11 years later, still the best video on YT for drill press maintenance

Thank you. Your tutorial is a superb one, if practice regularly will definitely put the machine into order for a very long time. Thank you for your painstaking work more grease to your elbow.

Thanks for going to the trouble of making such a focused and straightforward video. Learnt a number of things I was getting wrong on my drill press. Cheers!

that variabel speed pulley system is really nice invention :D

Thank you for this helpful video, I needed to learn all of these basics.

That was very helpful, Sandor.

Great video, thank you for sharing your knowledge.

Excellent video. I just picked up my first drill press (used) and am learning some new terms, like "quill".

Thanks for a great video! I learned a lot that I can apply to maintaining my drill press.

What a fantastic video! Thank you!

Very good tutorial! Simple and detailed at the same time!

Searched this up because I got a dirt cheap used WEN press that could use some love, Now i want to buy an old beat up one and restore it with the info from this video. Very helpful many years later

Very well made video, covered just what I was looking for. Thank you very much.

Thanks for uploading such informative video.

What a great video, thank you for making it.

Great Information Great Video Thank You!

To people complaining about the fingernails; He's a guitarist. The fingernails are only long on the right hand and are well groomed and they are short on the left hand. This is very common for classical guitarists and other styles that use finger picking.

This was actually a really good video.

Very informative video. Learned a lot. Thanks for posting.

Yap! I thought so to...guitarist! Great presentation!

wow i never saw variable speed like that - wonderful thing!

Awesome vid - exactly what I was looking for! THX!

thank you for sharing the knowledge

Great video, very helpful! Thank you!

This was a good video . Lots of useful information .

I've been completely negligent to my drill press ! Ty for the wake up call and the valuable info....great video!

Very informational, thank you!

Great information!

As my friend Justin that is here below me says, this is still the best video for drill press maintenance.

Very informative, I learned a lot. Thanks much ... Cheers, Dave

Good video. Thanks Sandor.

Very useful. Thank you.

Perfect, professional. Thxs

Thanks, a nice job!

I was given an old Mastercraft drill press. This is fantastic information.

Huge help thank you sir!

yes using a dial gage for checking the drill bit is not angled in the spindle and checking the press table for squareness between it and drill bit with a straight edge is definitely a major thing to do for precision hole making

Could you share how to lubricate the moving bits of a drill press? Bearing and such. I just hauled my Grandfather’s 1950 Delta Rockwell out of it’s hiding place and want to use it, but I want to be sure it is properly lubricated first so I don’t burn anything up.

Very helpful Great video

Very informative!

I have a guardian 12 speed drill press, even though there a different company alot of that info does help me. But some of it does not just for that very same reason, its a different drill press from a different company

Appreciate this.Thanks.

Thanks great pictorial

Great video, thank you!

VERY HELPFUL!!!!!!! Thank you :)

hello. i have an old drill press that i would like to tune up.. it is actually the same as the second press you show in this video. it is a craftsman king sealy.. i understand that the methods you show are universal but i have some questions about that specific model..can you help me out are should i just buy a new press?

there's usually a lever between the motor and the press arms. near that lever, as well on the opposite side of the press, there is a knob. loosen both of those knobs, then pull the lever in the direction that provides resistance. you can confirm that it is being tightened by opening the top of the press to view the belts. While maintaining pressure on the lever, tighten one, then the other knob to lock the belt tensioner.

Nice video thanks

thanks alot you did well.

great vid!

thank you

thank you very much

What if you have a similar one and no matter how hard you hit it the spindle doesn't come out of the quill? Trying to troubleshoot some run-out that I have.

Thanks sir!

Are there any videos on how to give drill press more Power Tim Taylor style lol

I have the bench top version of that Ryobi and it has runout that is unfixable

where can i find the webzine article

i have that same drill press but unfortunately don't have the owner's manual....how do you change the belt on it?

When my drill press is unplugged, I grab the chuck and can move it back and forth about 3/4 of an inch. I hold the belt pulley above when doing this. When using my drill press I can hear a rattle until I begin to move the drill bit down. Is ther any adjustment for this. The drill press is a new King model.

Got a Powermatic 18" VS drill press at auction. It is and was like new but the variable speed drive rattles and squeals throughout the range of speeds. Do you or any of your viewers have any suggestions how to improve it? The belts and pulleys appear new with no signs of wear but upon removing the plastic shroud I found fine powder covering everything. The powder seems to be ground rubber. Help!

very useful thanks. One needs to be careful about pointing the compressed air so that it is not aimed in the general direction of the eyes, so the face shield is actually a good idea at that point. Bad things can happen with compressed air pointed in the wrong direction.

What German made adapter did you buy. Thx

how can you tight the tension of the belt on a Radial drill press ?

When checking for runout, it doesn't matter if the table is square as long as the arm on the dial indicator is perpendicular to the spindle.

How do u adjust Z axis?

Having a problem with my 1960's Delta drill press. it has a hand tightened chuck, yes no key is used. Now recently i used WD40 to clean the chuck, and to my disappointment i found that the teeth will not hold a bit once drilling a hole. what do you recommend i do to correct the situation.

That tapered pin is called a Drift Punch.

Guys, my guess is that SN plays the mandolin or banjo, so the nails are essential for picking, so cool it.

At about 8:45 you talk about removing runout and wobble from your drill press. I searched videos several times and couldn't find it. Would you provide the link to that reference? Thanks in advance.

I'm watching all this care while my own drill press is on my porch in my little work area only protected my the roof over it. Lol

A drill press is a complex machine that only needs to have only another column, a lead screw, and a carriage/cross feed/compound/tailstock to make a lathe. You could improve the spindle if needed and add a lathe chuck.

I got a 42 year old drill press for $20. It's a central machinery model 884. One of the chuck jaw "teeth" is considerably lower than the other two and i was wondering if that is why the drill bits seem to become bent (I'm not sure if the bits are actually bending or if they are just falling out of alignment, i hope it's the alignment option) when in use. The chuck is rusty, but i used some steel wool on it while having it on (probably not the best idea as too much pressure will cause it to rip the steel wool right out of your hand). I was wondering if you could tell me if that jaw tooth being more advanced than the other twi would cause the bits to either fall out of alignment (preferred option because i don't have many bits),or cause them to bend. It kinda seems like it is the alignment option because the whole bit seems to be affected.

Must be a guitar player 😁 great video, even 9 years later! Thanks !

Many thanks, I think you cover it ... Regards

The .002" you mentioned looked like .005" to me.

Köszönöm Sándor. I am about to buy a 10" variable drill press, and i am pretty sure it will needs a few fine adjustment. What i have read about this model, the chuck itself tend to wobble. I am not sure if its just because the sloppy assembly, or better to totally avoiding to buy it? This is a WEN 4210.

Since you already have that magnetic base and the indicator I wouldn't bother checking how square the chuck is to the table using that square and the mark I eyeball method. Simply unscrew the single set screw that holds the vertical column to the magnetic base, unscrew that from the base, invert the column and clamp it in the chuck. Now zero your indicator on the table and slowly spin it by hand a full circle as close to the tables outer edge as you can get it. That's the proper and accepted way of tramming the table to the spindle. And it's far more accurate. Plus it doesn't matter how much runout your chuck has. That runout is exactly in the same position as the spindle rotates and the indicator tip makes the full circle. Think about it. And for anyone that thinks any of these light drill presses are at all rigid ? There not, while your tramming the table with the above method set the indicators plunger out on the table where it would be closest to the operator. Then just add a little bit of down pressure with your thumb. Then visualize what happens to that table under normal drilling pressures. Then think about the part weights you load onto the table. The table will flex downward severely simply because most are so poorly designed. I'm not really a woodworker and work mostly with metal. I no longer even own a drill press because of how weak and poorly designed the average non industrial models are that are less than 1,000 lbs. All my drilling now gets done on a milling machine. But if you want straight holes on a drill press, you'll need some type of adjustable support between the bottom of the drill presses table and either the floor or the bench top. It's physically impossible to drill a straight hole with any drill press like the one shown in this video.

why dont you put the dial indicator in the chuck to see if the table is square with the bit?

Good lesson and easy to follow. WD40 is actually a water dispersant, not meant to be used as a lubricant.

My drill press table is out on two axis, I noticed you only did the side to side, and skip the front to back axis. In my case I had to grind some of the mounting casing to get it perpendicular to the vertical plane. Keep that in mind when you get a cheap drill press like mine.

reminds me of Mr. Data from Startrek next generation.

why does my drill press drill stay down? the handles are loose too? is this fixable or is it broken?

great informative video but i believe that the measurement with the square should be done before you do the run out check w/ the dial indicator to have more precise measurements on your adjustments overall in that way your measurements w/ the dial indicator wouldnt be misleading to time consuming unnecessary procedures thanks

Wouldn't you want to square the table BEFORE you check the spindle for runout?

What you called a "set screw" on that Ryobi which yes many drill presses have, is actually a guide screw... it doesn't remove any play worth mentioning. It's only there as a guide and to prevent the shaft from turning. To remove play you'd have to drill 4 holes and use some type of set screw on two sides of the shaft 90 degrees to each other. Others have done it. Problem is, the switch is usually in the way so you can't...

My drill press suddenly stopped spinning. I hear the motor running, but the chuck isn't turning. Any idea what could be the issue?

He's probably a guitarist, the use to have plectrums for nails :)

How often should this be done?

Great video! Thanks so much. ...and I'm guessing the long nails are because Mr N is a guitarist.

This guy is like Bob Ross of Drill Presses

An HD video from 1970? Unpossible!

That is one sweet 70's feathered haircut.

Very helpful..

I don't see an issue with Sandor's finger nails but he needs to grow that hair out a bit more and hit the salon so he can get that bitchin' mane glowin' & flowin' in a classic Firebird.

Excellent video. Bang on about the oil and the downside of excess oil. It kills me watching ppl drown stuff in oil. Might as well smear wet sand into your gears.

Don't know about nails getting caught in a machine, but it sure looks gnarly.

...tap on that cast iron table with a 'soft' hammer....

Every set screw I have ever seen has a shoulder so that it can't be over tightened and does not adjust side play.

Probally should square up the table BEFORE performing runout test.

Doesn't really matter because you can set the indicator level on its own, the base is only to hold it steady. Plus if the run out is too excessive you wont get an accurate level for your table and you will just be chasing your tail.