Drill press has no torque

[Concrete B]

I have a Ram Machinery 16 speed drill press. It has lost it's torque and won't drill at all. I don't have a clue as to what's wrong or where to start. Any help?

 

[osborn.ozzy]

Does the motor bog down? or does it maintain the same speed?
I had a buddy with the drill press that had the symptoms and it turned out to be a broken key on the shaft.

 

[A_Pmech]

The usual culprit on those is either a loose set screw on the spindle drive pulley or a slipping belt. Oftentimes they don't have a key between the pulley and the spindle drive slip sleeve.

 

[geologist]

I'd say the brushes are probably worn out if its the motor itself.

 

[bob15]

Is the belt worn/slipping? Replacing the belt probably should fix it.

 

[Outlawmws]

I'd say the brushes are probably worn out if its the motor itself.

Modern DP motors rarely (if ever) use brushed motors.

 

[Concrete B]

The motor and belts are good. It sounds as if it is running fine but the bit stops turning when it hits the workpiece. I'm not sure how to access the shaft to check set screws, but I'll have another look

 

[rlitman]

I had a similar issue with an Atlas drill press.
The quill has a splined shaft that turns the chuck. There was a delrin (plastic) piece connecting the splined shaft to the pulley shaft, and an ear of it broke off. It was maybe a $20 part, and relatively easy to replace.