Brought Powermatic 1150 drill press home

[Ignoramus16069]

strong gentleman who was picking up his own stuff that he won in that auction, helped me load it into my pickup.

At home, I easily unloaded it myself. It weighed about 350 lbs, but nicely balanced on the tailgate as I lowered it, first on two pallets, then I pulled one, then I pulled another. No problem. And I am not even strong.

The good news is that it seems to work fine. Powers up, spins, and changes speed. Another good news is that it is NOT obnoxiously loud. Really quite acceptable for a strong machine.

There is a diagram of speeds next to the speed adjustment handle. The lowest speed depends on what is the motor RPM. For a 900 RPM motor, it is 235 RPM, for a 1750 RPM motor, it is 475 RPM or so (going by memory).

So, since the present motor is a 1750 RPM, this is a 475 RPM lowest speed drill press. The motor seems to be the usual 56 frame size, so, finding a replacement motor (say, 1 honest HP 900 RPM motor) should not be a problem. I am xposting this to a woodworking newsgroup in hopes that someone who wants a faster drill press, may want to swap my

1725 RPM 3/4HP motor, for a 900 RPM motor.

This is the hell of a "3/4HP motor", it is rated for 10 amps at 110V and easily blew a overload switch on my outlet bar at startup. The less honest people would rate it as a 1.5 HP motor.

The other bad news is that there are supposed to be three handles on the crank that lowers and raises the spindle. I have all threee, however, two holes are somewhat stripped. One hole is fine, so I can raise and lower the spindle.

Thread looks like 1/2"-20 NF, and I have a corresponding tap, though I doubt that I have a die for the handles. I will try to re-thread holes and see if that would help.

The mysterious pedal turned out to be for raising and lowering the spindle. It's great for quick hole making when I use two hands to hold work.

I think that I will upgrade my basement 120v circuit to 20 amps, though it is not necessary for the DP, but it is a good time to do it.

i

[Tom Gardner]

Might you concider a VFD? If I fall into one, I'd do my new DP.

[erik litchy]

pretty nice, is it reversing?

i am holding out for one with power feed. so nice!

[Ignoramus12968]

no, it is not reversing. It is purely a motor question.

Power feed is definitely a great thing. What I like about this DP, is that it has a foot pedal that I can use to lower the quill.

i

[Ignoramus12968]

Tom, I do not know. It would be nice for a few reasons, like tapping and reversal. Electrically, it is a hassle due to having to redo my basement electrical wiring a lot.

i

[Jim Behning]

I have an 1150 that I have used on and off for the past 17 years. It had a 3 phase motor 1725 rpm when I used it sometimes for 8 years. That place went out of business so I bought a bunch of their tools. I installed a single phase motor I had laying around. I am sure it is a

1725 rpm is on it. I have never had any issues drilling with that speed. It may be a waste to get a slower motor. Maybe not. But I drill wood usually. Maybe you need slower for big metal holes.

Helicoil for the handle problem.

[Wild Bill]

Is it better to be standing on one leg when a drill (or other tool) grabs the piece that you're holding by hand?

IMO, you're always better off clamping workpieces.

The following statement leads me to believe that you think the foot control is going to be a great time-saver. Some folks that hurry can't count to 10 on their fingers.

Your shop practices may transfer to your son, so he would benefit from seeing safe practices examples while you work, as safe operating procedures aren't a waste of time.

[Ignoramus12968]

I mostly drill metal, though wood as well. If I find a two speed motor, if such a thing exists, I might install it. For now I decided not to mess with the press too much.

Thanks. I simply re-threaded the hole, the handle went in deep enough and seems to be fixed in place quite well. i

[Ignoramus12968]

Point taken. I would only use it for small stuff.

WB, that C face motor that you used for your 3-in-1 smithy machine, does it have beefy enough bearings for the side loads caused by belt?

igor

[Ignoramus12968]

1966 manual and the more modern manual. They are now on the above page. They are in PDF. i

[Gunner]

For you folks wanting to tap in a drill press..might I suggest yall start scrounging for a Procunier/Tapmatic/etc etc tapping unit.

Gunner

"Liberalism is a philosophy of consolation for Western civilization as it commits suicide"

- James Burnham

[Charley]

Putting your manuals on the internet is a good idea to help others, but you might also consider sending it to

so they can include it in their archive. Most people look there when they need info on old woodworking tools.

[Ignoramus12968]

I even set up an ebay auction with free links for manuals, just to help a few guys out there who do not want to pay $20 for a pdf file... It is a "service to community" auction where you do not need to bid to download manuals.

i

[Wild Bill]

Ig, the shaft bearing is not likely to be adequate for substantial side loading, since the motor had a worm gear reduction box on it, which was removed.

I installed a new, quality ball bearing (NTN, IIRC) when I removed the gearbox. I figure that for the limited use the machine gets, the bearing will provide a worthwhile service life, probably, but time will tell. Since the bearing was only about $11, I'm not too worried about it. The variable speed made a dramatic difference in ease-of-use for the machine.

The PM DC motor modification was an experimental project that turned out well, since I was able to utilize some components that were very affordable to obtain. The gearhead motor was only $10 at a local salvage yard, and the new GE drive was about $20, from an eBay auction.

If I were to separate/adapt another gearhead motor for a different application, I'd consider adding a plate to support a bearing at the end of the shaft.