HF Drill Press - How to improve Horsepower

[gorlosky]

I have a HF 5 speed Drill press and I cannot drill through steel with a bit size greater than 7/16. I pull out my Black and Decker hand drill and have no problem drilling up thru 1/2 inch.
The Drill press is running at 760 RPM and the hand drill at 750 RPM. The Drill press has a motor the size of a 1 gallon jug and the hand drill something the size a a fist.
Why is the drill press motor such a dog (document rated at 2.4 amp), while that smaller hand drill (tag rated at 5.5 amp) has plenty of power ?
How can I improve the drill press performance ?
I was also checking the HF 8x12 lathe motor and although much larger only is rated at 3/4 HP but is watt rated at 350 (which is 9/16 HP).
.39 hp = 290 watts = 2.4 amps
1/2 HP = 373 watts = 3.1 amps
3/4 HP = 559 watts = 4.6 amps (although the lathe tag says 8 amp 350 watts at 120 volts, which to not correct)

 

[gorlosky]

I found a lot of answers why the seemingly false reading here, where today the far end of the intermittent duty curve is stated instead of continuous duty rating being stated:
http://bbs.homeshopmachinist.net/threads/35208-Lies-Damn-Lies-and-Horsepower-Ratings

Now - is there any way to improve output with the motors that are on the Drill Press or the Lathe ?

 

[pineyfolks]

You can add 1 or 2 intermittent pulleys for more power and lower speeds.

 

[schor]

I added an extra pulley to mine to slow down the speeds, it helps some with the torque too.

[video=youtube_share;bk9L0Dxe4ng]http://youtu.be/bk9L0Dxe4ng[/video]

 

[Rbeckett]

The step down pulley set up is the true answer/ That will allow the motor to run in it's more efficient and powerful range while slowing the drill to a much more reasonable speed for drilling. 99% of folks drill too fast and that results in walking, chattering, egg shaped holes and broken bits stuck in the material. I general never turn a drill bit faster than 300 RPM and prefer 150 for most of the work I do. So a step pulley and a Variable speed control for the motor is a great way to achieve the slower speeds without overheating the motor. Just my .02, but slower is much better!!!

Bob

 

[gorlosky]

Ah ha. So like the HF 8x12 Lathe which uses a step down method, I can also move the existing Drill press pulley off the motor shaft, to some middle location where I can adjust for tension on a slider and achieve lower speed, but higher efficient (hopefully as torque in my mind) and be able to drill with 1/2 inch bits with ease ? When would I ever need above 1630 RPM ?

 

[arvidj]

I found a lot of answers why the seemingly false reading here, where today the far end of the intermittent duty curve is stated instead of continuous duty rating being stated.

I usually refer to this as the ILS rating ... If lightning strikes.

 

[coolidge]

I usually refer to this as the ILS rating ... If lightning strikes.

lol that's a good one! :winner:

 

[kd4gij]

HF sels a 12 speed bench dp look at your drill and see if the hole for the center pully is there. If so just order the parts for the 12 speed.

 

[gorlosky]

Ordering parts from HF is nuts. I broke a part on my 2 month old Portable Bandsaw. There are 60 some parts listed in the manual. Their Parts department says they only stock 3. I asked how soon would it be then ? They replied we only stock 3, meaning we can only get 3. :yikes::yikes::yikes:

SO, don't expect to get Parts.