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My new (old) drill press

+1 on link belts. The stretching must be an environmental thing. I’ve used Accu-Link and Powertwist products both for nearly 2 decades and have never had to make an adjustment or remove a link in all that time. Where I live it never freezes and humidity is pretty stable. I consider them pretty much just set it and forget it product. On the drill press it’s especially convenient because they’re so easy to roll on and off the sleeves to change speeds.
 
glenn bradley said:
+1 on link belts. The stretching must be an environmental thing. I’ve used Accu-Link and Powertwist products both for nearly 2 decades and have never had to make an adjustment or remove a link in all that time. Where I live it never freezes and humidity is pretty stable. I consider them pretty much just set it and forget it product. On the drill press it’s especially convenient because they’re so easy to roll on and off the sleeves to change speeds.
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I've had the same experience. I run one on my drill press and my jointer, and never had to adjust either. I believe I got both belts at Harbor Freight, but it's been so long I can't remember for sure. To be fair, I'm not sure what I had for breakfast yesterday, lol.
 
Vaughn McMillan said:
I've had the same experience. I run one on my drill press and my jointer, and never had to adjust either. I believe I got both belts at Harbor Freight, but it's been so long I can't remember for sure. To be fair, I'm not sure what I had for breakfast yesterday, lol.
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Is this a different strokes thing? The link belt for my refurbed table saw came from Harbor Freight. I had to remove links on three occasions before it settled in to what it needed. Not a big deal, I'm very happy with the performance now.
 
Frank Fusco said:
Is this a different strokes thing? The link belt for my refurbed table saw came from Harbor Freight. I had to remove links on three occasions before it settled in to what it needed. Not a big deal, I'm very happy with the performance now.
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Quite possibly a quality control or supplier thing. :)
 
Tom Baugues said:
I've been looking for a better drill press than the cheap lightweight one I currently own. I found this one this past weekend at a auction sale and bought it. I can't find any information on it anywhere (on the web). I looked on OWWM.com as well with no luck. It is a 1976 Continental International Model # DP 14-500, 12 speed, 1/2 HP, 5/8 capacity, MT2. It still has the original motor. I have never heard of this brand before. It was made in Taiwan. It is a VERY heavy machine. I actually racked up my back getting it in and out of my truck. It is a bench mount not a floor mount. About 42" tall total. It appears to be very well made and I have begun to tear it down to rebuild it. The motor and spindle are both very smooth and have gotten even better with a little fresh lube. I'm sanding down the frame and plan to repaint it. I'm not really going for a complete restoration but just want it to look nice. Has anyone ever heard of this brand or know where I might look for information?

Tom
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Tom, I have been having a helluva difficult time finding the right size chuck key - I have the same machine as yours. I’m not positive my Chuck is the same as yours though-mine says 33JT, capacity 1/2 with a 5/16”pilot hole. Would you or anyone else here have an idea of where I can get one that fits? The latest one I tried was the Jacob‘s model K3 and it didn’t seem like the gears are wide enough. Looks like my chuck B66067B7-0EBD-48AF-BEC9-4655A908799D.jpegis a Fuji.
Thanks in advance everyone for the great info on this forum.
 
Ryan Mooney said:
Pretty sure the 33JT means it's a JT-33 taper fitting the chuck onto the MT taper than goes into the press, longer explanation here:


You can get a pretty decent chuck for not huge money anymore. On my ancient Jet floor press I picked up used I had terrible run out which was pretty much just fixed by spending $50 on a new chuck assembly.
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Thanks for the info! I was hoping to not spend much more $ on this machine but I will look into getting a new chuck if I can’t find the right key.
 
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Eric Marchese said:
I was hoping to not spend much more $ on this machine
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Yeah it's always a call isn't it :/

There are dozens of chuck key sizes, this might help you figure out which one it most probably is (this chart is not 100% complete as there are some weird odd balls out there). You can use the back of a drill bit to size the pilot shank pretty close (a set of transfer punches usually closer than cheap drill bits.. better bits are usually closer to actual. I have some cheap 1/4" nominal bits that are over 20 thousands off so.. yah).

 
Ryan, that chart will be handy.... I have an old Harbor Freight desk top drill press that still works fine, but the chuck key is pretty well worn out and of course HF doesn't stock a replacement key (or least the two I've been to don't)
 
Ryan Mooney said:
Yeah it's always a call isn't it :/

There are dozens of chuck key sizes, this might help you figure out which one it most probably is (this chart is not 100% complete as there are some weird odd balls out there). You can use the back of a drill bit to size the pilot shank pretty close (a set of transfer punches usually closer than cheap drill bits.. better bits are usually closer to actual. I have some cheap 1/4" nominal bits that are over 20 thousands off so.. yah).

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Thanks Ryan, but I tried that route. It is a 5/16 pilot but the key in that size doesn’t have a big enough gear on it.
 
Just thought I'd throw this in... My jet press has a chuck that closes all the way, I often us bits as small as #70. So if you think you may use small bits keep that in mind. My last drill press chuck did not close all the way so I purchased a smaller chuck to put into the existing chuck and it did not work, I tried several different ones an they were all pretty useless, wobbled too much.
 
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