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Need help with SB Drill Press Spindle

civicmatt

Plastic
Joined
Jan 29, 2010
Location
Pennsylvania
I just acquired a South Bend 14" bench top drill press (14 B 4 A) and there is an extension spindle on there now that removes most of the travel of the spindle to the table. Is this extension pressed on to the spindle, or do I need to purchase a whole new spindle? If I do need a new spindle, where can I get one? I need one to fit up to the morse taper from a 34 Jacobs chuck. Thanks!
 
I'm not at all familiar with a South Bend drill press, so it would probably be best to wait for expert guidance. In the meantime, extend your spindle down as far as it will go and see if there are two slots in the side of the spindle running lengthwise. If there are, the drill press should have a Morse taper spindle and you will just need to drive the extension out of the spindle with a taper driver wedge and replace with an arbor with the correct Jacobs taper on one end and the correct Morse taper to match your chuck on the other.

EDIT: Note in the picture the elongated hole in the spindle. This will be where you apply a taper driver wedge to the top of the extension's taper. Be advised that there are other methods other than a Morse taper spindle that may have been used.
 

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I've attached a photo of my spindle. The extension has the slot in it for driving a drift to remove a morse taper. It's this extension I'm interested in removing. It's simply too long to allow for a chuck, tooling, a vise, and material of any size, especially on a 14 inch bench top drill press. I've tried to remove the extension from the spindle with a wedge set, but it just bent the wedge. Is this machined as part of the spindle? Thanks in advance.

drill-press-spindle.png
 
That's what I figured. Thank you for confirming it.

So my next question, where can I get a different spindle and if used (craigslist, ebay, stc.) how much should I expect to pay? I'm looking for one that just has a taper on it for my #34 jacobs chuck. Thanks again!
 
9 teeth.

From what I've read, I think the 33J is original with the #2 taper model I have as an optional spindle. The spindle I'm looking for should have the short taper for a 1/2" drill chuck.

Thanks!
 
I think what I might end up doing is just changing out the column to convert this to a floor model. It seems to be an easier solution. With the research I've done online, I can't find replacement spindles for any drill presses. I'll keep looking, but the floor conversion is looking better.

Thanks for all the help!
 








 
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