Repair/rebuild Duracraft 1600 Dp (was: Drill Press Shopping With $200)

[TOOLMASTER]

i bought a tiny desk top delta drill press over 25 years ago that i pretty much use at least 5 times a week that still kicks great..added a 1/2 keyless right away too.;-)..(it was 3/8)

 

[Terrywerm]

No doubt about it, I would fix up the old one, even though it is a Chinese import just like the new ones. I have a drill press very similar to yours except that it is a floor model, and it has been a good machine. Not great, but good. A new motor would be far cheaper than a new drill press, and making the new handles to replace the missing ones would be pretty simple. Removing the rust from the column and table would require a little elbow grease, but the machine itself would probably be just fine. If the runout is excessive, new bearings are not terribly expensive, and it would be a great project. Of course there is also the self satisfaction of being able to say that you rebuilt it yourself.

Many of us hobby machinists are just as interested in bringing old machines back to life as we are in doing machine projects. For many of us, rebuilding old machines is also a way of making our hobby much more affordable. Rebuilding your old machine may very likely give you a better machine than you could purchase for the same money. $200 will very likely get you a new motor and a new, more accurate chuck if one happens to be necessary. Just a few dollars more will make your new handles and purchase some new replacement knobs. Crank handles or cranks (if missing) might be a little harder to come by, but if you keep your eyes open you might find something usable elsewhere.

 

[Anopsis]

This is great info and suggestions, and I appreciate them all. I'll start doing a close inspection tonight and see what we have. My late father bought it new in 1983/84 and my mother gave it to me with his old tools when he passed away in 1988, so it does have a little sentimental value. But, of course, being an old/cheap tool, if it's not worth the money then I don't want to jump in. Having said that, it sounds like it might be worthwhile after all! Thanks everyone.

 

[brino]

Yup.....like those above I'd:
1) check that old machine first, new bearings should be fairly cheap, unless the spindle is bent it should be salvageable
2) try to find a $200 treadmill on craigslist and put the motor from that onto the old drill press, now you have great speed control.
-brino

 

[silence dogood]

The clue is that the drill press has been sitting doing nothing for 10 years. I would check that capacitor on the motor. Electrolytic capacitors age even when they are not used. The second thing is check the wiring, including the switches. You might have some corrosion. Also while you are at it, check out the belts and bearings. With a little TLC, you may have a press that would be better that anything you could buy for $200. Besides, with the money that you save, you could buy yourself a new drill press vise. Just saying.

 

[TOOLMASTER]

the new smaller bench drills have very flimsy tables...they bend as you drill down with just a little force

 

[T. J.]

I agree with everyone who has recommended repairing your current DP. I think that's your best and cheapest option. However, I'll give you my thoughts on your original question. I currently own the exact Craftsman model you're looking at. I've had it for a couple of years and it has served me well. My only complaints about it are as follows:

1. Belt cover rattles. It's annoying, so I usually keep it open.
2. The LED light, while bright, will not stay adjusted to shine on the work table.
3. Lowest speed is 350 RPM. The specs say it has 12 speeds, but it's actually only 11 because two of the pulley steps give the same speed.

That being said, I have found no major functional issues. It's easy to change speeds. The rack & pinion for table height adjustment works great - just make sure you tighten the column clamp when you get it where you want it. The chuck is decent. What you would get by buying the HF one are a a bigger motor and more speeds - especially on the low end. Those are important, but only if you plan on drilling big holes (>1/2"). I can't comment on the quality of it because I haven't used it. My opinion is that Craftsman machines are probably built to higher specs than HF.

That's my 2 cents. My Craftsman is currently for sale because I recently acquired a 17" Rockwell floor DP which has some interesting features we've been discussing here:

http://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/interesting-gear-reducer-on-drill-press.41638/

Regards,
T. J.

 

[Anopsis]

@TJ that Rockwell with the speed reducing pulley is really interesting! I do think I'm going to try to resurrect this old DP, but thanks for your insights on the Craftsman, too.

 

[marcusp323]

As an aside, replacing the chuck on these Taiwanese machines usually isn't an option as most are part of the spindle.
Mark

 

[Anopsis]

Ok, progress has officially been made!

The motor is good! I bypassed the switches and ran power straight to the motor, and it spooled up in an instant. I'm confused about the switch, though. I did a continuity test through it and it seems to check out ok, but there was no power at the motor connections when I tested it. I DID see corrosion on one leg of the power going into the switch, but could that have been enough to completely zero out the current?

Here you can see the corrosion I speak of:


I'm a newbie to all of this, but for my basic needs the runout seems ok? This is max runout, according to my cheap-o dial indicator:


Another bit of good news, if I have been learning correctly, is this shows that it IS removable:


And finally, a bit of the bad: the threads in two of the three holes for the feed handles are pretty much eaten alive by rust. Being new to most of this, what are my options here? Can I tap them and just thread some barstock?