Problem with pillar drill slipping - suggestions welcome.

[Kalimna]

Greetings folks,
To elaborate on the thread title, I have a 7-8 year old Aximinster radial pillar drill (back when they had a Perform range) which has been fine until recently. Initially I thought it was just blunt cutters (Record forstner bits), but even with a hardly used twist drill bit, the bit gets stuck drilling anything greater than 3/4" thick. Even repeatedly clearing the waste doesn't really help matters much. I can still hear the motor turning, so I suspect the belt is slipping on the pulleys.
So, does this sound likely? And if so, how might I remedy this? I had a look inside the drive head (?name?) and didn't see any obvious way of tightening the belt, but then I'm not especially mechanically minded!

Cheers for any help,
Adam

 

[MMUK]

After 7-8 years, I'd be expecting to need a new belt

 

[CHJ]

How do you change speeds and re-tension the belt ?
Is the motor not on an adjustable mounting plate to take up the belt slack ?

 

[clk230]

is there a way of tensioning the belt ?

 

[Phil Pascoe]

If it's anything like most of the drills I've seen, the motor will slide to tighten the belt.

 

[DTR]

I recently had a similar problem with my pillar drill (not the same model but probably a similar design). Like you I expected it was the belt slipping, but it actually turned out to be the pulley spinning around the stationary spindle. There is a grub screw that secures the pulley to the spindle, this had come loose. Since I tightened it there's been no more problems.

 

[Kalimna]

Mmuk - even though 7-8 years, it doesn't get all that much use...

CHJ - speed change via different pulleys (5 on each of the motor and the shaft attached to the chuck), I had assumed that tensioning was automatic as the pulleys match up. If the motor is on an adjustable plate, I haven't found where to do the adjustment.

Clk230 - If I had found a way of tensioning the belt, I would have tried that, but as mentioned in my question, I couldn't find one.

Phil.p - I shall have another look

Dave - this sounds promising, I shall check this too.


Many thanks for assistance so far

Adam S

 

[MMUK]

Mmuk - even though 7-8 years, it doesn't get all that much use...

Rubber/Nitrile/etc. degrades over time. Would you expect a car's cam belt to last 8 years?

 

[Kalimna]

Honestly? I have no idea. I really am that inept when it comes to mechanics! As it happens, I have been driving diesel engines (therefore chain driven) for the past ten years, so wouldn't notice wear anyway.

Thanks for the info

Adam

 

[fretnot]

The axminster radial arm drill has two bolts that pinch two bars that are part of the motor mounting plate.
loosen these two bolts and use a suitable lever to move the whole assembly rearward to tension the belt and tighten the bolts

 

[Jack (W)]

Hello Adam,

I sold my Perform radial pillar drill some time ago. I didn’t use it much, but I never had a problem with it.

From memory the belt could be slackened and tightened by altering the distance between the motor (and its pulley stack) and the quill and its pulley stack. The motor on its mounting plate was attached to the drill by two vertical bolts on the left side, which allowed the motor to be pivoted towards or away from the quill.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/e80ftbbmw0nmo ... -bolts.jpg

The motor position (and hence belt tension) could be locked and unlocked by use of a bolt with a knob (and spring?) on the right hand side of the drill.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/fv2v1s32igoyz ... 0Drill.jpg

I'm sorry this description is a bit sketchy, but I hope it helps.

Regards,
Jack

 

[MARK.B.]

Would a spray of "Belt Dressing " help matters,it works on a car fan belt so may be worth a shot.

 

[Kalimna]

Again, thank you all for your suggestions. When I have time (perhaps this weekend????) I shall give the drill a good seeing to. Start with the easiest (grub screw) and work my way up to the belt dressing spray. And if that doesnt work, Im sure a trip to ebay will help

Cheers,
Adam

 

[DTR]

As I was in the shed anyway...

... here's the grub screw that came loose. There is of course an identical one on the motor pulley at the back.

 

[MMUK]

Honestly? I have no idea. I really am that inept when it comes to mechanics! As it happens, I have been driving diesel engines (therefore chain driven) for the past ten years, so wouldn't notice wear anyway.

Thanks for the info

Adam

You'd be surprised how few modern diesels have chain driven cams. Unless you've something like an older Escort or Fiesta with the Endura DE engine, it'll be a belt.

I'd be looking to replace any rubber drive belt at maximum of four year intervals depending on use/storage.

 

[Kalimna]

Just a short follow up here. I managed to get a little garage time yesterday and had at the drill. Again, many thanks for all your suggestions, but it seems my model is slightly different. Attaching the pulley to the quill was not a grub screw, but a reverse-thread nut, and it was this that had worked loose. So problem sorted.
I still couldnt find a way of actually tightening the belt, though.

Cheers,
Adam

 

[1001110110]

Hey, I realise that I’m really late to this, but I had this exact problem today.
I also thought it was a worn belt (my pillar drill is getting on a bit), but I found this discussion, and half a turn on the grub screw fixed it 8)
Steve.