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How do you take off this pulley on a drill press?

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BillD

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Sep 21, 2011
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I have a generic Taiwanese made drill press from the 80's that looks almost identical to the modern stuff being sold. So it should be very similar in design to millions of other units out there.

I'm trying to remove the pulley that is above the quill. I removed the nut on the top of the pulley, which was reverse thread. What's next? There are no set screws anywhere. When I pull up on the pulley it comes up maybe 1/4", and then stops with a distinct tap. When I look from down below I think I see the bearing moving up and down with the pulley.

It looks like the shaft that the pulley sits on is press fit into the bearing that is moving. And there is a retaining washer on the shaft, so it won't come up without the bearing coming up also.

I put a small gear puller on the pulley and tried to push the shaft out, but it didn't budge. I didn't apply too much pressure as I'm not sure that's what I'm supposed to be doing.

Any suggestions? :unsure:

Screenshot from 2026-05-21 20-13-31.png
 
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MovingAlong

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Those look like some fragile edges to use a gear puller on.. might pull it as an assembly and then press it out.
 
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BillD

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bryson said:
Take that snap ring off and pull the shaft/pulley off as an assembly?
Click to expand...
That snap ring is about 6" deep in the cast iron body of the drill press. I think it was put on before being inserted into the body and the pulley was put on on the other side.
 
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MovingAlong

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BillD said:
That snap ring is about 6" deep in the cast iron body of the drill press. I think it was put on before being inserted into the body and the pulley was put on on the other side.
Click to expand...
I think you're right. Most of my Google searches indicate it would be keyed. Spray some of your favorite magic elixir on the top shaft and let it soak down between the shaft and pulley. Then put the gear puller back on to apply some tension, "some" not a huge amount. Then take a heat gun to the pulley (hopefully to swell the pulley every so slightly) and finally just tap that center part of the gear puller to shock it loose. :dunno: Don't get to crazy..
 
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Firebrick43

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BillD said:
That snap ring is about 6" deep in the cast iron body of the drill press. I think it was put on before being inserted into the body and the pulley was put on on the other side.
Click to expand...
That is probably how it was put together but if you try and use a puller to remove the sheave you are apt to break off the rim. A a long flat screwdriver twisted will pop the snap ring off in a few seconds
 
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BillD

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I think this is how it looks internally. The green is the shaft for the pulley. The red is the pulley itself. Yellow is the bearing. And white is the cast iron body of the drill press itself.

Magenta would be retaining washers. I can see the one from below, but not the one up top below the pulley. I assume there is one.

There is some space above the bearing I assume and that's what's causing it come up about 1/4" and then stop abruptly. I can see the bearing move in and out when I pull up on the pulley.

I tried spinning the pulley by hand, while holding the chuck with the other hand, and it did spin but obviously very stiff. If it was spinning but not budging with a gear puller makes me wonder what's going on. :unsure:

Screenshot 2026-05-21 at 8.53.33 PM.png
 
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BillD

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MovingAlong said:
Then put the gear puller back on to apply some tension, "some" not a huge amount. Then take a heat gun to the pulley (hopefully to swell the pulley every so slightly) and finally just tap that center part of the gear puller to shock it loose. :dunno: Don't get to crazy..
Click to expand...
Didn't even need to tap it. After about 1 minute with a 1500W heat gun on high it popped off by itself under the slight tension. Didn't expect this to be this easy!

And the answer is the shaft is tapered. I bet most drill presses out there have tapered pulleys too. Google didn't know this. ChatGPT didn't know it. But now it might if it indexes this forum. :ROFLMAO:


How I was able to spin the pulley with a strap wrench while holding the chuck in my hand is a mystery though. :unsure:

Screenshot from 2026-05-21 21-10-21.png
 
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