# Drill press no longer spins



## Geppetto14 (Feb 21, 2014)

Hello All,

can anyone give me an idea as to why a drill press would not spin anymore?
When I press the on button it sims it wants to try to move but I just hear a humming noise.

If I open it up an remove both bands that connects the three gears, and I start the machine,
the gear attached to the motor does spin, but as soon as i put pressure back with a band,
it stops again, it is as if it lost the power.

The machine is not expensive, so if I cannot fix it, the next post will probably be about advice
on a new machine.

Thanks a lot
Nic


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Without being there we can only take a wild guess. I would start with the pulley on the spindle. It is like a gear which is loose enough it slides up and down on the spindle as the drill press is used. If the inside of this pulley is stripped out it will slip.


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

Do you have any friends that are "do it yourself" people or maybe somebody that is mechanically inclined?

If so I would ask one of them to take a look.

George


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*your terms are not quite correct ...*

Quote:
If I open it up an remove both bands that connects the three gears, and I start the machine,
the gear attached to the motor does spin, but as soon as i put pressure back with a band,
it stops again, it is as if it lost the power.

The "bands" you are referring to are probably the V belts and the "gears" are probably the pulleys driven by the belts. You need to start with the pulley on the motor and see if it is securely mounted on the motor's shaft. It will have a square keyway and a set screw to hold it on. Any missing parts will cause the issue you describe. The center pulley is just an idler and transmits power to the 3 rd pulley which is on the drill press arbor. This pulley must not spin freely either, in order to transmit the power from the motor. Hold the arbor in one hand and twist the top pulley with the other to see it it is properly attached. They must turn together, not separately. :smile3: The 2 belts must be snug on the pulleys to transmit the power from the motor, to the idler, then to the arbor.


This is the mechanical part of the drill press. There is also the electrical part. A bad starting capacitor on the motor will not allow it to build up speed or it just may not turn at all and just hum. You can grasp the pulley on the motor shaft with a gloved hand and turn it on .. ready to immediately turn it off .... and see if it has any power. If it turns with power then the issue is probably mechanical.


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## FrankC (Aug 24, 2012)

"You can grasp the pulley on the motor shaft with a gloved hand and turn it on .. ready to immediately turn it off .... and see if it has any power. If it turns with power then the issue is probably mechanical."

Rather than risking a broken wrist, just use one of the belts as a brake by putting tension on the pulley. Gloves and machinery are usually not a good combination.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*I knew someone would hit me on that one*



FrankC said:


> "You can grasp the pulley on the motor shaft with a gloved hand and turn it on .. ready to immediately turn it off .... and see if it has any power. If it turns with power then the issue is probably mechanical."
> 
> Rather than risking a broken wrist, just use one of the belts as a brake by putting tension on the pulley. Gloves and machinery are usually not a good combination.


Of course I have done this, but I didn't think an "ungloved" hand would be a good idea for a novice, so I proposed a more elegant solution... hah hah.. :nerd2:
You also don't want to grab the pulley with a Gorilla grip either... just let it rotate IF it wants to. I have stopped many a metal lathe or drill press chuck after turning off the machine, .... with my bare hand.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Really guys, moving belts and hands don't mix especially one with loose clothing or a glove which can pull fingers under the belt.


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## Improv (Aug 13, 2008)

Wrap the chuck with a strap and give it a pull cord tug/yank.


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## Geppetto14 (Feb 21, 2014)

Thanks for all the suggestions and for letting me know the correct terminology...
for is it's all ... the thing that pul the thing that makes then the other thing move 

I made it work, but I think is only temporary... I checked all the screws and it all seems fine,
without any V Belts, and the pulley attached to the motor, turn fast, it does not vibrate, I also 
tried to grab it (without V belts) with a very heavy duty glove, I did not want to force it but 
I was finding it very difficult to slow it down, so I think the motor is fine.

With both V belts back on, looks like the motor does not have enough power to pull every thing,
so I decided to do something else, I loosens the two screwed that holds the motor so that also the Vbelts were loose,
than I switched the drill press on and slowly started to push the motor back words creating tension, it looks like that
I need to create the perfect amount of tension of the vBelts to make it work, but I am pretty sure that with the vibration 
of the drill press, the position of the motor will keep shifting I am will have to fix it all the time.


but for the moment works, so thanks to all for helping.

Nic


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

Doing what you are describing will give you a machine with insufficient power to drill a hole. The belts will slip on the pulleys when under load.

You have a problem that you have not discovered. Do you have a friend that is a "do it yourself" type of person. If so offer him/her a beer(s) or favorite beverage to come look at your drill press. An auto mechanic would probably be excellent. Or an engineering friend would be even better.

George


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*If the "motor is fine" ...*

If the motor has power and difficult to slow down, then your next step is to test the idler pulley and then the arbor. You will need to adjust both belts tightly so they don't slip. You may have to use a screwdriver for leverage and I do mean tight.....but do not have a Gorilla help you! It sounds like a simple matter of getting the belts tight and if you want, use a belt dressing compound which prevents slipping. 

https://www.amazon.com/CRC-05350-Be...&qid=1473602815&sr=8-2&keywords=belt+dressing

There are belt sprays for automotive V belts and there is a hard wax like bar for dressing V belts on electric motors. You turn on the machine and hold the bar against the inside of the belts coating them with the compound BUT be very careful around moving belts. No long sleeves and use a rest to apply the bar type dressing. :surprise2:


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## amckenzie4 (Apr 29, 2010)

Geppetto14 said:


> With both V belts back on, looks like the motor does not have enough power to pull every thing,
> so I decided to do something else, I loosens the two screwed that holds the motor so that also the Vbelts were loose,
> than I switched the drill press on and slowly started to push the motor back words creating tension, it looks like that
> I need to create the perfect amount of tension of the vBelts to make it work, but I am pretty sure that with the vibration
> ...





GeorgeC said:


> Doing what you are describing will give you a machine with insufficient power to drill a hole. The belts will slip on the pulleys when under load.
> 
> You have a problem that you have not discovered. Do you have a friend that is a "do it yourself" type of person. If so offer him/her a beer(s) or favorite beverage to come look at your drill press. An auto mechanic would probably be excellent. Or an engineering friend would be even better.
> 
> George


I disagree with GeorgeC. Many belt-drive devices have a motor mount that is designed to be moved: my drill press, band saw, and key-cutting machine all do. The reason is that belts stretch, and once they've stretched enough, they're not able to transfer movement effectively, because they start slipping. All three of my machines have a setscrew that you can use to lock the motor in place once you have sufficient tension on the belt. Look for a screw that only seems to provide pressure keeping the motor away from the pulleys. Worst case, you may be able to use a wedge to keep tension on the belt.

The other thing you could try is replacing the belt. If you can find one that fits, link belts are nice because they seem not to stretch as much, or at least as quickly. Harbor Freight, Rockler, and Woodcraft should all have them in stock. Bring the original v belt with you to make sure you're getting something the right size.


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## TomCT2 (May 16, 2014)

if the belts are old and stiff, that can soak up a lot of power just "bending" them around the pulleys....

with the belts off, everything should rotate freely - no stiffness on any of the shafts - motor, idler, and quill spindle

getting it to work by gradually applying power ie gradually increasing the belt tension makes me very suspicious the idler or quill spindle is gummed up.....


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## FrankC (Aug 24, 2012)

If you have vibration when it is running you probably have a ceased bearing, and the bearing is now turning in the housing or on the shaft, neither a good situation. Pull it apart and take a look before more damage is done.


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

FrankC said:


> If you have vibration when it is running you probably have a ceased bearing, and the bearing is now turning in the housing or on the shaft, neither a good situation. Pull it apart and take a look before more damage is done.


Can't say it any better than that. If the motor runs fine without anything connected to it, then the problem is further down the proverbial river. Like Frank said, if the bearing is seized, continuing to run it will do some serious damage to the machine. Better to check it now, a new bearing is a lot less expensive than. A new drill press


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*checking for a seized bearing is simple*

Spin the idler pulley on it's shaft by hand. If it won't spin freely, that's it. 
Spin the arbor/quill in the head of the drill press by hand. If it won't spin freely, that's it.
We have eliminated the motor, but for peace of mind, spin the motor pulley on it's shaft. If it doesn't spin freely, that's it.

If all 3 pulleys spin easily, then it's a slipping belt issue.


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## unclefester (Aug 23, 2013)

+1 on that


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