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What are the Differences Between Step-Pulley Vs. Variable Speed Drill Presses

drillpressmanuals

Drill Press Articles (Part 3 of 5)

 Step-Pulley vs Variable Speed Drill Presses

There are two different types of speed control systems for drill presses — step pulley and variable speed systems. The vast majority of drill presses bought and manufactured are step pulley drive systems. They usually have two pulleys with 4 to 5 different positions or steps to configure the different speeds. These are simpler, easier to produce, and cost less; however, they can be more difficult and more time consuming to change speeds. This usually isn’t a problem for most people, because speed changes aren’t needed often, especially if you are working with the same type of material and bits. This is the type of machines that were commonly purchased by factories for assembly line work where they were set up to do the same task over and over.

The variable speed drive systems are a lot more complex and vary greatly in their mechanisms for changing the speeds. The variable speed drive drill presses usually have a dial on the front that controls a mechanism that changes the working diameter of the spindle pulley, which changes the speed of the spindle. This change is done while the drill press is operating. Some people have retrofitted drill presses with variable speed frequency drive (VFD), and some manufactures are building them this way now. VFD’s control the speed of the motor electronically, and don’t require any mechanical changes. Variable speed drill presses are usually more preferred by machinist that work with a variety of bits and different types of metals where you are constantly changing speeds.

Next Article

The next article will be on the different attachments and accessories made for drill presses over the years.
Please feel free to post comments and questions on this post or any ideas or topics you would like to discuss on future post. And remember if you need a manual for your drill press, we have all of them listed here: Drill Press Manuals.

 

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Bench Top Vs Floor Standing Drill Presses

rockwell_delta_bench_floor_drill_press_manual

Drill Press Articles (Part 2 of 5)

Bench Top Vs Floor Standing Drill Presses

Let’s discuss the different styles of drill presses. There are bench and floor versions of nearly every large drill press model. Mechanically they are the same, and most manuals include both versions. Usually the only real difference between the two versions is the length of the column and the size of the base. Sometimes the floor model will have a bigger column, but I’ve found this to be very rare.

The advantage to a floor standing model is obvious. If you have to drill or mortise the end of a really long piece of material you can, but unless you get into cabinet or furniture making, this usually isn’t necessary. I have both in my shop, and I use the benchtop version 90% of the time. Plus, I set it on a cabinet with all my bits and tools easily accessible underneath. Both bench and floor are usually contained in one manual like these two Rockwell drill presses are covered in the same manual here, and as you can see their heads are identical. Each one has their own place and advantages.

 

Next Article

The next article will be on the differences between step-pulley and variable speed drill presses, and the advantages and disadvantages of both.

Please feel free to post comments and questions on this post or any ideas or topics you would like to discuss on future post. And remember if you need a manual for your drill press, we have all of them listed here: Drill Press Manuals.

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How to: Measure and Size a Drill Press

howtomeasureadrillpress
Drill Press Articles (Part 1 of 5)

Drill presses have been around for quite a while. We use lots of different ones in our shops for different operations, and we have manuals for many of them. They are designed mainly to help keep precision while drilling holes. Of course, drill presses can be used for many other things like sanding, wood shaping, and more, but we’ll get into that later in this series of articles. There are lots of different sizes and types of drill presses, and this series of articles is to help you identify what type of drill press you have or what type of drill press you may want to purchase.

How Do You Measure a Drill Press?

The first thing people ask us is how to size a drill press. What is the difference between a 15″ or 17″ drill press? The measurement is simply the distance from the center of the spindle to edge of the column, then doubled. So if you measure 7.5 inches, you have a 15 inch drill press. This is referred to as the swing of the drill press which is the largest diameter piece this drill can handle. This is similar to the way a lathe is measured.

Next Article

The next article will be on the differences between bench top and floor model drill presses, and the advantages and disadvantages of both.
Please feel free to post comments and questions on this post or any ideas or topics you would like to discuss on future post. And remember if you need a manual for your drill press, we have all of them listed here: Drill Press Manuals.

 

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Machine ID’d: Atlas Press Company Model 1010 12 3/4″ Bench Top Drill Press

Atlas Drill Press Model No 23 1010 Pic 2
 

Here are some pictures of a nice Atlas 1010 12 3/4″ bench top drill press. This particular drill press has serial number 000355. These drill press models were made in the early 1950’s.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have manuals for a few different Atlas drill presses, and we have a manual for the 1010 drill press here:
The Atlas Press Co. 12 3/4″ drill press model 1010 sold for $74.50 in 1950, which is equivalent to $720.48 today. Here is a page on the model 1010 drill press from a 1950 Atlas Press Co. catalog.

Do you have one of these drill presses, or
do you have anything else you would like to add about it’s history or use?
Please add your comments below.

Submit Your Machine
Do you want to know more about your machine?

Email us your details with pictures, and we’ll put together the best information we can find. Plus, we can get other readers’ input to help you learn more.

Also, feel free to email us if you want us to share your machine on our site.

Email your information to: info@ozarkwoodworker.com

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Machine ID’d: Rockwell-Delta 17″ Drill Press with DP-600 casting.

rockwell17drillpress1

Rockwell17drillpress1

Here is a old Rockwell-Delta 17″ floor model drill press that a reader sent us pictures of to find more information about. The owner said the Rockwell drill press was used in a production facility for some time. The gentleman he bought the drill press from was 67 and said he started operating it when he was 13. This Rockwell 17″ drill press has has serial number 79-794 which dates it to 1949. In 1950 this drill press sold for $180.50 to $196.00 depending on the options, which is equivalent to $1,745.60 to $1,895.50 today. In 1949, you couldn’t pick up a quality machine like this in a garage sale.

 

Delta17drillpress1

 

It appears that this particular Rockwell-Delta 17″ drill press has a slow speed attachment, which is the pulley installed right above the column, but there is pulley on the motor with only one position. I’m not sure if the motor pulley broke at some time or not, but this is not a typical or Rockwell Manufacturing configuration. Information on the slow speed attachment is not included in the main owner’s manual, but it was used to provide more speed options for drilling. I’m guessing someone may have broken the original motor pulley, and either had or found a slow speed attachment to get at at least some speeds out of the drill press.

 

 

 

How to Identify this Rockwell Drill Press

We have operator, owner’s, and parts manuals for many different Rockwell-Delta-Milwaukee drill presses here. These older Delta machines from this vintage usually don’t have model numbers on them, and lots of people have asked us how to identify them.

 

The simplest way to identify many of these older Delta machines is by the casted part number on the main part of the machine. These Rockwell-Delta 17″ drill presses have “DP-600″ casted into the head on the arm that supports the front pulley. This is the part number for the head casting. Here is a picture showing its location on another 17” drill press.

 

Manuals for this Rockwell 17″ Drill Press

 

We have a couple manuals that would be useful with this Rockwell-Delta 17″ drill press model. We have the original operator’s and parts manual for this drill press model here:

 

DELTA-MILWAUKEE 17″ Drill Press DP-600 Instructions & Parts Manual with FOOT FEED

 

 

We also have another book that Delta published with additional information about drill press use and set ups. This book covers all the branches of drill press operation in the home workshop with over two hundred photographic illustrations and line drawings even for uses like sanding, shaping, mortising, etc…

 

It’s a really useful and interesting series of books that I recommend to anyone wanting to learn more about drill press use.

DELTA Getting the Most Out of Your Drill Press Manual

 

 

 Catalog Pages for the Rockwell 17″ Drill Press

 

Below are some pages from a 1950 Delta Milwaukee catalog about this 17″ drill press. The catalog displays the different options and accessories that were available for this model. The drill press owners manual above covers a lot of the different variations between the bench and floor models.

 

Pages from delta catalog 1950_Page_1              Pages from delta catalog 1950_Page_2

 

Do you have one of these drills, or
do you have anything else you would like to add about it’s history or use?
Please add your comments below.

 

 

Submit Your Machine
Do you want to know more about your machine?

Email us your details with pictures, and we’ll put together the best information we can find. Plus, we can get other readers’ input to help you learn more.

Also, feel free to email us if you want us to share your machine on our site.

Email your information to: info@ozarkwoodworker.com