medding pillar drill

[azz22]

hi all just bought myself a medding's floor standing pillar drill
been looking for what seemed ages for one to come in my price range then saw this on the bay listed as spares or repair £45 only 30 mins drive away too
starter switch and table missing but rest of the drill looks in really good nick for its age had been used in a school
it is 3 phase which i don't have so do i convert to single phase or use a inverter? pros and cons please
was fancying the inverter route with speed control but do you lose the torque when running the motor slow???
also the motor is only 250w is this big enough or should I upgrade while i'm at it

any advice here really welcome

thanks Mark
will try and add pics later

 

[Doug B]

Hi Mark I rebuilt a floor standing Meddings pillar drill back in 2014 I posted a thread about it if it helps.

post931809.html?hilit=Meddings#p931809

 

[azz22]

Hi Doug thanks for the link looks like you did a great job on your medding's it looks very similar to mine here’s a few pics still laying on workshop floor as I collected it
apart from the few bits missing it looks like its not had too hard a life

have you got you drill running using a inverter doug?

 

[Steve Maskery]

Wow, that's a steal. I paid a LOT more for mine about ten years ago.
You won't be disappointed with it in general, but...

It depends how much of an engineer you are. I'm not. But the way the pulleys are attached to the shaft is just a grub screw, not even on a flat, IIRC. It's pants. Make better arrangements if you can.
I also miss the rack & pinion rise & fall. I had that on my previous cheap and cheerful NuTools one.
And I keep meaning to make a quicker depth-stop arrangement.
Other than that, the build, the bearings, the table, the plunge, everything else about it is solid and a joy to use. I shall never sell mine.

 

[azz22]

yeah was please with the price the guy was moving units and need rid asap
think it was (right place right time) for once.....

 

[azz22]

just taken the pulley off the motor and I think it is 5/8 inch shaft around 16mm but new motors are either 14mm or 19mm shaft for the size motor im looking at
anyone know where I can get a new pulley, i don't have a belt with the drill but the guy i bought it from said the v-belt was a Z type looked on the bay for new pulley but the ones on there use wrong size belt (A type)
would I be better to try and get the original pulley machined to fit new shaft size or anyone know where i can get a new pulley of the correct size

thanks Mark

 

[Steve Maskery]

Hi Mark
I replaced mine with a V-belt from my local Motor Factors. It was not expensive.

 

[Trevanion]

https://www.electrotechdrives.co.uk/product/crompton-greaves-single-phase-motor-16mm58-shaft-550w-34hp-b56-frame/

Very good motor for the money, should be a direct fit.

 

[Doug B]

Hi Mark, my pillar drill has been running fine since I refurbed it.
The inverter provides the on/ off switch & speed control but I found the drill works best if the inverter is running the motor at full speed & I drop the chuck speed down with the belts that way I don’t loose torque

 

[Farmer Giles]

just taken the pulley off the motor and I think it is 5/8 inch shaft around 16mm but new motors are either 14mm or 19mm shaft for the size motor im looking at
anyone know where I can get a new pulley, i don't have a belt with the drill but the guy i bought it from said the v-belt was a Z type looked on the bay for new pulley but the ones on there use wrong size belt (A type)
would I be better to try and get the original pulley machined to fit new shaft size or anyone know where i can get a new pulley of the correct size

thanks Mark

Looks a very good drill for the money.

There are several ways, you can bore it out, bush it up, buy an old single phase motor or look for another pulley, bearing boys sell a good range of pulleys and you can get shaft sleeves and taper lock bushes for adapting pulleys.

 

[azz22]

Hi Mark, my pillar drill has been running fine since I refurbed it.
The inverter provides the on/ off switch & speed control but I found the drill works best if the inverter is running the motor at full speed & I drop the chuck speed down with the belts that way I don’t loose torque

hi Doug thanks for the reply that's exactly what I wanted to know
I was looking at using a inverter to avoid moving the belts around but I thought as you have confirmed the motor need to run at speed to keep torque up
thanks doug

and thanks for the links guys thats really good info for me and will help in deciding which way to go

cheers Mark

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I found the drill works best if the inverter is running the motor at full speed & I drop the chuck speed down with the belts that way I don’t loose torque

Loose torque costs lives.

 

[custard]

Loose torque costs lives.

Brilliant!

 

[azz22]

hi everyone
got the new motor on the drill and got it running I went for a .75kw (1hp) motor and seems really good

but there seems to be a bit of a notch feel as I pull the drill down its about an inch down also if I release it back up slowly it sticks here

can anyone advise me how to strip this part of the drill down I am new to pillar drills and I don't even know how to remover the chuck so any help here will really help

thanks Mark

 

[Doug B]

If the chuck isn’t traveling back up it’s more than likely the return spring housed under the circular cover on the left of the drill on the shaft that passes through the head from the handle on the right.
Prise this cover off & take a look at the spring they are prone to breaking.

 

[azz22]

hi Doug
the return spring is fine its just as you pull down on the handle when the quill is about an inch down there is like a notch feel then the rest of the way is really smooth

i need to know how to strip this part of the drill down
how do i remove the chuck and remove the quill for inspection

cheers Mark

 

[outcycling]

Hi guys,
I’m actually looking for a pillar drill as well but am prett clueless on them as never had one before. Going to be using it for luthier work mainly so nothing too major although might use it for furniture or all sorts of things eventually. Mainly I just need it to be really accurate.

Came across this meddling one but seems quite a lot at £275 compared to the £45 that one was found here! what is a reasonable price for these things? How good are they? Also you mention converting a 3 phase to single with an inverter for single phase, are the inverters expensive?

Thanks.

Russ

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Meddings-Pac ... %7Ciid%3A1

 

[beech1948]

Hi,

Time to go through this drill and repair/refurbish all of it. This way you will not suffer the death of a thousand minor/major failures.

Drill presses are simple machines and within the capability of the DIY person.

Check OWWM.organd search for "drill press refurbishment" and you will come up with many hundreds of examples. A quick read and the methods and sequence of work will be obvious.

Al

 

[azz22]

thanks will check it out

 

[Doug B]

The shaft the spring attaches to has a cog on it which engages into the sleeve the quill is in, if either of these components are damage this could cause the notch.
If you look at the last photo in my first post in the link I posted you will see the circlip that holds the quill assembly in place.