Delta Reeves drive drill press adjustment help

Rob Keeble

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Location
GTA Ontario Canada
Well i knew it was too good to be true. Last night managed to get all my layout done on my new router top. Marked up the aluminum angle stock i bought yesterday. Thought today being a nice day i would be able to get into the shop.

Get out there ready to drll and start up the drill press and what a noise. It had been playing up before winter.

So i figured better take covers off and check it out and if necessary lube the reeves drive.

Well i found the roll pin they use on the reeves drive motor side had come out, i don't think it ever was in properly, anyhow it allows the pulley to push up and the bushing to come out of it.

So i take the whole thing apart and clean both sides and lightly oil the shafts, clean the belt and put back together.

Now the fun starts. I have been at this for the better part of the day in between breaking for lunch.

Am ready to take the whole thing and pour gas on it and have a bonfire.


Been searching for a guide on how to set this variable speed reeves drive up and cannot find anything except others having issues with reeves drives left right and center on all sorts of machine and all makes and sizes.

I would convert to a multi-tier pulley but....the shafts they have for the reeves drive are not the same as pulleys.

So can anyone direct me or throw me a bone in terms of how to set up this drive.


Thanks in advance for any help.
 
Hey Rob, a model # might help :thumb:...Not sure how old your DP is but there's a lot of Delta DP Manuals {use the 'filter results' drop down button to select DP's} available over at OWWM.
As to pulley shaft size on a change over, drilling out &/or inserting a sleeve is a simple fix.
Sorry I'm not much help, but I do luv a good search challenge ;)
 
The only time I had trouble with the Reeves drive on my first Grizzly lathe was when I didn't know what I was doing changing the belt. Repairing required a second person to force the expansion spring in place so the pulley could be reinstalled. For six years after that no trouble. Just open fully to install the new belt, a little lube and use. Would have to see what you are up against to advise further.
 
Thanks guys sorry i have the DP350 and i got a manual. After posting this i went out and accidentally broke the drive pulley. I am saying accidentally but in reality i was so mad i gave it a crack with a rubber mallet to try free it up and get it off the shaft. :rofl: That was after i found Delta has obsoleted this pulley and basically the product. What the heck it was only a $200 drill press but its a shame to have to toss this cast iron into the dump. The pulleys that fit it i saw were going for $250, i think the guys selling something like that are looking for a person with a white stick.

Called Delta today and they say no longer available and to contact http://www.renovoparts.com/profile.html tried calling them but their answering machine goes to voicemail with a email address. Guess there is lots of demand for re manufactured Delta parts.

Anyhow they have the pulleys listed at $42.82 but dont seem to have stock. This pulley is notorious for issues on this and the DP 250 machine and all the derivatives of this shopmaster dp. At $43 its worth fixing but anymore than that and i will recover the motor and chuck and it will be off to the dump with the rest and NONE too soon.

Bitter taste of poor quality lingers long after the cheap price. I purchased this DP before i had joined the Family Woodworking Forum and wised up to the games the tool manufacturers play.

Also found some multi step pulleys on ebay if anyone ever needs this guys got hundreds http://www.ebay.com/itm/100s-V-Belt..._DefaultDomain_0&hash=item58ada481b5#shpCntId

So plan A is new pulley replacement, Plan B is stepped pulleys if i can obtain correct shaft sizes, Plan C is new DP which i like best.
 
You could try grizzly and see if they have a comparable reeves drive drill press and see what a replacement pulley would cost. Maybe even the pulley off of the g0462 lathe would work. I could check the shaft size on mine and if I recall was somewhere around 16mm. I can also take a picture of the reeves drive setup in my Wilton variable speed drill press and the reeves drive setup on my grizzly lathe.
 
Thank you Alan, but it looks like i may not have to consider that option.

I managed to get hold of Renovo Parts finally. Boy their customer service really leaves a lot to be desired. Why have telephones if you not going to answer them at all yet have a answering menu that says if you want to place an order press 1 duh?

Anyway finally got someone on the line and they said they had 300 of these pulley sets and got cleaned out in no time, they have them on order and should be in within 60 days so i then asked if i can place a backorder. They going to look into that. ( i would have taken my order and money right there and then.) So then they advised me to call back to press 1 and i got the same run around messaging system telling me to email info@renovo.com which i have done and we shall see what happens.

This place is just south of Flint Michigan and really needs a wake up in customer service especially when you selling spare parts.

Still i dont think i am going to hold my breath on finding a new drill press, i need to drill holes right now and what better excuse than this to get a new machine. :)
 
Personally, I'd replace the whole machine (if it's within your budget). If you do go the repair route, when all is said and done, you've still got a drill press with a Reeves drive. And you'll be waiting with bated breath for the next failure. ;)
 
For what is it worth Renovo.com has the motor pulley now. $67.18 plus shipping & taxes. This is for the Delta DP350 & 250 drill press.
I have a spare motor pulley set I am will to let go if anyone is interested. Might be quicker than Renovo as they are not customer service friendly.
I also have the owners manual for mine.
 
Personally, I'd replace the whole machine (if it's within your budget). If you do go the repair route, when all is said and done, you've still got a drill press with a Reeves drive. And you'll be waiting with bated breath for the next failure. ;)
This is a pretty old thread, haven't heard from Rob in a couple of years... hope he's still around.
I've been operating a Reeves drive on my lathe since 2006 and have gotten pretty adept at repairs and keeping it running... I've had the pulleys shatter, jam, crack and about any other problem you can experience.... I'm down to about 45 minutes to an hour in changing the pulleys, about 30 to 45 minutes to change the belt... I lost the keeper on the spring on the motor shaft last year... it's somewhere in the shop under something, but I'm not about to belly down and crawl around the shop to look for it... I replaced it with a one inch diameter washer that just fit the motor shaft and it works fine. I've replaced the spindle shaft 3 times so far.... I don't think my speed control lever is anywhere near accurate, but I keep on turning..... in retrospect, if I had it to do over, knowing what I've learned, I would definitely go for the EVS control... sad thing is when I bought the 1442, I had the funds to buy the 1642 which is EVS, but opted for the smaller lathe because of the way I had my shop set up and to turn off the ways on the 1642 you need to slide the headstock to the end of the ways.... I've turned off the ways about 10 times in the past 14 years... and since I've now got a vacuum chuck and pump, probably won't ever again......
 
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