Changing Bearings in Drill Press??????

B

BARRY JONES

Joined
Oct 2, 1999
Messages
834
I think the bearings on my trusty old drill press are worn out. This spells TROUBLE for us folder makers. My predicament brings up the following questions:

Would I be better off installing new bearings or buying a new drill press?

If I change the bearings, how much trouble is it to do?

Where do I go to get replacement bearings?
 
Can't answer that until I know what kind of press it is. Some are easy. Some just can't be changed. Your best for bearings are the manufacturer.:confused:
 
Any big city should have a bearing supply dealer in it. The bearings should have a manufacturer symbol and part number stamped on them somewhere which the bearing dealer can easily match up or cross reference. Worst case the dealer can measure the I.D, O.D, and thickness with a caliper and easily match it up if no numbers are present(very rare).

The bearings are probably pressed in and you can tap them out carefully. I use a large socket which is as wide as possible. I have had to replace the ones in my old drill press once already and they ran around $40 for both of them.
I also tapped them in carefully. The whole operation took me about two hours on my old Delta press and was well worth it since I had a lot of slop in my old bearings.
 
My drill press is a JET industrial duty 1758F 16 speed floor model. It is 12 years old.

I pretty much have concluded that it would be better if I just went and bought a new drill press. That would save me time and headache.

Thanks for the help.
 
I dont know how the bearings go in, but I do know those JET's are damn good, and are damn expensive.
 
I don't think I would get rid of that Jet as they tend to be on the high end of the imports. You don't have much to lose by giving bearing replacement a try, since you were going to toss it anyway. It doesn't look that difficult, unless Murphy is along for the ride. Along these lines has anyone ever heard of converting a drill press to a milling machine? I don't mean just adding a cross slide table, but actually altering the bearing set-up that this post refers to?
 
I'd repair it before buying another new. I feel machinery gets a little cheaper every few years, part here, part there, thinner here, thinner there! The JET is a lot better one than most imports!

If you don't want to replace the bearings yourself, you might try calling JET @ 800-274-6846, or 800-274-8665 for the name of the nearest repair station. They have an extensive list of repair stations in most every state. Also at www.jet@jettools.com
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top