Drill Press Vibration

[mat]

My chinese built drill press has some vibration and I am looking at ways of trying to sort out the problem.

The two V belts have very poor joins with obvious poor alignment of the two ends that are joined. I am looking to buy some decent V belts to see if t his improves the problem.

Has anyone gone through this process already?

Any thoughts on suppliers of good quality v belts?

[BobL]

Mat,

The crummy belts are not going to help, but if it has just recently developed vibrations it may not just be the belts.

A couple of questions that could help diagnose the situation are, does it vibrate more at some speeds than others and does it vibrate more under load than not?

[mat]

Bob

It always vibrated and I thought bolting it down would be the answer but sadly not. It seems to be fairly constant at all speeds. If I place anything on the table and turn the machine on the item will vibrate off the table.

[joe greiner]

Any other remedies will be wasted if you don't replace the belts. That should be your first fix. Auto parts stores usually have the widest range of sizes available. Take your old belts with you to assure getting the right size(s).

Joe

[arose62]

Mat,

not sure it sounds like belts to me - I'd have thought a bad join would have only given a bad 'tick' once per several revs of motor or chuck.

Is your motor fastened down? On my drill press, you loosen the motor mount, then adjust belts, the fasten motor down. A loose motor mount can lead to some interesting vibration, then a loss of power as the belt loosens itself.

Check if there's some way to adjust the quill that the chuck rides up and down on - again, my DP has a nut opposite the handles which is used to snug up the mechanism so it moves up-n-down smoothly, but with no side-to-side slop. Some DPs have a nut at the top.

Are the pulleys tight on their shafts? Do they have any splits, cracks or daggy bits of casting sticking out? If you have a 3rd (central) pulley, make sure its' mounting is fastened securely - it needs to swivel, but not wobble from side to side.

OTOH, I'm watching to see if anyone has a recommended supplier of those new-fangled "link belts" here in Aust. They are supposed to be far superior to the standard V-belts, and you can make them up to whatever size you need.

Cheers,
Andrew

[Sprog]

Does it vibrate with the belts removed?
Are the motor bearings noisy?
Check motor mounts are tight.
Do not over tension the belts.
Check the front and rear pulleys are in line and parallel.
Check the jockey (centre) pulley is parallel to the other two pulleys.
Check the jockey pulley is free to lift up and down to allow for alignment of the two belts.
Check quill bearings for noise or roughness.

[Sprog]

OTOH, I'm watching to see if anyone has a recommended supplier of those new-fangled "link belts" here in Aust. They are supposed to be far superior to the standard V-belts, and you can make them up to whatever size you need.

Cheers,
Andrew

They have been available in WA for years. Check the yellow pages for your area.

For Perth

W&M Ellis
Unit 1/9 Sheen Place,
Embleton.
93772998

[Jack E]

OTOH, I'm watching to see if anyone has a recommended supplier of those new-fangled "link belts" here in Aust. They are supposed to be far superior to the standard V-belts, and you can make them up to whatever size you need.
Blackwoods sell them.

Cheers, Jack

[noodle_snacks]

Rather than create my own thread, i thought i'd post my own question on my chinese drill press, i didn't do enough research before buying it and:

With the quill all the way up, and the machine off, gripping the chuck and rotating it one way or the other i hear a loose slap. the amount this happens is consistent throughout the travel of the quill, this is most probably a result of poor machining. The vibration of the machine is fairly good but this problem really bugs me, and it also means that i can visibly wobble the drill bit etc from side to side, even though the nut in the body of the drill-press is adjusted to prevent play in the quill as it goes up and down through the machine. Are there any simple fixes for this? How likely am I to able to fix it?

[Harry72]

Yep I got the same problems with my ryobi floor stander... there's only one fix... a new one, my next one I will be checking/running it before it leaves the shop!

[mat]

Sprog

I thought about looking for vibration with the belts removed last night. Haven't had time to check yet.

Noodle That's the problem I had with my original drill press and spend a lot of time and effort to try to get the retailer to swap for a machine with better quill machining. Now I've got the vibration.

It just goes to show you get what you pay for. I should have looked out for a good older second hand press.

Some of the chinese machines still come with the split head allowing quill tightening along the length of the quill. This is probably a feature worth looking out for when purchasing.

[old_picker]

It's the type of DP they call "good enough for woodwork"
I bought a floor stander at $300 and it was pretty ordinary but with some tweaking, tightening and a few mods it is ok, not brilliant but serviceable. I guess when you buy a cheapie you gotta be prepared to fiddle with it and accept that it will have a bit of wobble, vibrate and sound a bit grindey. Drill bits aren't lways straight so before blaming the press get a perfectly straight rod. Check the slop adjsuter at the head, tighten down the head nut and if things improve buy a decent chuck.


When I buy a new drill press I will be looking at $800 to $1200 not under $400
Meanwhile this one is good enough.

[MurrayD99]

[quote=old_picker;421905]It's the type of DP they call "good enough for woodwork"
..............accept that it will have a bit of wobble, vibrate and sound a bit grindey......quote]

My 12 speed pedestal runs smoothly enough but it does sound a bit grindey. It is in the head somewhere. Grease has not helped. Motor and drive and slave pulleys are nice. It's OK - just not quite "right". Settles down under load and not so noisy at high speed..... Seems accurate enough. Perhaps I'd better check while there might still be a warranty.

[mat]

Took the belts off and ran the motor - virtually no vibration. Noticed that the belts were actually wavey rather than a poor join (if there is one)
Checked pulley alignment, bearings all OK but some slop in the idler pulley mounting.
Will buy some quality belts and see how we go.

[mat]

Bought two quality belts made in italy and will try them out tonight. $10 a piece!

[Dean]

If that fails, try getting some link belts. I just added link belts to my drill press and it runs much smoother than before. Have done the same with the bandsaw and jointer with equally good results.

[mat]

Well, the new belts made little difference. I am now looking at the mounting of the idler pulley. Whilst it is seated via a pin into the head casting it actually sits on the sheet metal pulley housing. I might try to create a spacer (tube)to fit around the locating pin so the assembly is up off the bottom of the pulley housing.

[MurrayD99]

Well, the new belts made little difference. I am now looking at the mounting of the idler pulley. Whilst it is seated via a pin into the head casting it actually sits on the sheet metal pulley housing. I might try to create a spacer (tube)to fit around the locating pin so the assembly is up off the bottom of the pulley housing.


Mat, did you try running it with the drive and idler only (take off the front belt)? That isolates the site a bit. MIne is dead smooth with motor and idler only but grinds a bit otherwise. No big deal...

[mat]

Murray

I can't get enough tension on without the two belts. The idler needs to be pulled from both directions to get the two belts taught.

[MurrayD99]

Murray

I can't get enough tension on without the two belts. The idler needs to be pulled from both directions to get the two belts taught.

OK, I know what you mean. My one takes a bit of shoving on its pivot arm so it drives OK. Bit of wood as a lever to keep it tight just to see what happens? Careful now, don't want you dragged into the machine....

[Sprog]

Well, the new belts made little difference. I am now looking at the mounting of the idler pulley. Whilst it is seated via a pin into the head casting it actually sits on the sheet metal pulley housing. I might try to create a spacer (tube)to fit around the locating pin so the assembly is up off the bottom of the pulley housing.

Make sure the pin for the idler pulley is free in the hole.
Check that the hole is actually drilled at 90deg to the casting, I have seen these quite a bit out causing the idler pulley to run at an angle to the other two.
When the belts are tensioned the idler pulley should self align with the front/rear pulleys. You should have a straight line through all three pulleys, near enough is not good enough in pulley alignment.
If the idler pulley is sitting on the housing see if you can slightly raise the front and rear pulleys, the pulleys are usually located with a grub screw and are easily adjusted up and down.

[simonhang]

My drill press from HAFCO (20B) vibrates a lot.
After checking the pulleys, the idler pulley is not perfectly mounted.
It's running at an angle to the other two, although it's a small angle but with a straight edge I'm able to see it clearly.

What can I do to solve this problem? I guess I can redrill the mounting hole.

Thanks,
Simon

[Woodlee]

Mat,


OTOH, I'm watching to see if anyone has a recommended supplier of those new-fangled "link belts" here in Aust. They are supposed to be far superior to the standard V-belts, and you can make them up to whatever size you need.

Cheers,
Andrew


The link belt (Power Twist)is available at Blackwoods (Motion Industries).Blackwoods in Darwin actually had some in stock.
I bought some to replace the head drive belt on my lathe so I didnt have to dis-assemble the head stock to replace the belt .So far it has worked very well and saved me some major work .
Dont get Brammer belt its much too difficult to work with.
This stuff looks like its made from old tyres and has steel pins in it.The steel pins are a PITA.
It's three time more expensive as well.

Heres alink to what you want.
http://www.motionind.com.au/DisplayProducts.aspx?search_term=((link%20NEAR%20belt)%20OR%20((link%20NEAR%20belt)))&product_group_id=818&product_sub_group_id=12&parts=6&search_category=1&searchType=0 (http://www.motionind.com.au/DisplayProducts.aspx?search_term=%28%28link%20NEAR%20belt%29%20OR%20%28%28link%20NEAR%20belt%29%29%29&product_group_id=818&product_sub_group_id=12&parts=6&search_category=1&searchType=0)

Kev

[Dean]

My drill press from HAFCO (20B) vibrates a lot.
After checking the pulleys, the idler pulley is not perfectly mounted.
It's running at an angle to the other two, although it's a small angle but with a straight edge I'm able to see it clearly.

What can I do to solve this problem? I guess I can redrill the mounting hole.

Thanks,
Simon

Simon,

I have the exact same model ;)
Get some Link Belts mate. They work a treat. I dont think my pulleys are perfectly aligned either... Never really checked but I am sure I notice the belts are not always perfectly horizontal. After adding the link belts the vibration was reduced a fair amount.

[simonhang]

Dean,

Thanks for the advice. I will get link belts for my drill press and table saw.

1/2" for tablesaw and 3/8" for drill press.

Sweet, looks like I gonna solve the problem.

Simon

[Woodlee]

Dean,

Thanks for the advice. I will get link belts for my drill press and table saw.

1/2" for tablesaw and 3/8" for drill press.

Sweet, looks like I gonna solve the problem.

Simon


I have a Rexon bench pedestal drill , I was using it today and this discussio9n popped in to my head as the drill was vibrating away .
Mine has always vibrated I thoiught it was just because it was cheap .(probably a very good reason)
I checked the drive pulleys and found the idler has a lot of play in it.
I removed the idler and shaft and found it has only one bearing at the top of the pulley rather than two one at each end .So the pully runs with a bit of a wobble .This will also cause the bearing to sh*t itself prematurely,probably when Im in the middle of something important
I will be boring out the lower side of the pulley and adding a bearing.Also the idler shaft just drops into a hole in the head casting ,It is not a very good fit so a bit of play there also ,not much I can do about that .


Kev.

[Fossil]

New or better belts won't do much to help if the pulleys aren't in alignment.

Run a straight edge over the pulleys, and check. If there is only a height difference, then obviously adjust the pulleys.
If they are in wind (twisted in relation to each other), you may have to bore out the pulley hubs in a lathe, and then make up some bushes to fit, so the assemblies run true. Tip.... If you have a belt with a dodgy join, which is sometimes the case with cheapo belts, you can sand down the inconsistency with 100 grit paper while still mounted on the machine. This is not the optimum in fix, but it works, and it will help to at least rule out belt issues in a vibration situation.

Best of luck. :)

[Dean]

Dean,

Thanks for the advice. I will get link belts for my drill press and table saw.

1/2" for tablesaw and 3/8" for drill press.

Sweet, looks like I gonna solve the problem.

Simon

Out of interest, did you end up getting some link belts, and if so, have they helped?

Dean

[simonhang]

Out of interest, did you end up getting some link belts, and if so, have they helped?

Dean


Just ordered from US, it's on the way now. Hopefully it will fix my problem.

Simon

[Dean]

ok good luck :)

[simonhang]

After install the link belt and adjust the pulley, the vibration is getting a lot better. I can see the belt is running more smoothly. But there is still some vibration. I believe its caused by the motor.

Anyway, the link belt is helped. And I guess for the price I paid, it's already pretty good. :)

Simon

[zelk]

After install the link belt and adjust the pulley, the vibration is getting a lot better. I can see the belt is running more smoothly. But there is still some vibration. I believe its caused by the motor.

Anyway, the link belt is helped. And I guess for the price I paid, it's already pretty good. :)

Simon

Simon,

when you touch the top of the pulley with a bit of timber, while the DP is on ( be careful ), if there is a chatter sound, it's more likely the pulley itself is not machined or fitted properly. The chatter is no doubt worse when checked furthest from the center of the pulley.

I don't think a well machined pulley will cause any major problems if it is not perfectly in line with the other pulleys. The same could be said for the idler pulley if it is not securely mounted to the head of the DP.

Just the other day my new DP was replaced because of vibration, it was only a few weeks old. The company rep was surprised to see the vibration, I demanded a new DP as it should have been good from the start. I worked out that it had two problems, one belt was faulty and the motor pulley had a wobble. When I ran the DP without any belts attcahed, there was no vibration, it then occurred to me that whilst there is no load on the motor pulley , there is no vibration.
Zelk