Slowing down a drill press

[Kendo]

I have an old Delta Rockwell radial arm drill press; looks like this one https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/rockwell-delta-radial-arm-drill-press.439153/

But even at its slowest, it runs too fast for some jobs. Is there a mod I can make to slow down the motor? It currently has a Dayton Electric 3/4 HP motor, 1750 RPM. No telling if that's original. I was looking at variable frequency drives, and 3-phase motors, which seems like overkill. Any thoughts?

[gideon]

This is cheap and might do the trick

https://www.harborfreight.com/router-variable-speed-control-dial-59386.html

[Grumblebuns]

You need to check how many amps your drill press is pulling before using the above device. If less then 8 amps, should work.

[Kendo]

My motor says 10.8A at 115VAC.

[dakazman]

  Have you considered using a 120v dimmer switch ?
 The output side could be hooked up to a female wall outlet for quick changeover back to the original pulley speeds.  A double junction box can house both . Just add a male plug to the other end.
Dakazman

[GavinT]

The one shown at your Garage Journal link appears to be using the largest pulley on the motor.
Is yours set up that way?

I'd be investigating pulley alternatives first.

[Grumblebuns]

Ken, the Garage Journal is a pretty good forum for questions on electrical equipment, I belong to it. You might ask the question there on the either the Lighting and Electrical or General Tool Discussion subforum. I'm sure someone over there has a solution.

[Kendo]

Gavin, the belt on mine is on the smallest pulley on the motor. I think that's the slowest setting.

Grumblebuns, I'll check with Garage Journal.

[dakazman]

  Here is a short video to set speed .
https://youtu.be/YzNWuumF-L8?si=ATlJDyqhEvbi0ytK

   Then if you really want to get full use try this setup.
  https://youtube.com/shorts/ljq_nasVEmk?si=kMM2K43tg2Fc5pXn
 Or this simple method:
    https://youtu.be/bxEsC14ROoU?si=6WmtafvMyTUsItIE


  Dakazman

[Kendo]

It looks like the options were 1) DC motor and VFD, 2) AC VFD, 3) slower motor (1140 RPM). The first two generally would cost more than just buying a new drill press. I considered that, but kind of like the old beast. So I asked the Chat at Grainger for a 1140 RPM equivalent of the ancient 5K694-G I have. She suggested the DAYTON, 4YY55. So that's on order.