# Walker Turner drill press needs service



## phillip.c (Aug 9, 2012)

I bought a very old walker turner drill press at a tag sale this summer for 20$. It's in good condition, but needs new paint. I checked it with a dial indicator just yesterday and found about .02 of run out measured on a forstner bit about one inch from the chuck. If looking closely, one can visibly see the wobble. 

The quill has no play and all other moving parts move freely. When I begin to tighten down the chuck, I can feel the bit wobble even though the chuck begins to grip the bit. I think perhaps something is broken inside the chuck. 

Is it worth getting a new chuck for this drill press? What chuck would you all recommend? 

I found this link with directions on how to remove the old chuck. Has anyone ever done this?

The Home Machinist! ? View topic - Jacobs Drill Chuck Questions

I also attached pictures of my drill press. 

Thanks.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Hey, Phillip; you might enjoy some of the material here...
Drill Presses & Chucks

Jacobs seems to be the quality standard, but from what I can get from the site, and my machinist neighbor, there's a whole world of chucks out there, especially if you want to drill really fine (small dia.) holes.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

My son-in-law gave me 2 drills from his work that needed new chucks so I went to ebay and started looking. You can spend from $7 to $1000 on a drill chuck depending on the accuracy you want.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

retest for run out with a ½' drill rod or new jobber length drill bit..
½'' router bit and measure off of the shank...
unless your fostner is a quality bit I wouldn't trust it to be straight or round...

clean/buff/polish the jaw faces w/o removing any material on the jaw face...
a simple thin layer of rust or grit on the jaw could be giving you run out...

pull the chuck and clean the socket and MT...
reassemble...

if you use brake or carb cleaner make sure you don't spray it into the chuck...

open the chuck...
wet a rag w/ the cleaner...
stuff the twisted rag into the chuck..
close the chuck a lot.....
pull the rag out...
repeat till clean...

if you replace the chuck... by pass the chinese made chuck...


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

Phillip, you are on the right track. That link was correct on how to remove the chuck. I had an old Craftsman Industrial drill press and to use the mortising attachment, I had to remove the chuck. The only thing I had to do was make a spanner wrench to fit the holes in the collar. Then used wedges to remove the chuck ,it had been years and it was on there solid. It did come off and I cleaned up the taper before reinstalling and the next time wasn't such a pain.
I would replace it with a 1/2" or 5/8" capacity chuck, maybe get an American made if you can, they aren't cheap. But that is a bargain on the drill press. I have an old Atlas and love it.

Herb


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## tbahorski (Nov 11, 2014)

I would do what Stick suggested. If the chuck still runs out you can get a rebuild kit from McMaster-Carr (mcmaster.com) for about $30. If you don't want to go the rebuild route, a new 1/2 inch Jacobs chuck is about $80. And as was stated avoid Chinese chucks, some are okay and others aren't worth the scrap price. Good luck.

Tom B.
Salem, MI


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## Semipro (Mar 22, 2013)

Philip 
that probably is a very fine chuck, good ones are expensive before I bought a new one I would take it apart cleaned it up See if anything broken 
here a link with Vedio on repair
https://m.youtube.com/watch?autoplay=1&v=97jlPVPn19Q


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

John makes a really good point...your chuck predates Chinese imports by a long margin; it even predates Japanese stuff.


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## phillip.c (Aug 9, 2012)

Thanks for the input guys. 

I still feel on-the-fence about the drill press. It has a locking quill, which I love. It also has a depth stop screw rather than a spring loaded lock, which I also like. The throat is also much longer than many bench top presses. The only thing it's missing is a rack and pinion table height adjuster. If this is going to be a big deal for the future, I might just sell this press rather than fix it up.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Phil I see in your profile that you are working on an engineering degree. This drill press is likely way more solid than anything new you would be inclined to replace it with. Table movement normally only covers a span of a few inches up or down. Occasionally I put something much larger on mine, but only occasionally. A scissor jack sitting on a platform attached to the column could be used to raise and lower the table and a servo motor attached to the jack screw could do it at the push of a button. I'm sure there are other options too. I wouldn't let that one feature discourage me.


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

On the Sears Industrial floor mounted drill press I used a scissor jack and hand wheel to raise and lower it. On my old Harbor freight ,it had a hand crank to raise the table ,and I put a servo motor hooked to the gear the hand crank turned and an up/dn switch and it worked great. You can get those motors for around $39. on the internet. 
On the old Atlas I have now I installed a harbor freight trailer hitch jack. it is a 12v so have to have a auto battery/or inverter to operate, but it works great. 
http://www.routerforums.com/show-n-tell/48777-ye-olde-vintage-atlas-drill-press.html

Herb


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## phillip.c (Aug 9, 2012)

Thanks for the insight guys. I'll look into my options.


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