Waldown radial drill - parts needed.

[richo132]

Hi all - my first post to this forum.
I have a Waldown radial drill that I bought 35 years ago at an auction in Darwin.
It followed me to a new home in Adelaide in 1981 and has always given good service.
Bunch of pictures here:
Index of /agilbie/Waldown Drill Press

I have recently retired and now wish to lavish some TLC on the old girl.
There are three major issues with function (and one with safety - the on/off switch wiring):
1. quill return spring is missing (I have been carefully using the pinch bolt on the quill housing for 30 years - not really a good idea)
2. rear cone pulley is badly damaged and needs replacement- chunks missing from 2 grooves.
3. no belt tension release mechanism - presumably more missing parts ...

I would be pleased to hear from anyone who can help me out with replacement parts.
Cheers.

[Michael G]

I'd suggest contacting Waldown direct. They are pretty good at helping out and would probably have things like the quill spring as a spare part. They may also be able to help with parts diagrams so that you can work out what parts are missing from the belt tensioning unit.
Once you have that information you may be able to make something up or they may be able to supply the parts. Pulleys are difficult as they have to be the right size, but the other option is someone like Machinery Warehouse - you might just get lucky as they have all sorts of gear and may have a suitable pulley.

Michael

[RayG]

Hi Richo,

First, welcome to the forum.

The pulley cluster I'm pretty sure is a standard Niloc stock item at most bearing suppliers, take the damaged one with you. I got one (same dimensions as you've posted) at the local bearing place for $20 or so..( i found the invoice it was actually $35.28 )

The quill return spring is a bit trickier, I'd contact Brobo-Waldown for that, as Michael suggested.

Table looks pretty reasonable, not as much termite activity as is usually seen

That architrave light switch looks a bit dodgy, funny that the same style switch was installed on my Waldown pedestal drill..

Regards
Ray
PS.. The new pulley cluster will need to be bored out to suit the motor shaft, do you have a lathe?

[steran50]

HI,
Welcome to the Forum richo132. Since You are in South OZ this Link Royce Cross Australia -[ProductCodeID]=Stepulleys maybe of use to You for the Step Pulley. The Link is for Royce Cross Agencies and they sell Step Pulleys. Accrding to their Advert on their Website they will also Machine them for You.

[richo132]

Thanks for suggestions so far.
I have contacted a service agent for Brobo Waldown and am waiting for a reply.
I do have a lathe (Hercus 9" ARL) and could probably modify a step pulley if necessary, although I have very little experience with boring - so far
I'll follow up the Royce Cross suggestion, but there isn't a pulley listed on their website that matches my steps (5 1/2 - 4 - 3 - 1 1/4). Nearest is 5 1/2 - 4 1/2 - 3 5/16 - 2 1/4.
I imagine this difference would affect belt length across the steps.

[richo132]

Well, I've some progress to report - some good, some not.

Good: Brobo Waldown were able to supply a quill return spring and depth graduation cover.
So now my drill has a working return spring for the first time in 35 years

Not good: Only replacement pulley Brobo Waldown could supply has correct pulley sizes but is bored for 3/4" shaft (my motor has 5/8" shaft).
Bushing the shaft/pulley doesn't look feasible because of the 3/16" shaft key
Queries with a number of motor/drive suppliers have not found any motors with 3/4" shaft.
Going the other way around, I can get a generic 4 step pulley with 5/8" bore, but pulley sizes do not match:
Original: 1 5/8" - 3" - 4 3/8" - 5 1/2" (approx PCD)
Option 1: 2 1/4" - 3 5/16" - 4 1/2" - 5 1/2" (quoted PCD)
Option 2: 1 3/4" - 2 13/16"- 3 7/8" - 5" (quoted PCD)
I value my lowest speed more than the highest, so I suppose Option 2 is better for me.
This change would require me to implement some sort of belt tensioner as the dissimilar pulleys would cause the belt length to change between settings.
Should do this anyway I suppose.
For now though, I'm still looking for options to preserve original speed range.

[bollie7]

Richo
How badly damaged is the original pulley? Can you post a couple of pics. It might be repairable. I'm assuming its aluminium? If so you might be able to build up the busted bits with a TIG (or get someone with a TIG to do it for you) Then re machine the pulley.

regards
bollie7

[Michael G]

Can you post a picture of the (damaged part of the) damaged pulley?
As the pulleys are aluminium, they should be able to be welded up if the damage is not too bad. Another option is to make a new pulley up from solid. It's not difficult and could probably be done on your Hercus.
One of the problems with swapping pulleys is belt length - the pulley circumferences all need to match the opposite sheeve otherwise the belts will be slack on some speeds and tight on others. (To put that another way, the belt circumference for all the belt position needs to be around the same amount.

Michael

[pipeclay]

Why do you feel that the bore cant be bushed?

[Dave J]

I am not sure what the price difference is between them, but you might be able to make up a split sleeve to adapt the original one with a taller key. Not sure if you have a lathe, but someone in your area might be able to help out.

Dave

[Michael G]

Dave, a split bush may be tricky as it's going to be 63mm long with a wall section of something like 1.6mm (although you might be lucky and find an Al tube of the right size).
I think that pipeclay's line line of thought may be better - make up a solid bush, weld it top and bottom in the pulley and then bore to the correct size. Use a hacksaw and file to reclaim access to the keyway.
Richo says he has a Hercus so should be able to rebore the pulley.

Michael

PS - Richo - which part of SA are you in - it helps to know who may be able to assist.

[nadroj]

Just curious - Were the Waldown spare parts expensive?

Jordan

[Dave J]

Dave, a split bush may be tricky as it's going to be 63mm long with a wall section of something like 1.6mm (although you might be lucky and find an Al tube of the right size).
I think that pipeclay's line line of thought may be better - make up a solid bush, weld it top and bottom in the pulley and then bore to the correct size. Use a hacksaw and file to reclaim access to the keyway.
Richo says he has a Hercus so should be able to rebore the pulley.

Michael

PS - Richo - which part of SA are you in - it helps to know who may be able to assist.

You can get a piece of steel tube in 1.6mm wall thickness, cut the seam out of it and you will have the bush. A taller key and a grub screw or 2 and your done.

Dave

[Anorak Bob]

I don't know if any of this applies. Is the broaching of a new keyway an issue if a complete new oversize bush was installed in the pulley? Whilst the example shown in this link is cast iron, a similar modification could apply to your aluminium pulley if there is sufficient aluminium enabling a rebore.

https://www.woodworkforums.com/f65/pu...cation-130493/

BT

[RayG]

Just a thought,

If you add the pulley diameters they should be constant as you go down the cluster. (Well ok, not exact, but diameter/2 times pi, but the pi/2 is common to all combinations)

If you do that with the different pulley clusters, and calculate the change in belt length there is about 1" difference in belt length using an option 2 pulley in combination with the original.

So, what about using two of the option 2 pulleys? replace both ends.

Regards
Ray