Delta Drill press

[Tucko]

Picked up this Delta drill press for free awhile back. It has a 3 phase motor and needs a chuck. I would need to rewire my garage, or convert the motor to single phase. I'm just wondering if it's worth the investment, or should I craigslist it..? It originally came from Douglas Aircraft.

 

[Jack Olsen]

As long as it doesn't have a vbration/play/runout problem, I'd put a single-phase motor in it and get it back in shape. Those are great drill presses. You can get the year of manufacture from the serial number.

 

[RCStocker]

No you don't need to rewire your shop
I will bet that you don't have 3 phase power. They power company will not even turn it to your house.
The press is nice. Take the moter off and scrap it out or try to sell it 3 phase moters take 3 hot lines to run and you do not have it in your house.
A good chuck will cost $75 or more but you can pick a good Jacobs chuck up cheap at a swap meet or on E bay. The press will run great on a 3/4 hp motor. Before scrap metal went through the roof you could find moters for $10 to $20. Not they are harder to find. As a machine shop or industrial business if they have one they want to sell. Machine shop will use 3 phase and sometimes take of single phase motors.
If you were close I would give you a moter and chuck. I have a rack full of moters in the shed. I change them out all the time on machinery.

Just look to see what taper your dril press has. You can get a reducer to use smaller chucks which I do when I need smaller holes. It will be a #2 or #3 taper.

Go to the homemachinisindex.com or another machinist site and you will have a much better chance of finding a chuck.
you can also go to the woodweb or woodnet.com sites. The woodweb is everyone including the guys form MIT and large industry down to the home shop owner. The woodweb is a bunch of nice guys that are more intrested in collecting and buying tools thay can't afford then try to sell them. LOL

Yest the press is worth taking apart, cleaning and painting. It is nothing to put a chuck on. If you find someone with a chuck or take one off of another machine and install it on the Delta press. Put an indicator in it and see how accurate it is. If there is slop in the spindel then you will neet to put in new berrings which is not big deal. Even with all you need to do to convert it it will still be cheaper than a good one at $150 to $250. There are many people who collect and restore old iron.

 

[DavidB]

If you haven't yet, head on over to owwm.com and owwm.org to find out info on your machine. The forum side (.org) is full of folks, like myself, who love restoring old machinery and can answer the more detail oriented questions you may have. Check into Rohm chucks as well. Jacobs seems to be producing a lot of thier chucks in China these days and thier quality has dropped from what I've read. If you can find an older Jacobs chuck made in the US I'd pick it up though. Rohm produces thier chucks in Germany and the one I got when restoring my older drill press was great.

I'd definately find a single phase motor and a chuck to get your machine back up and running. The little bit of money you will have spent will give you a great drill press.

 

[darkk]

RUN IT!!!! Buy a VFD for it and call it a day. Nice heavy duty drill press there. Don't make them like they used to.

 

[jbaccell]

RUN IT!!!! Buy a VFD for it and call it a day. Nice heavy duty drill press there. Don't make them like they used to.

I agree, throw a VFD on it and use the current motor. Great drill presses and worth saving.

 

[Tucko]

Excuse my ignorance, but what is a VFD?

 

[mikew13]

Excuse my ignorance, but what is a VFD?

Variable Frequency Drive

Single phase input, three phase output, you can control the speed in hertz.

 

[Outlawmws]

Several options on motors, but first question: how many speeds is it?

If a 4 or 5 speed, (one 4 or 5 sheave pulley on the motor, one on the Spindle, one belt) then a VFD and keeping the 3 ph motor is a good option.. a cheap laser tach from Amazon, and you are set.

Another option is to adapt a treadmill motor to it. I posted a thread yesterday on salvaging a treadmill motor for just such a purpose.

If it has three sets of pulley's and two belts, then swapping out to a 1/2 HP min 120 V motor is a good option.

Definitely worth fixing up regardless! great score!

 

[bluebolt]

Do I see a table lift on that puppy?

 

[Outlawmws]

Do I see a table lift on that puppy?

Looks like it to me (I hope so with a table that big/heavy!)

 

[Tucko]

Hey guys, thanks for all the input. You've convinced me not to sell it...

 

[kc-steve]

Picked up this Delta drill press for free awhile back. It has a 3 phase motor and needs a chuck. I would need to rewire my garage, or convert the motor to single phase. I'm just wondering if it's worth the investment, or should I craigslist it..? It originally came from Douglas Aircraft.

I think rewiring the garage is moot if you don't have 3-phase coming to the garage, which most of us don't unless you are in an industrial area. I would convert the machine to single-phase even just to make it marketable for resale.

Steve

 

[OldToolMan]

I think your best option would be to double your money and sell it to me, do you deliver?that is a very nice tool,you can pick up a 1 HP motor for about $50. or less.I put an Albright chuck on mine and don't need a chuck key any more.I probably have my original Jacobs chuck. I also have motors but they are expensive to ship. Larry

 

[buening]

I agree with the VFD. It is a very easy way to control the RPM. Keep in mind one speed doesn't fit all with a drill press. Changing belts on a multi sheeve pulley can be cumbersome if you are in a hurry or have to change speeds often.