Wilton Drill Press

mickri

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There was a local to me online auction today that had a lot of 3 Wilton model 2530 drill presses. This model drill press is now sold under the Jet brand with a retail cost of $700 give ar take. And parts are available. I was the winning bidder. Total cost with tax was just under $40. I figure between the 3 I can get one working drill press to replace my el cheapo HF drill press. Might get 2 if I am lucky.

Wilton drill presses.JPG


I get to pick them up next Wednesday. It will be interesting to see what I have bought.

This auction also had a Moor Mill that went for just over $300. No tooling included. And a vintage 16" SB lathe with change gears, several chucks and some tooling that sold for the grand sum of $105.
 
Well I think that I scored. Picked the drill presses up today. They loaded them into the back of my truck with a fork lift. They weight well over 100 lbs and I couldn't lift them. Had to take them apart to get them out of my truck. Been a long afternoon. Will have some pictures tomorrow or Friday. They are dirty and the columns are a little rusty with surface rust. One of the drill presses appears to be in working condition. Nothing wrong with it that I can see and the motor purrs like a kitten. I'll know more when I get the motor back on it. In fact both motors run smooth and quiet. I mixed and matched parts off of the other two and looks like I will have another working drill press between them. I won't mount the motors until I figure out where I am going to put them in the shop. Can't lift them with the motors on.

The quill has a MT2 taper from what I have read online. The mix and match drill press has a chuck. The body of the chuck comes off the shank but the shank won't come out of the quill. No type of draw bar that I can see. I also want to lubricate the quills before I use the drill presses. Haven't figured that out yet. I can probably find a manual online since they are still being made and are sold under the Jet brand.

That's all for now.
 
Crank the quill all the way down, rotate it 'till the slot shows up, with the end of the chuck stem showing. Obtainor fabricate a hardened 5º wedge that will go in the slot and drive the stem out. Hammer on it. (the wedge)
 
Thanks Tom. I have found the manual online and downloaded it. Mikey's link above also mentioned the wedge to get the shank out. Per the manual there is no maintenance on the quill except keeping the outside clean and lightly oiled every so often. All of the bearings are sealed and lubricated by the factory. Thinking about making a stand for one of the drill presses. I don't know if the cabinet that I keep my cheapy HF drill press on will hold the weight of the Wilton. Jeezzzz. Another project added to the list.
 
Per the manual there is no maintenance on the quill except keeping the outside clean and lightly oiled every so often. All of the bearings are sealed and lubricated by the factory.

I would question the bearing thing, Mickri. Every Asian drill press I have ever seen comes with shielded cheap bearings from the factory. While they may be okay for a wood worker, they are not great for a metal worker who needs tighter tolerances. Check the run out on the spindle and I would bet money it will be greater than a few thou out. Deep groove bearings that are actually sealed on both sides and lubricated for life will greatly reduce that if you change them.

In addition, it is a good idea to pull the spindle out and lubricate the splines. This will prolong the life of the drive sleeve and the spindle. You should do this every 2-3 years to keep it in good order.

Likewise, the pinion gear that drives the quill down needs to be greased from time to time and the quill return spring needs to be oiled occasionally to keep it from rusting and breaking.
 
Here they are.

IMG_3628.JPG


Haven't cleaned them up yet. Just took pictures because you guys love pictures. Been researching drill chucks this morning. Besides the holding capacity and keyless or keyed there seem to be two basic kinds of drill chucks. Those that screw onto an arbor and those that fit onto a taper. What are the pros and cons of screw verses taper chucks. I need to get another drill chuck and want to figure this about before I buy one. Looks like the drill chuck will cost more than I paid for both presses.
 
Chucks that mount with tapers, as opposed to screw on chucks, have the potential to be mounted more accurately. The tapers are precision ground and if mounted properly they will self-align quite accurately.

You will hear all sorts of preferences for which style of chuck to buy - keyless or keyed. I have a Jacobs Super-Chuck (keyed), multiple Albrechts and multiple Rohm keyless chucks. By far, I prefer the keyless chucks for speed, convenience and accuracy. I only use the keyed chuck for larger drills that are not used that often.

A very good keyless chuck that can be had for reasonable prices is a Rohm Supra. Not as good as their Spiro chucks but it is very good, fast and accurate for a lower cost. Check ebay.
 
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