Drill press belt tension adjustment improvement

[pop-pop]

Seems like adjustments on woodworking machines require strong hands which I don’t have anymore. I had added star knobs for this DP’s belt tension locks a while back to replace these:

The star knobs held securely but were not easy to loosen. I used a plug cutter to make a slippery-plastic slug to go between each knob’s threaded end and the DP tension adjustment rods to fix that.

I also added an extension to the tension adjustment lever. It had to be short to clear the three travel levers.

An hour well spent!

 

[Wilsoncb]

I thought you had one of those fancy direct drive Nova drill presses.

 

[pop-pop]

I thought you had one of those fancy direct drive Nova drill presses.

Yes I do have a Nova benchtop. This Craftsman is a second DP for metal work and work too tall for the Nova. Also still have my first DP, a Skil benchtop.

 

[Henry W]

Yes I do have a Nova benchtop. This Craftsman is a second DP for metal work and work too tall for the Nova. Also still have my first DP, a Skil benchtop.

Man of many vises (and several DPs)

 

[Mike Davis]

Looks very similar to my Grizzly that was given to me for the same issues.

I use a piece of pipe to lengthen the handle, slide on and off as needed, and the turn screws haven't bothered me so far. But I have replaced several knobs in the other stationary tools with larger metal star knobs.