Burnsy 31st July 2014, 10:55 AM I picked up this unit around 3 or 4 years ago for $40 and it has been used in it's neglected state since. Probably one of the last made in Aust by GMF Betts, it is dated June 1988 and drills an accurate hole with no run out. On fitting a new belt last week I noticed the idler pulleys were sitting low and pulling them to realign, led to the decision to do a rebuild. It has always been missing one arm, someone has welded the MT into the spindle and the rack is missing it's top collar. The table angle adjust has also been welded, so these need sorting out. I am also thinking about fabricating up a belt tensioner like the waldowns have if I can make it fit.
If anyone else has one of these could they please post up pictures of the rack collar and the belt tensioner?
Burnsy 31st July 2014, 10:58 AM Funny how changing a belt leads to this........
simonl 31st July 2014, 03:25 PM Ha that's the sort of thing I do!
Hey your looks very similar to mine although mine is shorter bench version and it's made by Mcmillian in Taiwan. In fact I have two, one has a tilting square table and the other is round and can rotate like yours. How is the play in the quill? I have a bit of play in mine. Never been much of an issue but it would be nice to have it a bit tighter.
Great price, the belts will nearly cost you as much, if ever you need to replace them.
Simon
eskimo 31st July 2014, 04:58 PM I picked up this unit around 3 or 4 years ago for $40 and it has been used in it's neglected state since. Probably one of the last made in Aust by GMF Betts, it is dated June 1988 and drills an accurate hole with no run out. On fitting a new belt last week I noticed the idler pulleys were sitting low and pulling them to realign, led to the decision to do a rebuild. It has always been missing one arm, someone has welded the MT into the spindle and the rack is missing it's top collar. The table angle adjust has also been welded, so these need sorting out. I am also thinking about fabricating up a belt tensioner like the waldowns have if I can make it fit.
If anyone else has one of these could they please post up pictures of the rack collar and the belt tensioner?
I suspect the MT has been welded in as it (the chuck keeps falling out)...like my cheapie does...suggesting a crook taper bit somewhere...i have just lived with it...probably rusted in there now lol
as for belt tensioner pics ..you want the one for the motor....or the intermediate pulley bit
The motor one is same as what you have except it has a spring between motor base plate and lug.
Techo1 31st July 2014, 07:18 PM Burnsy are you sure that the drill is Australian made, the motor maybe, but the actual machine looks Asian in origin. :wink:
Burnsy 31st July 2014, 07:33 PM Can not be sure it is Aussi made, just that it is Betts GMF which were making stuff locally. No markings as to where it was made anywhere, just the Australian Flag Logo, stamped serial number and manufacture date on the name plate.
The intermediate/idler pulley is self tensioning through the motor belt tension. Originally it had a shaft and grub screw lock type tensioner on the motor but will look at making a Waldown style tensioner.
No movement in the quill of this one and I put the spindle in the lathe today and turned the welds off. Morse taper came out and locks back in as it should so no idea why they welded it up unless they had some crap in the taper that was stopping it from seating properly. Taper and spindle both run true in the lathe.
The motor has a clear gloss sprayed over the cylindrical section between the cast top and bottom. This is over the original paint and as far as I can tell is original as it is under the cap cover as well. Any idea why they would spray this section with a high gloss?
Michael G 31st July 2014, 07:49 PM The rack collars are nothing complicated. A round split collar (with a screw to tighten) and the rack side of the collar is angled to match the end of the rack. My version of one of those went years ago but I can probably do a sketch if my description is not adequate (or a photo of my current drill press - they all use pretty much the same method).
Michael
maggs 31st July 2014, 08:08 PM I have what looks to be an identical machine that I bought new in 1986. I think it cost around $350.00 back then. It's still going today and all original. I always intended to make a better better tensioner but still haven't got around to it, one day maybe.
My father did his electrical apprenticeship and worked at GMF from 1939 till 1971. He resigned as the service manager because he had concerns about the direction the company was taking when it began importing parts from Asia in the late 60's. Until then almost everything was made in-house at the Arncliffe factory in Sydney. He quit because of the stress of all the product problems he had to handle. When they manufactured/sourced in Australia there were very few service issues. I've got 8" and 6" GMF grinders and they are still going strong after 50+ years of constant use.
I am fairly certain that nothing on the machine would have been made in the GMF factory. It would have been a rebadged import from Taiwan or China.
I can take a photo of mine if you need it but I wont be over in the shed for a few days.
Steve
Burnsy 31st July 2014, 09:02 PM Thanks for that info Steve, looks like it is Taiwanese then with a GMF badge, great to know a bit of the GMF history. Either way it is streaks ahead of the Hafco I used last week at the D&T facility at Edith Cowan University, it was noisy, clunky and had miles of run out. $350 was a lot of clams back in 1986.
We have two 3 phase GMF grinders at work (8 inch) and they are bullet proof. Both sit next to Tough Drill presses, one a bench mount and the other a pedestal, one day I will find one for home as well.
Burnsy 31st July 2014, 09:45 PM I see another here exactly the same but branded Baker and with 16 speed instead of 12, other than that it looks identical in every way.
http://www.woodworkforums.com/140880-drill-press-16-speed/
malb 31st July 2014, 09:47 PM Two quick points for you.
Generally the rack rings are the same top and bottom, so you should be able to copy the lower one. Failing that, measure the column diameter and the OD and height of the lower collar, and the bevel angle at the top of the rack, should be possible without removing anything. Turn up a new one matching these dimensions, but allow modest clearance over the column on the ID. Drill and tap two radial holes through the non bevelled part of the collar 120 degrees apart and install a couple of grub screws to these. Install on column, lower to rack, and adjust and tighten, remembering to make sure that the rack can rotate freely around the column if you anticipate rotating the table around the column for end grain drilling or similar.
The eccentric idler wheel arm setup is normally allowed to have a enough freedom to drop slightly into the head casting with no belt tension. Once tension is applied, the tension should make it rise so that both belts horizontally align the idlers with the motor and spindle pulleys. If this doesn't work properly, it is generally because the head casting socket has crud or rust in it causing some friction, or the motor pulley is not horizontally aligned with the spindle one. If the untensioned drop is considered excessive, use a washer custom made circular shim to raise it for a suitable degree of drop.
Grahame Collins 1st August 2014, 09:17 AM Same here
Mine, an 1989 bench model with no spindle bearing slop.Theres no marking on the motor save for a sticker in the cap box denoting Taiwanese manufacture.
Same fault with the arms as in the threads into the up/down shaft end are sloppy and one arm keeps falling out.
The Taiwanese made them cheap but not nasty.
I got rid of the rack and fitted an counterweight which runs through the hollow column. The hardest bit was moving the middle belt pulley to allow clearance.Table height change takes about 10 seconds. The belts were replaced with Gates belts which were no dearer than than the similar automotive application belts.
My Clisby compressor circa 1985 had a Betts motor which only gave up the ghost in the last few months.
Grahame
nadroj 1st August 2014, 09:48 AM Same fault with the arms as in the threads into the up/down shaft end are sloppy and one arm keeps falling out.
I had a similar Taiwanese drill press, that served me well for many years. The worst feature was the thin table, that got a crack in it.
The lifting handle always used to loosen, until I added a locknut to its fixing bolt.
I got rid of the rack and fitted an counterweight which runs through the hollow column. The hardest bit was moving the middle belt pulley to allow clearance.Table height change takes about 10 seconds.
The counterweight sounds interesting. Got a snapshot?
Jordan
Grahame Collins 1st August 2014, 10:28 AM I will try for a snapshot for you.It will be off my phone as my faithful old Canon Snapshot has gone leg up.It did great macros but the phone -well you know ?
In my case the whole drill press body is very thin ,something I noticed when doing a drill & tap for the belt tensioner lever.
yes! I will do a pic of that .
What say you to a new separate thread on drill press mods ?Anyway the forum is a bit slow .Until I get my finger out this should help to get you started. I think I posted it before but have no hope of finding it in the search function.
OnlineToolReviews.com - Easy Riser Drill Press Conversion Kit - Detailed Review (http://www.onlinetoolreviews.com/reviews/easyriser.htm)
Grahame
simonl 1st August 2014, 10:50 AM Here's some pics of mine. Actually I have two but this is the nicest. They both have Betts motors.
321029321030321031321032
Cheers,
Simon
simonl 1st August 2014, 11:21 AM Some more pics...
321038321039
Simon
simonl 1st August 2014, 11:34 AM And last one.
This shows the belt tensioning lever. It goes inside and slides a fork (from memory?) back and forth that acts on two 3/4" dowels that attaches to the motor mount. This moves the motor back and forth to tension the belt.
Hope this helps?
321041
Simon
Wimmera Jack 1st August 2014, 12:13 PM My drill press is the same. when I purchased it, I had the choice of a tilting table or fixed one. An old fitter from the Victorian Railways workshops told me not to touch the tilt table one. If I did he said to align it properly and weld it so it couldn't move.
His comment was that I would never need the tilt table, and it was a bugger to get exactly trued up, and stay that way.
You have a machine that should be easy to restore.
Regards,
John.
nadroj 1st August 2014, 03:00 PM What say you to a new separate thread on drill press mods ?Anyway the forum is a bit slow .Until I get my finger out this should help to get you started. I think I posted it before but have no hope of finding it in the search function.
OnlineToolReviews.com - Easy Riser Drill Press Conversion Kit - Detailed Review (http://www.onlinetoolreviews.com/reviews/easyriser.htm)
Grahame
Good idea to have a mini-forum on drill presses.
I had a couple of minor mods on my old Taiwan drill press, that I could contribute.
That's a neat counterweight idea. I can't use it on my current drill, as it has a solid column rather than a tube.
I noticed a somewhat similar solution on the Sieg X3 mini-mill, that had a gas strut to help lift it.
Maybe a occy-strap attached to the ceiling could work too. :)
Jordan
Grahame Collins 1st August 2014, 08:46 PM That's a neat counterweight idea. I can't use it on my current drill, as it has a solid column rather than a tube.
Easy fix,
Use an external tube - a piece of PVC tube perhaps- the counter weight needs to fit inside or even no tube at all ,if you are not bothered by the CW swinging abou.
In terms of difficulty, it even easier than going through the hollow column as rollers/pulleys can be attached easier to arrange locations.
The counter weight needs to be the weight of the table and table arm support.
Getting the arm off might be a pain, but the work around might be a tube/pipe with an end base welded in it and gradually fill it with weight ( sinkers or small work shop scrap until the weight is reached)
If you have no lathe those little rollers in the bottom of sliding screen doors might do the the trick as pulleys. The wire cable and clamps are not too hard to get.
Grahame
Oldneweng 1st August 2014, 09:48 PM Easy fix,
Use an external tube - a piece of PVC tube perhaps- the counter weight needs to fit inside or even no tube at all ,if you are not bothered by the CW swinging abou.
In terms of difficulty, it even easier than going through the hollow column as rollers/pulleys can be attached easier to arrange locations.
The counter weight needs to be the weight of the table and table arm support.
Getting the arm off might be a pain, but the work around might be a tube/pipe with an end base welded in it and gradually fill it with weight ( sinkers or small work shop scrap until the weight is reached)
If you have no lathe those little rollers in the bottom of sliding screen doors might do the the trick as pulleys. The wire cable and clamps are not too hard to get.
Grahame
I am thinking about doing this to my mill head. Then I can make a power Z feed, or use a drill with a socket.
Dean
Combustor 1st August 2014, 10:48 PM Bought one of these in the late '70's I think, was definitely branded Taiwan, and apart from replacing plastic knobs several times, it ran without fault in my earthmoving shopfor many years until I scored a larger geared head machine. Lost count of the number of 20mm holes it drilled in 70mm excavator bucket pins, and similar jobs. New owner has it running diamond core bits on decorative stonework items.
My intermediate pulley mount had a pair of stiff compression springs under the bolt heads, and allowed it to slide and self adjust. Belt tension lever and locks were as in Simonl's picture. The bolt and fastener firms sell cup shaped spring disc washers (called Schnoor discs) which would work well on those pulley mount bolts. Best type of belt for small pulleys is the cog belt design, Gates etc, as they grip a whole lot better without deforming and pulley wear. They will take extra tension and let you drill some serious metal. Should be good for a lot more years now. Regards,
Combustor.
Burnsy 2nd August 2014, 11:02 AM Thanks for the pictures and comments guys. Mine is definitely different to SimonL's, different idler pulley setup, belt tensioner and my post base is longer and chunkier. Things are moving along, the spindle, quill and morse taper are all cleaned up regreased and back together and I am off to find some new paint today. New ball knobs and rack handle on order and I will remake all the arms and thread to 10mm so get rid of the worn 3/8 holes.
Burnsy 4th August 2014, 12:29 AM Threw a lick of paint on it yesterday and back together today. I still need to bolt it down and do a belt tensioner, not sure whether I will just go with the original style or have a bash at a quick change type. Also have to make three new arms, a rack collar and oil blacken and refit the table lock offs. Not sure when my new rack handle and ball knobs will arrive but for now it is all together and operating.
This has been a really worthwhile rebuild, quick and easy, if anyone is thinking of doing theirs I would recommend it. Before and after photos.
eskimo 4th August 2014, 09:59 AM does this count as an easy riser?
321216
just hope youngest son doesnt get a flat...lol...but it does work well...anything to make lifting the table easy
Easy fix,
Use an external tube - a piece of PVC tube perhaps- the counter weight needs to fit inside or even no tube at all ,if you are not bothered by the CW swinging abou.
In terms of difficulty, it even easier than going through the hollow column as rollers/pulleys can be attached easier to arrange locations.
The counter weight needs to be the weight of the table and table arm support.
Getting the arm off might be a pain, but the work around might be a tube/pipe with an end base welded in it and gradually fill it with weight ( sinkers or small work shop scrap until the weight is reached)
If you have no lathe those little rollers in the bottom of sliding screen doors might do the the trick as pulleys. The wire cable and clamps are not too hard to get.
Grahame
eskimo 4th August 2014, 10:00 AM Threw a lick of paint on it yesterday and back together today. I still need to bolt it down and do a belt tensioner, not sure whether I will just go with the original style or have a bash at a quick change type. Also have to make three new arms, a rack collar and oil blacken and refit the table lock offs. Not sure when my new rack handle and ball knobs will arrive but for now it is all together and operating.
This has been a really worthwhile rebuild, quick and easy, if anyone is thinking of doing theirs I would recommend it. Before and after photos.
you didnt mess around
simonl 4th August 2014, 10:50 AM Threw a lick of paint on it yesterday and back together today. I still need to bolt it down and do a belt tensioner, not sure whether I will just go with the original style or have a bash at a quick change type. Also have to make three new arms, a rack collar and oil blacken and refit the table lock offs. Not sure when my new rack handle and ball knobs will arrive but for now it is all together and operating.
This has been a really worthwhile rebuild, quick and easy, if anyone is thinking of doing theirs I would recommend it. Before and after photos.
Good work!
So far I have resisted the urge to repaint mine. But I would be be interested in perhaps fixing the quill slop. There is a grub screw on the side to minimise this (or at least that what I think it's for) but there is only so much it can do. I estimate there to be about 5 thou of slop, as in the quill is about 5 thou smaller than the hole it slides in. I assume the only fix is to create a brass/bronze sleeve and then turn down the quill? I'm not prepared to go that far just yet for a bench drill.
Simon
Burnsy 8th August 2014, 10:12 PM Few more finishing touches, oil blackened the lock off levers for the table and made three new arms. The arms are 10mm rod rescued from a mower axle and are 70mm longer than the original, the additional length and thickness definitely feels better. Tapped out the old 3/8 threads to M10 and all scewed together nicely. Still awaiting my ball knobs.
Grahame Collins 9th August 2014, 12:11 PM does this count as an easy riser?
321216
just hope youngest son doesnt get a flat...lol...but it does work well...anything to make lifting the table easy
I suppose when you have not got an easy riser it will do :D
I use exactly the same thing when I do larger diameter drilling as the table tends to deflect under a load, which is one of the unit's few shortcomings.
A question for those of you with the same model/genre drill press.
The beveled face of the spindle were the 3 drill press arms screw into. On my unit the threaded area is not solid for the depth of the female threads.
In fact the female threaded area is only 1 or 2 threads deep. Are there other examples out there, like this?
It makes for the handles/arms propensity to regularly fall out of the female thread and wobble as they can't be tightened up and stay tightened up.
I am thinking of a disassembly of same and replacing the boss (think that what it is called?) with something that has some more "meat" in it.
Is there is a better way to achieve this ?
Also to turn some spoofy brass knobs for it, probably making them the most valuable part of the machine.:rolleyes:
Grahame
simonl 9th August 2014, 01:44 PM I suppose when you have not got an easy riser it will do :D
I use exactly the same thing when I do larger diameter drilling as the table tends to deflect under a load, which is one of the unit's few shortcomings.
A question for those of you with the same model/genre drill press.
The beveled face of the spindle were the 3 drill press arms screw into. On my unit the threaded area is not solid for the depth of the female threads.
In fact the female threaded area is only 1 or 2 threads deep. Are there other examples out there, like this?
It makes for the handles/arms propensity to regularly fall out of the female thread and wobble as they can't be tightened up and stay tightened up.
I am thinking of a disassembly of same and replacing the boss (think that what it is called?) with something that has some more "meat" in it.
Is there is a better way to achieve this ?
Also to turn some spoofy brass knobs for it, probably making them the most valuable part of the machine.:rolleyes:
Grahame
Stand by Grahame, I'll take a photo. My phone is too flat to power the camera so it may take an hour.
Simon
Burnsy 9th August 2014, 02:55 PM A question for those of you with the same model/genre drill press.
The beveled face of the spindle were the 3 drill press arms screw into. On my unit the threaded area is not solid for the depth of the female threads.
In fact the female threaded area is only 1 or 2 threads deep. Are there other examples out there, like this?
It makes for the handles/arms propensity to regularly fall out of the female thread and wobble as they can't be tightened up and stay tightened up.
I am thinking of a disassembly of same and replacing the boss (think that what it is called?) with something that has some more "meat" in it.
Is there is a better way to achieve this ?
Also to turn some spoofy brass knobs for it, probably making them the most valuable part of the machine.:rolleyes:
Grahame
Yes mine is hollow, if they come loose again now I have tapped out to 10mm with pretty much full depth threads I will remove one and fill it with epoxy. I was thinking of some nice ally knobs for mine now it is all pretty much done but as the ball knobs are on the way I think it is overkill. I do have a fancy belt tensioner mod that I am about to do but you will need to stay tuned for that:U
Burnsy 9th August 2014, 05:15 PM I mentioned earlier that I wanted to make a belt tensioner along the lines of the Waldown one for ease of use and so you can dump the tension when the press is not in use. I thought about this for a while before having a brain fart and realising a simple horizontal clamp would do the trick. A trip to H&F and $20 later the mod was far quicker and easier than I had imagined, I also picked up a coolant bottle and tap off the specials table for the huge sum of $0:2tsup:.
Marked, drilled and tapped out 4 holes to 6mm and fitted, 1/2 hour tops (gotta love tapping cast:U). Highly recommended mod to any DP if belt changes give you the poops because the factory tensioner is garbage. Still adjustable via an extension bolt in the slide and I am currently using some high density foam to cushion it which I will glue to the motor mount if it works well. This new tensioner also has the benefit over the original tensioner that it acts in the centre of the motor mount rather than at the top as I have mounted it below the original.
Now to go and make up a mount for the coolant bottle.
simonl 10th August 2014, 12:08 AM Sorry Grahame, the day got away from me today. I'll try have a look after work tomorrow.
Cheers,
Simon
ajcmbrown 5th December 2014, 01:06 PM Hi guys, can anyone tell me the belt size or part number for this drill press?
I have been given one without belts and this could save me a heap of time trialling different belts.
Tony
Grahame Collins 6th December 2014, 06:48 AM Hi guys, can anyone tell me the belt size or part number for this drill press?
I have been given one without belts and this could save me a heap of time trialling different belts.
Tony
Hi Tony
My Drill press uses A24 on the front belt and A 21 on the rear, but will not be the "exact " match for yours.
I had made mods to the center pulley base to slide it forward for fitting of an easy riser wire cable through the vertical column. There is also a fabbed a vertical hinge assembly that allows the motor to swing back to the left side.Given these mods my sizes could be regarded only as a start point. I think the belt sizes will be smaller due to the mods carried out.
There are lots of these DP's in this pattern and someone should be along shortly and should be able to give belt sizes for an un modified version.
Cheers
Grahame
ajcmbrown 6th December 2014, 09:18 AM Thanks for that Grahame, even if not exact it is a great baseline to work from.
Regards, Tony.
bollie7 8th December 2014, 12:40 PM My drill press is the same. when I purchased it, I had the choice of a tilting table or fixed one. An old fitter from the Victorian Railways workshops told me not to touch the tilt table one. If I did he said to align it properly and weld it so it couldn't move.
His comment was that I would never need the tilt table, and it was a bugger to get exactly trued up, and stay that way.
.
Having had a non tilt or turn table on my old Richardson when I first got it, I soon found it to be a PIA. When I rebuilt the machine about 20 years ago I fabricated a new table arm and a circular table for it. Have used the swivel function more times than I can remember and have also used the tilt function a lot as well. I would hate to be limited to a square, non tilt or swivel table now. I have calibration marks to align it but could always tram it like a mill head if I needed more accuracy. (cant see that happening though)
As my DP only has the armstrong method of raising or lowering the table I'll be looking at that in the near future I hope.
bollie7
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