Installing a 3-Prong Grounded Power Cord on a Vintage Delta Drill Press

[@Mikeattempts]

Indoor Power Cord: amzn.to/3fCuVkx (affiliate*) Outdoor Power Cord: amzn.to/39GZ1zs (affiliate*) Hot Glue Gun: amzn.to/2PqmRsx (affiliate*) Glue Sticks: amzn.to/3dwSxUP (affiliate*) *Purchasing from these Amazon affiliate links earns my channel a small commission. Think of it as a tip that doesn't cost you anything. Thanks for the support!

[@iwontreplybacklol7481]

Clearest, straight to the point, no nonsense video on this video platform. Good job.

[@Mikeattempts]

That's high praise, I appreciate it! Thanks for watching.

[@patientpopperx]

Thankyou you wouldn’t believe how hard it was to find this I was pretty sure this was what I had to do but now I feel better about it My electric fireplace has been melting cords constantly

[@Mikeattempts]

I'm no pro but there's a chance you have a different issue if the cords keep melting.

[@Lonewlf7676]

Thanks for the video! I picked up an old Westinghouse Mobilaire pedestal fan off the curb for use in my garage. It still works fine, but the old grey 2-prong cord is pretty cracked and I would say unsafe. Just so happens that I cut the nice long 3-prong cord off my previous Bissel carpet cleaner before I threw it out and want to put that cord on the fan. I figured that I could just run the added ground wire to an anchor on the metal fan body, but in all my looking at repair videos of old fans NOBODY was upgrading them to a grounded cord! I guess I just wanted confirmation that what I was planning was correct.

[@Mikeattempts]

This is great, my hope was that anyone looking to convert anything from a 2-prong to a 3-prong plug might find this video helpful. Thanks for the comment and thanks for watching!

[@hankfrankly7240]

I've been looking for this information video for awhile now. I have a Packard Motor Co. 2 wire motor I wanted to hook up to a mandrel. I'm a real novice so you helped me out a lot. Thank you.

[@Mikeattempts]

I'm glad the video was helpful, thanks for the comment!

[@porthose2002]

This is exact;y the problem I need to solve. Finishing the restoration on a 1948 Buffalo Forge drill press. Would like to transition that old plug from 2 to 3 prong. Thanks, Mike!

[@Mikeattempts]

I'm glad the video was helpful, thanks for the comment! :)

[@adkima00]

Thank you sir! I’m about to make this update to a 50’s table saw I just acquired.

[@Mikeattempts]

Thank you for watching! :)

[@tipsclubs01]

Good Video. I'll be replacing a Power and Switch cord on an old Dayton 16 inch Drill Press, so I'll probably go with a 14-3 cord. The Motor is a Dayton 3/4 HP, 120 V. 10.8 Amps. Thanks for the wire type information too.

[@Mikeattempts]

Thanks for watching!

[@duaneroen2118]

You are a wonderful teacher! Thanks.

[@Mikeattempts]

I appreciate it, thanks for the comment!

[@dc2090]

Exactly what I was looking for! Thanks.

[@Mikeattempts]

Thanks for watching!

[@dancearoundtheworld5360]

picked up a 3/4 inch drill and got the suprise but not a shock, it has the 2 prong and got some cords laying around so doing this swap is a learning experience until i make the drill cordless b&d 7301 has continuity also

[@Mikeattempts]

That's cool, I've always wanted to try converting a corded drill to cordless and a cordless drill to corded just so I can learn more about electronics.

[@dancearoundtheworld5360]

@@Mikeattempts nowadays cordless is easy but finding the right motor takes some thought

[@mavision6525]

Great tutorial.

[@Mikeattempts]

Thanks! :)

[@christopherjames7216]

Thank you! I have an all original hot lather machine from the 40’s and have used it professionally for the last two years. I’ve always thought it needed a grounded power cord. It finally gave up the goose yesterday so I’m at it today swapping the cord. I’m not exactly sure amperage (can’t find any info online or on machine) so I’m not sure what gauge cord to replace with.

[@Mikeattempts]

I would error towards higher gauge wire, just to be sure. You should be able to strip the old cord and get a good idea of the size that way.

[@AlexMurfey]

Thanks, this was helpful. I just added a new grounded cord to a 1940s era drill press. When you do the continuity test with the ground plug does the reading on the multimeter matter or is the beep indicating continuity sufficient?

[@Mikeattempts]

As far as I know, the beep is the only thing that matters. Thanks for watching!

[@robynnejamieson83]

Hi. I have an electric fireplace but it has a 2 prong plug and it gets hot when i use the heat function on the fireplace. Can i switch the cord out for a 3 prong to fix this problem.

[@Mikeattempts]

I'm not even close to a pro so I'm in no position to give you advice like that. However, I can tell you that going to a 3-prong plug wouldn't help in your situation. If it gets too hot, it could be a fire hazard. I would call an electrician, maybe they could replace the whole power cord with much thicker wire.

[@adamthewoodworker2571]

Hi Mike. I recently replaced the wiring in my old drill press following this exact method, however when I plugged it in, it shorted my GFCI outlet, which my research now shows might be the outlets fault, not the motor. However, are there any additional steps I can take besides using the multimeter technique you showed to ensure that the motor is wired properly before plugging it in again. When I first wired the ground, there was some old paint on the metal, bit after filing it off, I tested the ground and am getting 0.

[@Mikeattempts]

I want to start by saying that I am not an electrician. In my case, there were just 3 wires. If your ground wire didn't have a good connection at the drill press, you wouldn't have noticed except with the multimeter test. Unless your ground wire was accidentally touching another wire. The only other thing I can think of that would cause the GFCI to trip would be if there's a short in the motor windings or at the switch. I would just re-check the connections from the motor to the switch and also the connections from the switch to the power cord. You might want to wrap the switch with electrical tape, when you're done checking the connections, to be sure it's not touching the switch housing in some way. Let me know how it goes.

[@adamthewoodworker2571]

@@Mikeattempts thanks Mike, do you know of any sort of place I could take the motor where they could test it to make sure that it's safe to use? I'm also going to try rewiring everything using a heat shrink wrap to ensure that no wire is exposed

[@Mikeattempts]

@@adamthewoodworker2571 You could ask an electrician to test it for you. You could also use the same multimeter test I used in the video but test each of the other two prongs on the plug. You should not get a tone on any of them except the ground prong. If you get a tone with one of the leads on either of the other two prongs while touching the other multimeter lead to the metal drill press housing, you have a short somewhere.

[@sgnt9337]

Wow . I have a Delta model 970 (a little older than this one) with the same weird looking on-off switch.

[@Mikeattempts]

Yeah, it's like you're supposed to connect a stiff wire to it so you can turn the drill press on and off from the front, but I don't see where it would attach.

[@sgnt9337]

@@Mikeattempts . You're right. I looked at mine and don't see an attachment point either.

[@MrRichBenn]

1. Use strain relief, not glue. 2. Ground using red terminal connector? That’s like 22 gauge! Bet it’s supposed to be blue or even yellow. Doesn’t need heat shrink. It’s ground and the terminal has insulation(bit not even needed. 3. Use nameplate to determine amperage, then size wire appropriately.

[@Mikeattempts]

Thanks for watching!

[@aquilifergroup]

Thanks

[@Mikeattempts]

Thank you for watching! :)

[@brandonadams6743]

I got an old scroll saw I looked this up for

[@Mikeattempts]

That's cool, I'm glad the video was helpful!

[@toonybrain]

Thank you. I have an older DeWalt table saw with a two-pronged cord. Call me silly, but I like having a ground wire…

[@Mikeattempts]

Yep, makes you feel more comfortable when handling those older metal tools. Thanks for watching!