runout in my drill press

You might want to go for a new drill press. Those huge benchtop ones these days have plenty of power and lots of capability—mine has a laser, LED, and a variable speed lever (no changing belts) and it only set me back $200. I think you’ll find it just as capable as your craftsman, especially if you build a separate stand for it. And you’ll still have the big one to do specific tasks. If you have a Menard’s in your area, check this one out: http://www.menards.com/main/tools-hardware/power-tools/drill-presses/12-drill-press/p-1498047.htm I’ve seen it on sale for $180 at times. Good luck.

-- Tristin King -- When in doubt, sand it.

Was the DP ever taken apart and restored? Hard to image the quill shaft itself being bent, maybe the chuck was driven on out of alignment. Even if it’s never been apart I’d at least remove the quill and chuck at take a look before you spend money.

Cole, there is an exceptionally fine pic story about a C’man DP rebuild on Garagejournal.com.
What is you model? If it is a KingSeely built DP, this is the story ya need to view.
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=51384&highlight=craftsman+drill+press........update
Bill

-- bill@magraphics.us

Thanks everyone! Bill, unfortunately that not the same one. Thanks though! I think im leaning toward replacing it. What do you think about only a 3 1/8” quill stroke? Also, what goes into truing the arbor? Il try taking the chuck off this weekend. If its not the chuck, i’ll either be looking on craigslist of get this one from harbor freight: http://www.harborfreight.com/heavy-duty-16-speed-bench-drill-press-38142.html

or this one: http://www.harborfreight.com/16-speed-floor-drill-press-43378.html

Thanks!

The basic issue with using a drill press as a router is the chuck versus a collet. The chuck cannot support the entire circumference of the bit while a collet can.

If your chuck has too much play it can be replaced. To see how much run out your drill press has, remove the chuck and manually run the taper against a dial indicator follow that with lateral pressure on the taper to check the bearings. The first measurement checks the out of round of the taper. The second checks the bearings. If any of the readings are greater than 0.005” then the taper is out of round and/or the bearings are worn.

If the readings are OK then the chuck may be worn.

I found this out with my drill press which is not as good as the one you have and all I had to was replace the chuck.

-- "I never met a board I didn't like!"

I love vintage but I won’t lie – a crank up table would be nice.