# Broken handle on drill press table level crank.



## RobinDobbie (Jan 31, 2013)

*EDIT* I've already ordered a handle and I'm 95% sure I have a solution for the base. No need for more suggestions on those two problems! The only lingering concerns I have are building a small housing for the replacement switch, since it's much larger than original, and at some point dealing with the slight wobble in the spindle.

Scored a Craftsman floor drill press Saturday evening. Guy wanted $75 for the press and $1 each for 10 Jorgensen wood clamps, and $2 each for 6 quick grip clamps of various sizes. I took all of it! 

A few downers on the press. First, the crank handle that raises the table is broken. 










I'd like to make a replacement partly out of red oak, if that's even a good idea. I'm thinking I could grind the broken area flat, tap 2 bolt holes. Attach an aluminum plate to that flat spot that would have 2 bolts going in, and 1 going out into a piece of red oak. That piece could be 4 inches, then I could use a dowel that would rotate freely for the actual handle.

He also replaced the OEM power switch with a house power switch. It's functional, but it's ugly. 










I'd like to replace it with something like this:










Will I have to make some sort of housing for that switch? Looks like the back is naked.

He said the cast iron base broke, so he hacked together something out of some 2x6 pine. 










It's stable, but it takes up way more room that it should, so I'll definitely make something better. I'm thinking I could mount the pole on a box about the shape of the original base with a solid concrete block in it for weight.

When I tested it, he was unsure how to change the speed. I've never owned a drill press before, but I knew the basic concept. He never knew the top popped up and the belts could go on different pulleys. He'd ran it at 200 rpm it's entire life. I knew this was true because the pulleys looked brand new. The only ones that had any kind of indication of use were the ones for 200 rpm. 

Even though the speed was very low it's entire life, I feel like the operation is not all that balanced. I lucked out and found a tutorial on how to rebuild what looks like a very similar drill press. Seems like new bearings are quite affordable, so I'll try those first. I fear whatever happened to the handle and base is why the balance is off. What the worst case scenario?


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## J Thomas (Aug 14, 2012)

Loos like a decent score for under a hundred bux.. Jeez just the motor would prolly run ya 75 used.
Extend the quill to its full length & see if there's any play in it (side to side or front to back) That will tell ya a lot..
I don't know about drilling & tapping the cast for a handle. That's going to take a fair amount strain raising the table.
If it were me I'd just get a replacement handle or have one machined out of steel.
DEFINITELY get rid of that switch!! It looks like there's electrical tape on the bottom side of it. This tells me the screws on the switch are in real close proximity to the steel casting of the saw. Possible the tape is in there because it WAS arcing or he was getting the hell shocked outa his self when he ran it.
Best luck & post pics if the fix-em-up.


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

Have you priced parts from sears? Or maybe you can find another not working drill press and make one good one out of two. I would definitely want the original cast iron base.

George


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## SeniorSitizen (May 2, 2012)

QUOTE: " What the worst case scenario " ?

*********************************************
The seller knows absolutely nothing about any of the tools and you may have bought stolen tools and the drill press has been thrown from a pick up truck.


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## RobinDobbie (Jan 31, 2013)

J Thomas said:


> Extend the quill to its full length & see if there's any play in it (side to side or front to back) That will tell ya a lot..


When I pull the feed handle down, I didn't notice play, there may be I just didn't notice it. What I did notice is it's not a smooth operation. There are places where the handle needs help going back up.



J Thomas said:


> DEFINITELY get rid of that switch!! It looks like there's electrical tape on the bottom side of it. This tells me the screws on the switch are in real close proximity to the steel casting of the saw. Possible the tape is in there because it WAS arcing or he was getting the hell shocked outa his self when he ran it.
> Best luck & post pics if the fix-em-up.



Yeah the house switch is just too ghetto for me, especially when the sexy replacement I showed is only $10.

I'll definitely take some post-restore pics.



GeorgeC said:


> Have you priced parts from sears? Or maybe you can find another not working drill press and make one good one out of two. I would definitely want the original cast iron base.
> 
> George


Good idea. Most of the time when I've looked at Sears prices, they've just made me laugh. But it looks like I can get the handle for $10. Definitely worth it. Some of the other parts, not so much. The replacement base is $87.74, which isn't happening.

I've been hitting up CL every day for a month and other than the rusted Powermatic 2800 for $450 and a couple of Harbor Freight ones for $50 - $60, this is the best deal I've seen. Haven't seen too many non-working presses to steal parts from.



SandburRanch said:


> QUOTE: " What the worst case scenario " ?
> 
> *********************************************
> The seller knows absolutely nothing about any of the tools and you may have bought stolen tools and the drill press has been thrown from a pick up truck.


I highly doubt it. The thought always crosses my mind when I go get a CL deal, however. This was an upper-middle class house/neighborhood and the guy was married in his 40s and he was just trying to clear the garage. He said he built a few things with wood but didn't have time anymore, blah blah blah. Who knows for sure, but I certainly didn't get any kind of scum vibe from the situation. I'm pretty sure if the press fell off a pickup, it'd be worse. I think it did fall over however, because one of the feed handles is bent.


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## RobinDobbie (Jan 31, 2013)

The handles needing help going back up was solved by loosening the depth gauge dial set screw all the way. It had just enough "dialed in" to slightly add resistance. Feed action is perfectly smooth, now. I used the press to drill about a dozen holes in aluminum and 3 in cast iron, tonight. It did great. I'll fix everything but the bearings and use it a while just to see if I run into any actual problems with run out.


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## Fastback (Sep 2, 2012)

For a base you could use an old flywheel from the junk yard, just remove the ring gear. It would have enough weight and with a little paint look decent.


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## RobinDobbie (Jan 31, 2013)

I actually have a flywheel from a Honda Prelude. Just went out and looked at it. Maybe a flywheel from some American muscle like in your avatar would work, but the Honda one is way too small and light to be effective.


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## 4DThinker (Mar 13, 2013)

When I see broken castings I imagine a fall off a pickup or at least a fall over. I've seen crank handles broken by a whack with a hammer after somebody tried to crank it without loosening the lock bolt. I'd look into replacement parts for the handle and base, or at least keep my eyes out for another cheap one with a good base and handle. Sounds like you have a decent top end and table.


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## RobinDobbie (Jan 31, 2013)

I'm sure it did fall over on it's right side. Lucky it was that side since the feed handles protected the flimsy pulley case up top. I already ordered a replacement handle from eReplacementParts for $12 and some change with shipping. The replacement bases I saw were anywhere from $40 + insane shipping to $87+ tax from Sears. I have no problem making one with materials I have on hand. Wooden box, concrete blox, rox my sox. Seriously, I like the idea of a box since that will add some height to it. It's certainly not short, but I wouldn't complain if it was taller.

I highly doubt I would find one cheap enough in any condition to be practical for parts swapping. It's funny you mention it, however, since one did pop up on my CL recently for $200 in great shape. Even had a custom table with tslots for the fence and incra hold downs. Very nice. I just didn't want to spend over $100 for something I'm not entirely sure how often I'm going to use. If I was going to spend more than $100, I'd have bought the Grizzy for $250 or the Powermatic for $450.


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

I would keep my eye out for a parts DP. My first DP I got at a flea market that didn't have a base and used a steel car tire rim. I had it in mind to replace it, but the rim worked out pretty well, and never got around to it. I wound up putting three wood "feet", that balanced it nicely.


















.


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## ACP (Jan 24, 2009)

I think you did pretty well for what it's worth. I think your idea of a concrete base is a good one. Easy enough to build a shallow form and stick some j bolts in it where the bolt holes are on the base and bolt it down like you would any wall. That would be pretty easy and heavy enough.


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## 4DThinker (Mar 13, 2013)

Just beware with a concrete base that you don't stub your toe on it. Perhaps taper off/round over the front edge.


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## RobinDobbie (Jan 31, 2013)

It'll be enclosed in a wood box, so I think it'll be fine. And, unless I start sleepwalking/sleepwoodworking, I don't know how much shoeless drill pressing I'll be doing! Hell, even this zombie woodworker has boots on!










ACP, I wasn't planning on pouring concrete, I think a solid concrete block would be perfect. I wouldn't want to put any structural requirements on the cement, I imagine it might crack at some point. I want to build the base so that even if the concrete crumbles, it won't matter at all. Now that we're talking about it, I could even use sand. I have a few tons on hand, I could easily seal up the box so the sand couldn't escape. I could even put the sand in a bag, that way the box would just have to be strong, not totally sealed.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Have you tried EBay?*

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=drill+press+base


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## RobinDobbie (Jan 31, 2013)

If we eliminate the irrelevant results from your handy ebay search link, we're left with bases around $65 - $75, which is _well_ into why-the-hell-would-I-spend-that-much territory. I can make one better and taller than original for $5 - $10(technically free scrap I already have).


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## Bob Willing (Jul 4, 2008)

http://www.reidsupply.com/products/knobs-handles-hand-wheels/handles/crank-handles/ they might be pricey but!!!! For the base you might want to try a junk yard, they might have an old DP! I like cabinetmans idea of a steel rim.


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## RobinDobbie (Jan 31, 2013)

From another thread:


woodnthings said:


> I gave you a link to E Bay to which you responded in a negative way on another thread and I let it go. There was a solution in the link at $19.00 to which you responded "no way in hell" ...etc.
> A simple "thanks, I appreciate your effort in trying" to help would have been more appropriate. :yes:



*woodnthings* I apologize for wording my reply the way I did. I didn't see a $19 floor drill press base in those search results. My "why-the-hell" comment was regarding the least expensive bases I *could* find, which were and still are $65 - $75. If I look at your link, unchanged, and sort the prices low-to-high, this is what I see:










No floor drill press bases, and the only base I see is a tiny one for a press with a 1" pipe. I don't know how large the pipe is on my press, but it's a hell of a lot bigger than 1". I don't see how your link was helpful. I apologize if that comes across as hurtful. I still consider you one of the most helpful people on this board, and I look forward to seeing your posts.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*OK*

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=drill+press+base

2nd listing down:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEVER-USED-...275?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item41728d9b9b

$19.00 plus shipping....


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## RobinDobbie (Jan 31, 2013)

On my computer, I still simply do not see the base you linked to in the results when I simply click your link and let the page load. 










Regardless, now that you've linked directly to it, I can see that not only is shipping more than the cost of the item bringing it to $41+ total, it says it's a bench top base. I don't really care what they call it, as long it would work, but the bolt pattern is too small. They say the bolt pattern is 3.5". I'm not sure what that means, but the bolts on mine are 3-7/8" center to center, and 5" center to center diagonally. I *do* thank you for your time. However, I will build one. I've said that's what I'll do enough times in this thread that even if someone gave me a base I would still build one.


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## RobinDobbie (Jan 31, 2013)

The handle came in yesterday, and the switch should be here wednesday.

For the drill press base, I used an edge jointed/planed 2x6. There's 1 piece of plywood as a spacer so the bolts will have plenty of room. Just need to attach the top piece of plywood, maybe do a roundover all around, then paint/poly it black. It's solid and has some nice weight to it. It's 13 something x 20 something.


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