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Quick question. Now that I’ve won my battle with Monkeypox, I’m on to fixing up this old radial arm drill press. Rockwell/delta 11-280 to be exact. Motor works wonderfully and she’s all apart. Should I soak rusty parts in vinegar and then grease everything involved in the drivetrain? If I paint it red, will it drill faster? How the hell does one change the speeds on such a tool? (It’s the oldest version- not the one post 1974) Thanks for the help, ridicule, whatevs. 0/

Quick question. Now that I’ve won my battle with Monkeypox, I’m on to fixing up this old radial arm drill press. Rockwell/delta 11-280 to be exact. Motor works wonderfully and she’s all apart. Should I soak rusty parts in vinegar and then grease everything involved in the drivetrain? If I paint it red, will it drill faster? How the hell does one change the speeds on such a tool? (It’s the oldest version- not the one post 1974) Thanks for the help, ridicule, whatevs. 0/

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[–] • 2 pts

How the hell does one change the speeds on such a tool? (It’s the oldest version- not the one post 1974)

You move the belt from the bigger pulleys to the smaller pulleys. Moving from Smaller->Bigger on the motor side speeds up, opposite on the drill side. There is usually a chart inside the pulley cover that shows you what configs give you what RPM.

[–] • 1 pt

Yeah. This I get. I just don’t see the mechanism for switching up said ratios n sheeit. And now that it’s in pieces, I really don’t get it.

[–] • 0 pt

Yeah, you really need a diagram like this for your drill press:

https://i2.wp.com/michael-parrish.com/wp-content/uploads/dp_cm_100/dp_cm_100_spindlespeeds.jpg

There's a tensioning device somewhere (maybe a lever, for that time period more likely a set screw) that lets you slacken and re-tension the belts when they are in the right positions. The right position is going to depend on the model design.

[–] • 1 pt

I don’t think theres a tensioner on this machine. You just loosen the head, slide it back and switch the speeds. Put it back together and runs like a dream. Really a beautiful, simple heavy machine. Like someone wanted to build something that would do it’s job forever.