Thread: Anywhere to buy a drill press without a motor?

John did you buy it new?

1898 Wartburg

Hi John,

No ! It was made in the fifties early sixties, it looked reminiscent of a VW Beetle. It was at least ten or more years old when I got it. The Beetle was posh by comparison !

That 1898 car would be worth a great deal of money today !

Thanks for the replies, all.

I ended up going with an Optimum Metex 16 mm from here: https://redfoxmachinery.com.au/produ...yless-chuck-2/
You get a little less drill press compared to Hafco or Total Tools, but the quality is reportedly a bit better.

Regarding motor and VFD, I'm trying to get both from Conon Motor, which they offered me a package deal on, but I haven't heard back after asking them to confirm that this VFD definitely has sensorless vector control.
https://cononmotor.com.au/product/1-...erter-vsd-vfd/

If I don't hear back in another day or so, I'll probably get the motor from Aims Industrial. BobL or others, do you have a recommendation on a VFD with decent warranty and ideally Australian stock? I know Powtrans are recommended, but the only way to buy them seems to be a $600-odd eBay offering (1.5 kW) or emailing China and using Western Union to pay...

The Conon VFDs are definitely vector control.

Originally Posted by BobL

The Conon VFDs are definitely vector control.

Thanks Bob.

I was just concerned because it said “control method: VFD, PID”, but I did notice “SVC” in the specs table. I emailed to clarify, and asked if SVC means it does sensorless vector control, and he replied “These are V/F control. Yes”, lol. Asked to reclarify and how to pay and it’s been 5 days silence.

Just hoping this isn’t a sign of potential support problems down the road.

Originally Posted by Edd

Thanks Bob.

I was just concerned because it said “control method: VFD, PID”, but I did notice “SVC” in the specs table. I emailed to clarify, and asked if SVC means it does sensorless vector control, and he replied “These are V/F control. Yes”, lol. Asked to reclarify and how to pay and it’s been 5 days silence.

Just hoping this isn’t a sign of potential support problems down the road.

I haven't had what you might call a lot of dealings with them (a few motors and one VFD) but all my purchases and interactions have been timely/responsive. I suspect they're taking an extra long Aust Day weekend. Ive bought most of my stuff from them via ebay.

Edd, that is a woodworking drill that you have ordered, if you want to use larger drills at low speeds then the idler pulley between the motor and spindle pulley is required. With that drill the belt will slip on the low speed (smallest motor pulley) and your motor will have to run too slow to cool properly if run for longer periods.

While I agree that 600 rpm is too fast for the stock drill press on the biggest reduction, it will be 120 rpm @ 10 Hz. I'm replacing the 450 W motor with a 1.5 kW motor to compensate for the torque I'm not getting from a larger reduction. I'll program an external fan to run at about 30 Hz and below.

I'm not sure I understand your comment about the belt slipping – surely that's a function of too much torque at the spindle pulley relative to the friction afforded by the belt tension. I can't imagine it being less likely to happen with an idler pulley. It seems that tossing the idler pulley in those setups and running 1 longer belt with 3-4 speeds is a common mod when people install VFDs to make it easier for occasional setups, e.g.:
100-1000 rpm (occasional setups for low speed)
150-2000 rpm (98% of all work)
300-3000 rpm (occasional high speed/polishing work)

Originally Posted by Edd

I'm not sure I understand your comment about the belt slipping – surely that's a function of too much torque at the spindle pulley relative to the friction afforded by the belt tension.

There is not enough surface area on the small pulley, less surface area = less grip = less power transmitted.

Originally Posted by Edd

I can't imagine it being less likely to happen with an idler pulley.

With the idler pulley you can take advantage of larger pulleys and get a lower speed than what you will get with a woodworking drill.

Originally Posted by Edd

It seems that tossing the idler pulley in those setups and running 1 longer belt with 3-4 speeds is a common mod when people install VFDs to make it easier for occasional setups, e.g.:

Most likely have they woodworking drills or maybe they don't need to drill large holes, or they don't know what they are doing...

Going from a 450 to 1500W may be too far for what is a lighter weight than average DP. My HD DP weighs more than double yours and it came with a 750W motor and I’ve put an 1150W motor on it. I suggest also checking if the larger motor will even fit in the space available for the smaller motor. The other issue is are the other parts of the machine up to spec in dealing with a 3+ times more powerful motor @50Hz. For example if a bit catches and the belt does not slip it could seriously damage bearings and or spindle.

I’d be looking at most at a 900w motor and running the belt so that it slips. Setting up a machine for belt slippage is ok on a machine like some lathes that have a fine adjustment belt tensioner but few DPS have this feature.

I just saw the size of the belt. My concern now is with such a small belt a bigger motor will make it slip or if it’s too tight just damage the belt

Originally Posted by shedhappens

There is not enough surface area on the small pulley, less surface area = less grip = less power transmitted.

Grip is static frictional force, which equals coefficient of friction multiplied by normal force. It does not depend on surface area.

Originally Posted by shedhappens

With the idler pulley you can take advantage of larger pulleys and get a lower speed than what you will get with a woodworking drill.

That's obvious, but it doesn't explain why the belt is more likely to slip without it.

Originally Posted by shedhappens

Most likely have they woodworking drills or maybe they don't need to drill large holes, or they don't know what they are doing...

Or they have a VFD +/- vector control and enough low-end torque to run at a speed low enough.

Originally Posted by Edd

Grip is static frictional force, which equals coefficient of friction multiplied by normal force. It does not depend on surface area.


That's obvious, but it doesn't explain why the belt is more likely to slip without it.



Or they have a VFD +/- vector control and enough low-end torque to run at a speed low enough.

Edd if your plan is to tighten the baaa jesus outta the belt then you are going to run into problems....

I am not knocking you, but I know you will have trouble trying to get torque transmitted through that tiny itty bitty minuscule
microscopic nano pulley, just passing on some personal experience

I'm not planning on running the belts at higher tension, nor am I planning to run a smaller drive pulley than is stock.

Originally Posted by BobL

Going from a 450 to 1500W may be too far for what is a lighter weight than average DP. My HD DP weighs more than double yours and it came with a 750W motor and I’ve put an 1150W motor on it. I suggest also checking if the larger motor will even fit in the space available for the smaller motor. The other issue is are the other parts of the machine up to spec in dealing with a 3+ times more powerful motor @50Hz. For example if a bit catches and the belt does not slip it could seriously damage bearings and or spindle.

I’d be looking at most at a 900w motor and running the belt so that it slips. Setting up a machine for belt slippage is ok on a machine like some lathes that have a fine adjustment belt tensioner but few DPS have this feature.

Yeah, this is a fair point, thanks. I was looking at 1150 W, but crept up to 1500 W due to the tiny ($20?) cost difference. I think I'll wait until I get it and take some measurements and likely go back down to a smaller motor.

Edit: I should mention I have access to a 500 kg knee milling machine with DRO for any serious or precise drilling, and that this drill press is for 2 main purposes:
1. Drilling of things that only need to be centre-punch precise (or worse), i.e. where you just want to float the bit into position, rather than edge finding and dialling in, spot drilling, etc.
2. Keeping wood swarf out of the mill.

Edit 2: Conon motor don't have 4 pole motors more than 550 W but less than 1500 W, unfortunately.