Drill Press Wobble

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I just purchased an old Craftsman Drill Press  (Model# 113213780). I couldn't see that it had a wobble in the chuck until after I got it home and put a bit in it. I read somewhere that it could be the bearings need to be replaced. Has anyone experienced this?Thanks,WallyMillerMatic 212, Lincoln Precision TIG 225, Hypertherm 45XP
Reply:Check you belts for wear and make sure that the chuck is pressed into the quill with no junk on the taper.Miller Diversion 180Lincoln Mig Pak 5000 HDHypertherm 45Uni-Spotter Stud WelderOxy Set-up with Harris TorchMiller 30FX Arc StationMiller Elite - Hockey Canada Helmet
Reply:I was able to settle down my old Homecraft drill press with a link belt:http://www.harborfreight.com/vibrati...elt-43771.htmlHit it with a 20% coupon.I also put a link-belt on my Rockwell bandsaw and it stopped jumping around.http://lumberjocks.com/reviews/1702Good luck,YakdungLast edited by yakdung; 05-15-2012 at 12:12 PM.
Reply:I'd take the time to inspect the quill to see if that is the source for your run-out or not. Quite possibly your problem may just be in a cheap worn out chuck. Over the years I've replaced every drill chuck in the shop for lathes, mill and two drill presses with Jacobs super chucks. Even in the decades old Harbor Freight drill press it made a significant improvement in both run-out and the gripping ability.If the run-out is indeed in the quill, you may get lucky and improve the run-out by installing new bearings if the quill itself hasn't been spanged in the past.If the run-out is in your chuck, spend the money you would save on bearings and purchase a decent chuck. Follow up with a link belt as the previous poster recommended.Lincoln PrecisionTig 275Miller 251Miller DialArc 250Bridgeport millHossfeld bender & diesLogan shaperJet 14 X 40 latheSouth Bend 9" 'C'Hypertherm 900Ellis 3000 band saw21"Royersford ExcelsiorTwo shops, still too many tools.
Reply:Thanks for the replies.I will follow the suggestions.MillerMatic 212, Lincoln Precision TIG 225, Hypertherm 45XP
Reply:been thru this before with my Craftsman drill press.  First as said above check the chuck.  Also check the quill.  One good thing about all the sears equipment is that most all the parts are still available from Sears parts direct.I'm a Lover, Fighter, Wild horse Rider, and a pretty good welding man......
Reply:I did something dumb in one of my "vintage" drill presses.   I was drilling a 6"x6"x3/4" angle in it without a vice and the bit caught and started spinning the piece.   well that bent the shaft.  I actually used a run out gage and a dead blow hammer and straitened it back out to .008 run out.   IT WAS BAD when i started.Vantage 500's LN-25's, VI-400's, cobramatics, Miller migs, synch 350 LX, Powcon inverters, XMT's, 250 Ton Acurrpress 12' brake, 1/4" 10' Atlantic shear,Koikie plasma table W/ esab plasmas. marvel & hyd-mech saws, pirrana & metal muncher punches.
Reply:If the bearings are crook, they are often also quite noisy as well.  If it runs silently but wobbles, then start looking for the other things as suggested above.Cheers,  Tony._________________________________Transmig 310 + Argoshield LightOxy acetyleneOxy propanePrehistoric stick welder_________________________________
Reply:If you have a magnetic base and a dial indicator, crank the table up high near the chuck, set the magnet base up on the table, and set the indicator up to do some measuring to determine the source of the runout.  What you are looking for is the maximum change in diameter through a complete rotation.  It can be helpful to mark the side of high and low spots, to help make sense.If the bit or precision steel dowel chucked has runout, but the machined lower body of the chuck itself doesn't, the problem is with the chuck teeth.  Replacement chuck teeth kits are available, but replacing the whole chuck is an alternative worth considering.If the body of the chuck has runout, it's time to pull it off the arbor (which are often tapered on a drill press) and measure the tapered arbor itself for runout.  If that has runout, I don't really have any suggestions, but replacing it may be a good option.If the chuck has runout but the tapered arbor does not, try cleaning any debris or rust off the mating surfaces.  Try putting some machinist blue on the taper (Or just color black with a sharpie) and rub the mating side to observe where it is rubbing.  Possibly you can clean, file, etc any blemished high spots.Removing the runout is really good to do in a drill press through.  If there is too much runout, a rigid bit it won't flex enough and it won't drill very well.  If the runout is small enough that the drill bit can flex, that works OK.  Having small runout helps with being able to accurately position the drill on a spot too.PS - you can also measure bearing play with the dial indicator.  Just press the parts back and forth and see how the indicator changes.  You can probably "feel" the bearing slop without an indicator just as well.Last edited by jakeru; 05-16-2012 at 01:55 AM.
Reply:The tapered arbor was the culprit. My neighbor cleaned it up in his metal lathe and actually had to cut a little off. That took out about 90% of the wobble. Lesson learned when buying a used drill press.Thanks for the help.MillerMatic 212, Lincoln Precision TIG 225, Hypertherm 45XP