Drill press find. Suggestions needed(Photos added)

J. Hoffman · Sep 15, 2012

I found a Powermatic 15" drill press for sale. It came from one of the local high school shops. It is a variable speed. The problem is that I don't have room in my shop for it right now, and it has a .75 hp 3ph 220 Baldor motor at 1725. I'm thinking of buying the drill press and harvesting the motor for a disc grinder. Seeing that it is a 3ph 220 will that work with a VFD. Also, is a 1725 RPM motor ok for a disc grinder? I would then convert this press to a 110 single phase. It is in awesome condition and is $150. I'm getting it, and will post photos, but I'm looking for suggestions.

Ok, I got the thing and man is it heavy! I guess one thing I didn't notice is that the table has no hole in the center so you can drill through. Perhaps I need to mount a vise to it. Also, it has a box on the side with a bunch of wires in it. My buddy thought it may be a phase converter, but it says it's a 3 phase magnetic starter, does that act as a phase converter? What does that mean? I think the motor is a TEFC and will work good for a disc grinder. The plug has four prongs, is that normal for 3 phase?

Yes, it's a Model 1150 but then also says model 1200 on it. I don't have a clue where I'm going to go with this thing? Any and all ideas are welcome.

Gene Martin · Sep 15, 2012

You are on the right track. Whether you harvest the motor or simply replace it it sounds like a good deal. The VFD setup might cost more than replacement, I don't know. A variable speed disk grinder is sweet, too.

You can always store the drill press until you do have room. I'd go for it.

Gene

Frank Niro · Sep 15, 2012

Lot of HP there for grinding, but lots more than is needed for drilling. I use belt grinders but am on of those who always grinds slow or slower. Now I have a friend who runs his machines as if he was going to the bank for free money. Frank

javand · Sep 15, 2012

Well, I wouldn't agree that it's more than enough for drilling. It depends on what you're drilling. ;p

I imagine this is a powermatic 1150, I've got one of the big brothers; a Powermatic 1200. They're excellent drills with a mechanical variable speed adjust, so you can definitely switch out the motor for a single phase model. Mine uses a 1.5hp farm duty single ph tefc, which was also a replacement. Definitely don't try to hold on to your work piece with your hands when you've got that much hp. I've caused some serious destruction helicoptering on this drill.

Assuming it is an 1150 you're talking about, snatch it up, it's worth a lot more than you're paying.

edit to add: .75hp 1700rpm motor is just fine for a disc grinder. I was running a 1.5hp initially, but the motor started having probs so I switched to a .75hp and I haven't really noticed the difference much. I can tell that 0.5hp wouldn't be adequate however, so don't go any lower.

If you get lucky, you might find a Seco/Walker Bronco AC Nema 4 vfd like I did for $100-150 on ebay. That's what I'm running my disc off now, and it's every bit as functional as a kbac 24. Max at 0.75hp normal or 1.0hp high efficiency motor though.

J. Hoffman · Sep 16, 2012

I took the motor off today, and am planning on getting new one ordered. My question is, are the feet on motors all the same? Will I be able to order a motor from Wayne Coe and have it match up to the bolt pattern of the drill press? The motor I took off was held on with four bolts through the foot on the bottom. Do I actually need to get measurements off the old one, or are the motors mounting plates standard?
Thanks

12345678910 · Sep 17, 2012

Mooseyard said:
I found a Powermatic 15" drill press for sale. It came from one of the local high school shops.

It is a variable speed. The problem is that I don't have room in my shop for it right now, and it has a .75 hp 3ph 220 Baldor motor at 1725.

CAN WE SEE A PHOTO OF THE MOTOR PLATE ?
I'M THINKING THAT THE VARIABLE SPEED MAY BE WITH STEP, OR CONE PULLEYS AND NOT A PHASE CONVERTER/VFD

I'm thinking of buying the drill press and harvesting the motor for a disc grinder. Seeing that it is a 3ph 220 will that work with a VFD.

Also, is a 1725 RPM motor ok for a disc grinder?
YES

Also, it has a box on the side with a bunch of wires in it. My buddy thought it may be a phase converter, but it says it's a 3 phase magnetic starter, does that act as a phase converter? What does that mean?
IT IS A MAGNETIC STARTER, NOT A PHASE CONVERTER.
ESSENTIALLY IT IS A LARGE RELAY.
IT USES LOW VOLTAGE LOW CURRENT POWER TO CONTROL/SWITCH HIGH POWER.
ESPECIALLY IN A SCHOOL SHOP SETTING IT WOULD HOOK INTO A MASTER POWER KILL SWITCH FOR THE ROOM.

I think the motor is a TEFC and will work good for a disc grinder. The plug has four prongs, is that normal for 3 phase?
YES

Yes, it's a Model 1150 but then also says model 1200 on it. I don't have a clue where I'm going to go with this thing? Any and all ideas are welcome.

LET'S SEE A PHOTO OF THE MOTOR DATAPLATE
THE FRAME NUMBER, LIKE 56C, OR 143, WILL CORRESP9OND TO THE STANDARDIZED NEMA FRAME SIZES.
http://www.engineersedge.com/nema_frames.htm

Mooseyard said:
I took the motor off today, and am planning on getting new one ordered. My question is, are the feet on motors all the same? Will I be able to order a motor from Wayne Coe and have it match up to the bolt pattern of the drill press? The motor I took off was held on with four bolts through the foot on the bottom. Do I actually need to get measurements off the old one, or are the motors mounting plates standard?
Thanks

Answers are in bold, let's see a photo of the dataplate so we can read the specifications.

javand · Sep 17, 2012

Count, these drills use variable spring tensioned pully plates, not step pullies. The motor side had an assembly that mounts on a standard shaft, and as far as I know, the base is standard pattern.

The important part is getting the correct shaft size, I'll check my 1200, but the 1150 could be different.

The base is really not too much of an issue since worst case you can retap the big cast iron mounting plate if needed.

Get the cover off moose, and it'll all make a lot more sense.

javand · Sep 17, 2012

BTW, set that mag starter aside when you get the whole rig unwired. You won't need it for the drill or the disc grinder, but you very well may need it at some future point when you start running a bunch of 3ph gear like me. Since you just bought this big drill, I'm going to assume you have the fever.

J. Hoffman · Sep 17, 2012

Here are some more photos. Yes the motor is marked 56. I didn't notice that before. The speed control is done with a snowmobile style clutch. The handle on the front moves a cam that pushes down on the center of the driven pulley thus making it bigger in diameter. Really a neat set-up. The magnetic starter will need to come off, because it interferes with the raising and lowering of the head. When I get the 110 motor, will I still be able to utilize the on/off switch on the front of the machine, or will I need to use something else. I guess I also need to know of any suggestions for what I should do with the drilling table. It's just a big piece of cast iron with just a couple of holes drilled in it, but none under the spindle. I'm also going to need a chuck. Should I get the old style with the wrench or keyless? And does anyone know if the old motor will work with a VFD. I have heard some motors are VFD rated and others are not. Will it make a big difference?
Thanks everyone for the advice!

javand · Sep 17, 2012

Mine has been replaced with a 145T frame tefc farm duty 1.5hp motor, but as mentioned, is a fair bit bigger drill.

You should be fine replacing with any 56 frame motor. The old motor will work fine with a vfd.

The table is a production type table. Usually they had fixturing systems built on top of them, for specific uses. You can likely fix a drill press vise to it by bolting to those holes that are already there, that looks like what they were used for. A cross slide vise mounted there will be useful for most small and knife related jobs, since you can move it as needed without remounting or clamping. Otherwise, build a table that mounts over that table out of half or one inch thick aluminum or steel plate.

Mine has a t-slot table, which is very convenient to use with a wedge type clamping kit. You could have one milled out of plate if yoy wanted, or simply a piece of Aluminum plate with evenly spaced tapped half inch holes, or all kinds of things. The options are endless, and it's a good situation to find yourself in. Getting your mind out of the "simple" use of a drill like this will open you up to a lot more possibilities. Check out fixture tables and set ups on the web and you'll get some ideas. This drill is small industrial, 100x better than the nicest floor drill you'll find sold to consumers, and is easily worth 3-4x what you paid for it.

12345678910 · Sep 20, 2012

Mooseyard said:
The speed control is done with a snowmobile style clutch. The handle on the front moves a cam that pushes down on the center of the driven pulley thus making it bigger in diameter. Really a neat set-up. The magnetic starter will need to come off, because it interferes with the raising and lowering of the head. When I get the 110 motor, will I still be able to utilize the on/off switch on the front of the machine, or will I need to use something else. I guess I also need to know of any suggestions for what I should do with the drilling table. It's just a big piece of cast iron with just a couple of holes drilled in it, but none under the spindle. I'm also going to need a chuck. Should I get the old style with the wrench or keyless? And does anyone know if the old motor will work with a VFD. I have heard some motors are VFD rated and others are not. Will it make a big difference?
Thanks everyone for the advice!

That snowmobile clutch thing is what I meant by cone pulley - maybe not the right name for it.

No problem using the normal switch, it was still the main switch of the machine.
The magnetic starter is just a switch that feeds into the machine before that on offswitch

I like a key-less chuck, but the Chinese ones I had slipped.
Albrecht makes a good one but $$$.
There are nice low dollar euro imports too.

Have a look at replacing the whole arbor adapter
It's cheap, $10 or less.
It's a simple knock out and a new one will help prevent the chuck from slipping.

That motor will work with VFD
It will lose more torque at low speed compared to an inverter motor, but everyone's doing it without too much problem - so grinders may not stress it as much as other industrial loads.

3/4 HP, maybe best suited to a disc.