Broken Chuck on 50+ year old Walker-Turner Drill Press

B

Brian W.

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Hello - I'm new t the site & forum and a complete newbie to vintage machine tool maintenance.
I need help fixing an old Walker-Turner drill press. The drill press belonged to my grandfather who passed away when I was 6. My father had this in our basement most of my life and when my parents moved to a new home with no room for shop tools it wound up with me. Since I'm now 56 that means the machine is at least 50 years old; I have no idea how long my grandfather had it before he passed.
The motor runs flawlessly but a couple of months ago the chuck started to get really tight when opening and closing the jaws. Now the chuck only turns with a great deal of effort and is basically useless - it feels like the mechanism is binding on the inside.
I'm reasonably handy, but I have no experience taking this machine apart and given its age if I break something I assume parts are not exactly easy to come by. I've done a little reading and I think that if I unscrew the collar above the chuck that the "quill" will tap out, but I have no idea if that's right or if I''ve got the terminology correct or what to do once I get the damn thing out.
I'd like to keep this running for sentimental as well as practical reasons. Can anyone help me?
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i'm not 100% sure, but by the looks, there appears to be a threaded collar above the drill chuck.
if you were to back off the collar, the drill chuck may simply spin off the spindle.
you'll need to hold the top end of the spindle to prevent rotation while turning the drill chuck clockwise, to loosen the chuck from the spindle
 
Turn the nut down against the top of the chuck with a spanner and crank on it until it breaks the taper loose. The chuck will drop out.
 
Chuck K said:
Turn the nut down against the top of the chuck with a spanner and crank on it until it breaks the taper loose. The chuck will drop out.
Click to expand...
OK. By "spanner" you mean a curved tool with a peg that fits in the hole in the nut/collar, correct? Not something in my current tool kit so I'll have to locate one somewhere.
 
pgwisn said:
From looking at the badge on the drill press it appears to be made before 1939/1940.
By 1940 they started to put a number on the badge, mainly model numbers, but in some cases early serial numbers.

The vintage machinery site has photos, catalogs, and some history on the Walker-Turners:
Click to expand...
I started looking at some of those pages, but without a date range it was kind of a shot in the dark and all I had to go on was the basic look of the press. Now that I have a better idea on the date it will help. Thanks.
 
Ulma Doctor said:
i'm not 100% sure, but by the looks, there appears to be a threaded collar above the drill chuck.
if you were to back off the collar, the drill chuck may simply spin off the spindle.
you'll need to hold the top end of the spindle to prevent rotation while turning the drill chuck clockwise, to loosen the chuck from the spindle
Click to expand...
Thanks, but I've tried screwing that up and down and nothing changes. I think the reply about using the nut/collar to force the chuck off is probably correct. I will have to get a spanner for that because just putting a wrench on it won't be enough.
 
Thanks for all of the suggestions. I will try and find a spanner that will pop the chuck out. Assuming that works and I get the chuck out, can the chuck be disassembled and repaired, or do I have to start trying to source a new chuck? Can I even get a new chuck for this?
 
That chuck has a very short arbor. I think it's integral to the chuck. The chuck can be disassembled and rebuilt. Just press the sleeve off it.
 
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