Craftsman Drill Press

saipan59 · Apr 7, 2026

The jack shaft setup is done. I'll paint the plywood, so it looks better.

They are spacers to make room for the pillow-block bearings.
The theoretical spindle speeds are 270, 513, and 912 RPM. As mentioned at the top of this thread, the motor is rated 1140 RPM.

Now I need to decide on a scheme for a switch and light.

Pete

saipan59 · Apr 7, 2026

Question: The Craftsman manual says that the stock V-belt is 1/2" X 44". And that's what was with the machine when I got it.
But the spindle pulley seems to be a better fit with 3/8" belts. In particular, a 1/2" belt is difficult to mount on the largest pulley (5"), because there is not enough clearance with the housing casting - it requires some 'futzing' and cursing to get it in place. And then the belt doesn't ride quite all the way into the groove.
I'm running with a 3/8" belt now, and all seems good. Fortunately, the 3-step on the jack shaft will also handle 3/8" without bottoming-out.
Is this normal?

Pete

FrankLee · Apr 8, 2026

saipan59 said:
Question: The Craftsman manual says that the stock V-belt is 1/2" X 44". And that's what was with the machine when I got it.
But the spindle pulley seems to be a better fit with 3/8" belts. In particular, a 1/2" belt is difficult to mount on the largest pulley (5"), because there is not enough clearance with the housing casting - it requires some 'futzing' and cursing to get it in place. And then the belt doesn't ride quite all the way into the groove.
I'm running with a 3/8" belt now, and all seems good. Fortunately, the 3-step on the jack shaft will also handle 3/8" without bottoming-out.
Is this normal?

Pete

I've had a couple 150 head castings with a "thick skull". Does it look like there's a cast iron "patch" inside around the spindle pulley area?

I believe that some of the original belts were cloth wrapped. I thought I read somewhere that wrapped belts are
thinner (shorter taper, i.e., v vs. V ) than raw-edge belts, but I dunno.

I tried 3/8" wide belts before, but found that they did bottom out and slip in the oe pulley sheaves.

It looks like your belt does ride very high on the top intermediate pulley. Is that a new belt? Brand and part number? What does the width measure?

FrankLee · Apr 8, 2026

Update:
I have two old 150 head castings. I just checked and both have those thick skull "patches". I'm not sure what that's about, but it must be more common than I thought. I don't recall seeing this on a 100. It could definitely make belt installation a challenge.

saipan59 · Apr 8, 2026

Thanks Frank, for your detailed comments and photos!
Here's some data points from my side, in case it's helpful to someone.
The most important thing is that my spindle pulley's V-groove is only 0.44" at the widest point. I don't see how a 4L pulley can fit that properly, although I'm sure it would "work".
With a new Mitsuboshi 3L belt, I double-checked that it does not bottom-out on either pulley (one of my pics attempts to show that).
Regarding the "skull patches", I don't see them on mine. My top-down picture is deceptive - it looks like there is good clearance for a 1/2" belt, but there really isn't - it is tight on the two sides (top and bottom of my image). The belt has to stay 'straight' (not twisted) to get it through the gap. But it's easy to get a little twist, while using the other hand to support the weight of the motor to relieve the belt tension.

Pete

saipan59 · Apr 12, 2026

My new (to me) Craftsman 150 is ready for use.
I added a collar on the column (same one that FrankLee recommended) to avoid the possibility of another hand-smashing incident.
The light fixture is from an old outdoor security light. There is a pushbutton switch on top of the electrical switch box. The bulb is LED ("25 watt equivalent") - painted to not shine in my face.

Pete

FrankLee · Apr 12, 2026

saipan59 said:
My new (to me) Craftsman 150 is ready for use.
I added a collar on the column (same one that FrankLee recommended) to avoid the possibility of another hand-smashing incident.
The light fixture is from an old outdoor security light. There is a pushbutton switch on top of the electrical switch box. The bulb is LED ("25 watt equivalent") - painted to not shine in my face.

Pete

Sweet! Nice work!

FrankLee · Apr 27, 2026

An Easier Way to Install the Spring/Pinion/Hub Assembly

One of the most difficult steps during reassembly of Craftsman drill presses with the double loop spring has always been the installation of the spring/pinion/hub assembly. One loop of the spring must be slipped over a roll pin that is installed into the head casting. It's not easy to do because the spring must be stretched to reach the roll pin.

In the past, I used needle nose pliers to grab the loop, stretch the spring and slip it over the roll pin. This required holding the assembly about 1/2" out of the head casting while stretching the spring. It was somewhat difficult on a 150, but even more of a challenge on a gen 2.

This technique uses a short piece of flat shim stock or similar bent to 90 degrees to pre-stretch the spring. I used a piece of 1/2"wide stainless steel strap. Whatever is used, it must be small enough so it will not interfere while inserting the pinion into the head casting.

I did this with the head casting upside down on a work bench. I tested this technique on a 150 and a gen 2. It should also work on gen 3 and gen 4 Craftsman drill presses.

Clamp the loop of the spring in a vise, stretch the spring about an inch and insert the shim into the spring coils at the end of the pinion shaft. The shim will prevent the spring from retracting back into the pinion shaft.

Insert the pinion into the head casting until the spring loop reaches the roll pin.

Reach into the quill bore and press down the loop while pushing in the hub until the loop catches the roll pin.

Draw out the hub and retrieve the shim. Done!

FrankLee · Apr 27, 2026

An Easier Way to Install the Spring/Pinion/Hub Assembly - Part 2

Another option is to back out the roll pin. Note that the roll pin is too long to drive it through to remove.

Use a c-clamp and a small socket to press out the roll pin about 3/4".

Insert the spring/pinion/hub assembly.

Hold the loop onto the end of the roll pin.

Hammer down the roll pin into the spring loop.

Use a roll pin punch to fully seat the roll pin

y'sguy · Apr 29, 2026

Great explanation, Frank. But you forgot about "holding your mouth just right!" and don't breathe.

Outlawmws · Apr 29, 2026

y'sguy said:
Great explanation, Frank. But you forgot about "holding your mouth just right!" and don't breathe.

As long as the "holding your mouth just right!" includes the "tongue gripped between the teeth" Close enough!

FrankLee · 2026-05-21T10:07:57-0400

Ryan said:
3. Vintage Craftsman Drill Press. Tools from the 1940s make me genuinely happy in a way that is difficult to explain to a normal person. The build quality, the look, the sheer density of the things. But the 103.231.40 earns its place on this list for a simpler reason: it works, and it never stops working. I have no reason to ever own another drill press. This one will outlive me.

FrankLee said:
@Ryan, did you ever fix your feed stop bracket? As shown in this photo, it's barely attached to the quill.

FrankLee said:
PSA: Check your feed stop bracket

About a year after I completed the refurb on my keeper machine, dp#15, I discovered that the feed stop bracket had started sliding down the quill. Shortly after that, I swapped out the quill with one that had the snap ring.

If its been a while since you refurbished your early Craftsman 100, it may be time to check your feed stop bracket to verify that it's still fully seated. A fully seated bracket should be about 3/32" below the bottom edge of the quill.

There are several clues that will help identify an out-of-position bracket.

Your bracket may be sliding off the quill if:

you can see the pulley lift up at the end of a feed return

you can hear the spindle collar bumping up against the spindle pulley shaft on a feed return

you can feel the spindle collar bumping up against the spindle pulley shaft on a feed return

you cannot see the entire thrust collar below the bracket

you can see too much spindle sticking up above the pulley

The bracket on one of my recent machines was badly worn when it made contact with the chuck collar.

Check this post for the consequences of the feed stop bracket sliding off the quill.

I now normally use a green bearing retainer on feed stop brackets/quills when assembling these drill presses.

.

FrankLee · 2026-05-21T16:36:13-0400

FrankLee said:
DP#151 Part 11

I cleaned and installed the final pieces. I'm calling this one complete.

I'm thinking this may be my own refurb swan song (although I thought that at DP#100, LoL!). I've got too much other **** going on; starting with cataract surgery on Feb 3rd.

Who was I kidding? Only myself.

My left eye cataract surgery on 2/3 went well.
A major bathroom renovation was started on 2/23 and completed on 4/7, $$$. (I had to paint the bathroom.)
I painted the kitchen ceiling on 4/20 and installed five additional can-less light fixtures.
I replaced 40 kitchen cabinet hinges with the 35mm soft-close hinges. (That Kreg hinge jig works great!)
Cataract surgery on my right eye on 4/28 went well.
I painted the kitchen walls on 5/13 and then installed all new switches, receptacles and replaced three other light fixtures.

DP#152 - Part 1

The last week was relatively quiet. When I saw this 150 on FB a few days ago, I knew I was going for it. I broke that news to my wife this morning and went to get it early this afternoon in Grosse Pointe Park, Mi.

The original paint is nice enough to save, the original rapid-adjust feed collar is missing, one spindle pulley retaining screw had to be broken to get the pulley out and the column still needs mechanical persuasion to be extracted.

The seller said that he had it only a few months and that the original spring was fubar. He also said that he found someone selling new springs (@11b30b4 ?} and installed one.

So, the saga continues with DP#152. This is a model 113.24501 manufactured in June '66; the tail end of the 150 era. I'll be taking my time on this refurb.

Twisted Sid · 2026-05-21T20:29:50-0400

Good to know everything went well and to have you back in the game

Prospecter · 2026-05-22T08:30:43-0400

FrankLee · 2026-05-22T09:31:15-0400

DP#152 - Part 2

It took some moderate effort, but I got the column extracted using the threaded rod technique.

FrankLee · 2026-05-22T09:38:42-0400

DP#152 - Part 3

I removed the chuck from the spindle. This was one of the more stubborn and difficult chucks, but my pin spanner was up to the challenge.

Run-out on the spindle taper is a very respectable ~0.001".

Craftsman Drill Press

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