Thread: 1986 H&F drill press and a bit of a tool gloat

The drill press looks very similar to mine.

Mine is marked Royco. Taiwanese and good units. The better ones have a larger quill (like mine).

You did well as they go for $200 -250 second hand. I have sold two in the last 2 years and one went for $275.

And you got an extra morse and chuck and a vice, excellent.

Scrub the rust with WD40 and Scotch brillo pad and it will come off easy and also oil it a bit.

The blower is an air duster

Rob

A worthwhile gloat.

A bit of elbow grease and a dab of paint and it will be a goer for years to come.

Certainly it may not be the best drill press even made.... but for $90, even if you forget the other stuff I'd say you've done well. As others have said it should take much work to have it looking a lot better than it does now. Doesnt appear to be any "swiss cheesing" of the table on the half we can see anyway.

Stuart

Good score,
I was given one from a mate a while back and rebuilt it. It was a bit different to this one with a square table and a threaded post for a down feed stop, it also had the end of the spindle (male) machined to go strait into the back of the chuck. Unfortunately it had been dropped on the chuck at some time in it's storage or on my mates truck, so needed machining to bring it back to running true.

I used a orbital sander on the base and table, then a soft wire wheel in a drill on the column. I ended up putting the column in my lathe and running some fine emery over it after wire brushing it. After it was all in bits I gave nice coat of paint and a change from 415v to 240v and it was like a new drill. I checked the bearings and they where fine, so they went back in.

Because of it having no Morse taper I use this one for wood drilling and upgraded the motor from 1/2 hp 415 to 3/4 hp 240. My pedestal drill donated the motor and I put a 1 1/2 hp motor on pedestal drill for drilling steel.

When cleaning it up just take off the rust and you will be fine.
Look forward to seeing your progress.

Dave

Originally Posted by nearnexus

The blower is an air duster

No need to get all technical
When I grabbed the drill press, I didn't know if it was junk or not, but I figured that as long as it worked then it would be useful. Nice to know it's at least got some resale value.

Originally Posted by Stustoys

Certainly it may not be the best drill press even made.... but for $90, even if you forget the other stuff I'd say you've done well. As others have said it should take much work to have it looking a lot better than it does now. Doesnt appear to be any "swiss cheesing" of the table on the half we can see anyway.
Stuart

Nah, no holes (yet!). I still haven't had a good look over it, but from what I can see, it's just cosmetic issues and the belts.

Originally Posted by Dave J

I used a orbital sander on the base and table, then a soft wire wheel in a drill on the column. I ended up putting the column in my lathe and running some fine emery over it after wire brushing it. After it was all in bits I gave nice coat of paint and a change from 415v to 240v and it was like a new drill. I checked the bearings and they where fine, so they went back in.

Thanks Dave. I still haven't got a lathe! I think I'll rig up the wire brush in the grinder and give it a run over with that for starters. Unfortunately, I just haven't go the patience for steel wool, etc. although the idea of a complete pull down appeals to me. Is there anything tricky in stripping it?
Are the belts readily available? I had a look on the H&F website, but couldn't see anything similar.

BTW I notice H & F have their 3-day sale coming up

The grinder mounted wire wheels are pretty aggressive, I would either find a soft one for the grinder if you can of use a drill mounted one as they are softer.

Dave

Originally Posted by Dave J

The grinder mounted wire wheels are pretty aggressive, I would either find a soft one for the grinder if you can of use a drill mounted one as they are softer.

Dave

Gently does it then... I do have a couple of drill mounted ones around, so no reason not to start cautiously

Hi Mick,

If it is anything like mine,which originally would have been a clone of yours.I reckon it will be not real bad at all. Hopefully if they are similiar , yours when checked may have a extremely good reading for spindle run out.The latest drill presses( non Taiwanese) ones show their shocking lack of quality, particularly in the run out of their spindles.

I can't but help it, when I walk past a new one , on display in the shops ,to try the spindle and find 10 and 15 thou run - it out is common.
The belts for it are still readily available. They are simple A section belts.I have replaced mine but they are a bit longer than yours will be, due to the mods.

Mine DP has had a few resurrections over the years.
Some of the mods have made

Pivot for tensioning belts- I'll have to take a pic on that one
Counter weighted table - Easy riser -
Mobile stand with drawers
Horizontal linisher - (Wasp) purchased.

I shall get busy and snap some pics .

I think your little drill press has some potential due to the quality I am sure is there. I am sure under the rust and dust ,lurks a gem

Grahame

Hi, for the belts try your local bearing/pulley supplier, they should have something that will fit. I find that a wire brush can be a little aggressive on shafts, if you have access to a multitool linisher a scotch belt is available for them. Failing that, WD40/kero and 1200 wet and dry works well.
Kryn

These pillar drils as shown are excellent in that they have a rotating table, which makes it hugely easier to line up work than the fixed type.

But one thing to be aware is that these and most other drill presses this size will flex a bit when drilling - the table will flex away from the horizontal depending on the pressure applied.

There is an adjuster on mine to compensate, but the easiest and best way to prevent this is to put a hydraulic jack between the flat collumn base and the bottom of the table centre pivot point when drilling.

This totally eliminates the issue.

Rob

Originally Posted by Grahame Collins

Hi Mick,

If it is anything like mine,which originally would have been a clone of yours.I reckon it will be not real bad at all. Hopefully if they are similiar , yours when checked may have a extremely good reading for spindle run out.The latest drill presses( non Taiwanese) ones show their shocking lack of quality, particularly in the run out of their spindles.

thanks Grahame - Anything has got to be better than my cordless with a 10mm bit ! If it runs really true that would be a huge bonus. This is actually my first drill press, so hopefully after doing this up, I'll have a good idea of what to look for if I ever buy another one. I wasn't in a position to test anything really (except that it turned on), so it's going to be a bit of a fact finding mission to see what is good and what is not. I haven't had a chance yet to even get back to it and give it a good clean.

Originally Posted by Grahame Collins

Pivot for tensioning belts- I'll have to take a pic on that one
Counter weighted table - Easy riser -
Mobile stand with drawers
Horizontal linisher - (Wasp) purchased.

I shall get busy and snap some pics .

Pics would be great Grahame. Thanks for your other comments.

Originally Posted by KBs PensNmore

Hi, for the belts try your local bearing/pulley supplier, they should have something that will fit. I find that a wire brush can be a little aggressive on shafts, if you have access to a multitool linisher a scotch belt is available for them. Failing that, WD40/kero and 1200 wet and dry works well.
Kryn

Thanks Kryn. No don't have a linisher. I might end up just having to put in some elbow grease after all

Originally Posted by nearnexus

These pillar drils as shown are excellent in that they have a rotating table, which makes it hugely easier to line up work than the fixed type.
But one thing to be aware is that these and most other drill presses this size will flex a bit when drilling - the table will flex away from the horizontal depending on the pressure applied.
There is an adjuster on mine to compensate, but the easiest and best way to prevent this is to put a hydraulic jack between the flat collumn base and the bottom of the table centre pivot point when drilling.
This totally eliminates the issue.
Rob

Good tip Rob - I'll have a look at the flex issue.

Hi WelderMick, Ballina Bearing Supplies in Southern Cross Drive should have the belts you require in stock. If not they will get them for you very quickly. I use them often.

Thanks Pete - I'll go see them tomorrow - might even find some time to dust some of the crud off the drill press !
- Mick

OK, I got the new belts (thanks Pete - spot on), and got the whole drill press broken down and mostly cleaned up. (a couple of photos to come, I left the camera in the shed). In the end, the column was pretty good (1200 grit and WD40 worked very nicely ). The paint on some parts is too far gone, so needs to be repainted, particularly the pulley cover. What paint would you guys recommend? It would be nice to match the colour.
I also just woke up to the fact that the handle/winder to adjust the table height is missing. If anyone can post a photo of one that would be appreciated - because I can go back around to the site to have a look for it (if I know what to look for).
Thanks
- Mick