it probably needs a belt. I know the sheaves for this are no longer available, so I will inspect them carefully.

Is this a reasonably heavy duty press for a hobby shop, assuming the pulleys are good? Is it hard to replace the belt? Any other caveats I should be aware of?

Thanks

 

[GeoBruin]

I am in need of a more HD drill press. I routinely drill up to 3/4" holes in flat bar (usually no thicker than 3/8") and use holesaws to cut gauge, speedometer, AC vent holes in sheet metal in my hot rod and custom builds.

Tomorrow, I am going to look at a locally listed Delta 17-925 variable speed press. They say it probably needs a belt. I know the sheaves for this are no longer available, so I will inspect them carefully.

Is this a reasonably heavy duty press for a hobby shop, assuming the pulleys are good? Is it hard to replace the belt? Any other caveats I should be aware of?

Thanks

There are two belts. The belt connecting the motor to the "drive pulley" and the specialized belt connecting connecting the two reeves drive pulleys. I suppose you can probably still get both, but I'm not sure about the Reeves belt.

The drill press should serve you well, but really, good cutters make all the difference.

 

[Rockable]

So, the belt connecting the Reeve's drive is not an ordinary V belt?

Yikes! One of those belts is 150 bucks! And one is discontinued. Sounds like this should be a hard pass.

 

[johnre]

I've got a Delta 17-965 that appears to be sharing many of the same components as this model, except it's a 12-speed stepped ratio drive. It's a pretty solid 16.5" drill press with a 3/4 HP motor, 4-7/8 in. quill stroke, and 5/8 in. chuck.

Most all of the parts in the drive system are pretty common, and those that wear (i.e. V-belts) you can get just about anywhere.

It's a pretty solid drill press, and if you don't mind manually changing the ratios, you might consider going with it instead of a variable speed unit. They are also much more common on the second hand market than the 17-925.