Fixing an old Drill Press with a New Motor [TOOLS]

My drill press stopped working unexpectedly and so rather than throw it out I fixed it. It's a British made Fobco Star upgraded with a 3/4HP (originally 1/3HP) from Inverter Drive Supermarket inverterdrive....
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[@MaltandMake]

"This is Make and Malt" 🤦

[@BestUserNameUK]

You should upgrade that switch mate. Fit an NVR one with emergency stop button, much safer. There's a vid' on my channel of how to wire one up.

[@MaltandMake]

Thanks for the idea but I'm happy with the way it is. I did consider changing it but decided against it. Granted, slightly less safe but it's something I'm happy to accept.

[@BestUserNameUK]

@@MaltandMake Good video by the way👍🏻

[@marty3553]

Hi James , liked the video you made do you have a link to the motor or some details I would like to upgrade my drill press with a bigger one .

[@MaltandMake]

Thanks! I'm not sure which one I bought but I got it from InverterDrive. They're very helpful so drop them an email and they'll sort you out.

[@engjds]

It's like the designers cared back then and put love into their designs.

[@MaltandMake]

Definitely important considering how long these things live for!

[@jonh1808]

Anyone who fancies doing something similar with a Fobco drill press, just buy the correct imperial motor and save a ton of messing around. That’s a B56 frame, 0.75kW 4 pole, foot mount. This is also the correct twin capacitor motor for the job.

[@samuellourenco1050]

I would recommend a capacitor start capacitor run motor for this task. It has more starting torque, albeit that motor has a pretty good torque for sure.

[@MaltandMake]

Thanks for the advice. I've never had a problem with torque but good info to know.

[@andym5195]

good vid! awesome drill and notice you got the original switch.. quite rare

[@MaltandMake]

Thanks, it's certainly nice to have something that fits with the machine.

[@SKKrafts]

cool video. i wouldn't be with out my drill press you dont realise how much you use them until they are not working.

[@MaltandMake]

Thanks, you're definitely right about that!

[@machiningbasics1729]

Those great fobco star drills were made just up the road from where I live.

[@MaltandMake]

I guess you haven't seen any of the old motors lying around... although it's a bit late now!

[@SuperGrover]

Of course, you could have used the mill to drill the holes... Just putting it out there :)

[@AS-ug2vq]

What's the diameter of your lathes chuck bore. You could have shown you fit the pulley on your lathe chuck

[@MaltandMake]

Not sure exactly, about 50mm maybe. I mounted the pulley on the three jaw chuck by expanding the jaws to push out on the inside diameter of the pulley rather than grip on something.

[@AS-ug2vq]

@@MaltandMake interesting thank you.

[@18magicMARKer]

why didn't you use your milling machine instead of hand drilling some of the holes?

[@MaltandMake]

18magicMARKer I know! I realised it while editing the video. Luckily it wasn't difficult to do it by hand... might have even been quicker than changing to a drill chuck!

[@RiyadhMarthinus]

wow man! I thoroughly enjoyed that video. watched it from beginning to end. I learned so much about machining in that 9 mins. It's so professional too, it honestly felt like I was watching a video from a channel with atleast a half a million subscribers. Definately looking forward to you future videos!

[@MaltandMake]

Thank you... start as I mean to go on I guess!

[@Badgerworkshop]

Great build and nicely produced video.

[@MaltandMake]

Thanks, it was a fun one to film and make!

[@christophpfeifer1830]

Nice video.

[@MaltandMake]

Thanks!

[@3000waterman]

What a pleasure to hear this young lad speaking 'the Queen's English'. Call it what you will - received pronunciation; BBC English; cut-glass English, vowel-speak, or if you want to be really disparaging, 'posh boy speak'. But every word is properly formed, and readily understandable by all English speakers. The video is doubly enjoyable, because it's just gently overlaid with non-obtrusive music, rather than head-banging guitars. An intelligent piece of work by a civilised presenter. The engineering may be causing seasoned perfectionists to frown, but the lads sheer likability and chutzpah brought a smile to my face. Well done, James. You set a good example.

[@MaltandMake]

Thank you for the kind words and for watching the video!

[@MattBerryCustom]

Very nice video James, well shot and superb tool skills. What an interesting character you are! Look forward to watching more.

[@MaltandMake]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. I really enjoyed the project and think about it every time I use the drill!

[@SickKangaroo]

Hi James , I have a question as I have a pillar drill also but is not so strong , Can I 'in your opinion' change the 1/2 HP motor for a 1 HP motor.

[@MaltandMake]

Absolutely, that should be no problem.

[@LO2L68]

Thanks for the motor supplier link, it saved me a lot of money. The shaft on my drill motor snapped the other day, a branded replacement would have cost me more than double the price of the one I got from Inverter Drive Supermarket

[@MaltandMake]

Glad I could help!

[@yodabert1]

I have the same problem on my fathers old drill press and need to exactly the same thing its too much of a keepsake to replace the drill with a modern one e

[@MaltandMake]

My thoughts exactly, I hope this video was helpful!

[@davidmurphy2256]

Nice job! What motor did you end up getting? I’m restoring a Fobco and need a new motor but the B56 mounting version are > £180. Thanks!

[@MaltandMake]

Thanks! I think it was a 0.75HP motor from Inverter Drive, £116.40 delivered. Part number 0.5541TPC B3. Best of luck with the restoration!

[@rx7fbforum]

great video James, I have exactly the same drill but in 3 phase, a friend gave it to me but I'm running an inverter and it keeps tripping the electric so I want to convert it to 240v... researching the mod brought me here to see you fitting a new motor to a Fobco which answered some questions I had re the mod. Thanks for taking the time to post this, excellent vid and very useful.

[@MaltandMake]

Glad I could help!

[@aceroadholder2185]

If you could wire the motor so it can be reversed it would be handy for using left hand twist drills... just the thing for drilling out broken bolts and studs.

[@MaltandMake]

Aceroadholder Hadn't though about that, good idea.

[@andym5195]

silent k and pronounced n eye p e x

[@piecetoyou8285]

Hi,James clever bit of work ,love the machine ,so I bought one,But its got a three phase motor, Question for you, Could I replace the 3 phase motor to single phase motor and still use the original internal switch to run the single phase motor,or do I have to replace the internal switch ,

[@MaltandMake]

Hi, glad you enjoyed it. I think you should be able to use the same switch but might need to adjust the wiring since you'll only need to switch one wire for single phase. Another option is to keep the three phase motor and use a Variable Frequency Drive. This way you'll get variable speed control and often a VFD is about the same cost as a new motor. I've that for a bandsaw motor and will have a video on it soon. Hope that helps!

[@piecetoyou8285]

@@MaltandMake thanks for info,but i have a few single phase motors in my shed,and i don`t like the idea having a digital looking item on the machine,even though it would be better,but i like to keep it in a vintage style,

[@MaltandMake]

@@piecetoyou8285 Sounds like the right thing to do! Let me know how it goes!

[@TF856]

Too bad you couldn't find an older motor that was closer to original.

[@MaltandMake]

Definitely something I thought about but newer motors are more efficient.

[@berrabelin1393]

Really interesting video. looking forward to the next one. Keep the great work up!

[@MaltandMake]

Berra Belin Thanks for your kind words, glad you enjoyed it!

[@schwarzermoritz]

Great Video, but Ow! Don't punch with your drillbits! Get a set of punches. Or better yet, make one. You could just turn the size that you need when you need it and make it part of whatever project video you're doing, or make a set. Regarding Knipex, it's a great name for a number of reasons. "Knipsen" is a German word for snipping something off with a set of pliers, and also associated with ease. "Knipsen" does not take a lot of effort, it's almost casual. But it is also a name you can pronounced easily in German and English which is great for a brand name. So, the German pronunciation is Knip as like kippers with an n and ex as your ex. But the other pronunciations are also valid. And they make great pliers. I'm not buying any other ones.

[@mauriciosolorzano5273]

Great video, i love your content!

[@MaltandMake]

Mr Hopster Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for taking the time to comment!

[@billyb4223]

Lovely stuff. I'm currently giving my Fobco Star a full restoration - you can find out about it and see pictures on Mig Welding Forum.

[@MaltandMake]

That's great, glad to hear other people are keeping these machines running! Do you have a link?

[@JohnMadeit]

Good job James. I like the good old tools 🙂

[@MaltandMake]

Thanks John!