Meddings Dril Tru – What to do?

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Meddings Dril Tru – What to do?

This topic has 25 replies, 12 voices, and was last updated 8 August 2023 at 09:46 by Jon Halland.

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1 April 2022 at 10:48 #592354
Jon Halland
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@jonhalland84811
I picked up a Meddings Dril Tru (SE: DTB03689 cast: 9373/LT/III) last autumn which has not had one careful owner. A few bits are missing: the knob for the switch, handle for the table, cover for return spring and the threaded bar and nut that holds the belt cover.

Do anyone know the thread for the belt cover bar (a non fitting bolt was jammed into the thread on the base but it has only damaged the first thread)?

The quill, bearings and nearly new chuck all seem good.

The main problem is the spindle pulley and axle. The pulley it is off centre on rotation and also not square on the axle when the square pin is tapped in place, when the pin is not in the is a fair bit of play for the pulley to wiggle on the axle. See pictures.

My experience with spline axels and pulleys is limited and they have all been snug fits. Centred and square on the axel by the fit of the bore, easy drop in of the square pin, tighten set screw(s) – all good. So how bad is this? Replace or refurbish with a bush? Note: I don't have a lathe, a milling machine or the skills to do a refurbish.
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1 April 2022 at 10:48 #20661
Jon Halland
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@jonhalland84811
1 April 2022 at 11:03 #592361
David-Clark 1
Participant
@david-clark1
It sounds like it could be a 16mm pulley on a 5/8 motor shaft. That would be about 4 thou clearance,
1 April 2022 at 12:21 #592375
Dave Wootton
Participant
@davewootton
Meddings are still in business and can supply spare parts for some models, I dealt with them at work for spare parts and found them very knowledgeable and helpful, there's a wealth of product experience there.

Well worth a call if you are stuck.

Dave

Edited By Dave Wootton on 01/04/2022 12:33:14
1 April 2022 at 12:56 #592379
HOWARDT
Participant
@howardt
As for the pulley look at fitting a taper lock one, easiest solution without machining the shaft.
1 April 2022 at 16:10 #592407
Howard Lewis
Participant
@howardlewis46836
WILD guess, but the thread for the belt cover stud might be Imperial, ,BSF or BSW, or maybe UNF(Less likely in my view )

Cannot imagine it being Metric.

By the looks of the shaft, the pulley was fitted without a key, so that it has slipped on the shaft and scored it. This may account for the, now, loose fit.

If you had a lathe, I would have suggested boring out the pulley slightly and making a bush to return the bore to the correct size for the shaft (Once it had been deburred )

This would mean having to recut the keyway, in the bush, probably to coincide with the remains of the keyway in the pulley..

Howard
4 April 2022 at 10:35 #592825
Jon Halland
Participant
@jonhalland84811
Hi All, thank you for the replys.

I managed to find a bag of old UNC bolts this weekend and a 3/8 fit nicely, so most likely a 3/8 BSW. Easy to get some threaded bar to fix that.

I also did six measurements on the shaft 22.11/15/17/20/24/29, so that is 7/8'' (which is 22.23mm).

Would it be possible to get a resonable fit with a new pulley on the shaft without machining it?

Jon
4 April 2022 at 11:35 #592830
Howard Lewis
Participant
@howardlewis46836
The 22.24 and 22.29 dimensions, suggest burrs on a nominal 7/8" shaft.

A pulley with an an accurate 7/8" bore would be a slightly loose fit on a 22.11 mm shaft,

But a grubscrew, bearing on the key may prevent any movement , The 0.005" clearance will ,probably cause the pulley to run slightly eccentric.

Howard
4 April 2022 at 11:58 #592832
Adrian R2
Participant
@adrianr2
Possible yes as pulley is softer than shaft so more likely to have worn out of round, but not guaranteed.

Is the one on the motor end the same? In bodger's corner I might try stoning the damaged shaft to take off the ridges then swapping them over and if it looked promising then perhaps some stud & bearing fit compound.
4 April 2022 at 17:39 #592879
Jon Halland
Participant
@jonhalland84811
Good suggestion Adrian, just checked but the motor shaft is smaller, 5/8''.
14 April 2022 at 12:17 #594373
Jon Halland
Participant
@jonhalland84811
I've contacted Meddings, but still to get a price on a new pulley.

Another option could be to get 5 step pulley with a 22 mm bore, which seem available, and then trim the axle and adjust the key to fit.
14 April 2022 at 13:00 #594382
AJAX
Participant
@ajax
That shaft doesn't look too bad. If the pulley hole is worn / oversize you may be lucky with a shim made from an aluminium Coke can. My wife has a Meddings drill for sale; the cover bar is threaded 3/8 x 20 BSF.

Whereabouts are you? May have some Meddings spares.
14 April 2022 at 13:03 #594384
AJAX
Participant
@ajax
Posted by Jon Halland on 14/04/2022 12:17:38:

I've contacted Meddings, but still to get a price on a new pulley.

Another option could be to get 5 step pulley with a 22 mm bore, which seem available, and then trim the axle and adjust the key to fit.

Why would you need to "trim the axle"?

My usual fix in these situations is to turn and bore a piece to fit over the existing shaft. Bored slightly undersized, warmed up and tapped into place. Rock solid and no wobble.
14 April 2022 at 16:38 #594410
Jon Halland
Participant
@jonhalland84811
Hi AJAX,

Thanks for your reply. I just had another look at the threaded cover bar hole in the cast base: the upper 8-9mm has brute force 3/8 x 16 (UNC or BSW) 'thread' and the rest in finer, so no doubt you are right that originally it was a full 3/8×20 BSF. I tried with the lock handle which is 3/8×20 BSF but that now fits worse than a 3/8 UNC. And still it came with a M10x1.5 jammed into the first thread….arghhh.

My reason for trimming the axle was to make it fit a new 22mm bore pulley and use the key and set screw to hold it in place.

Meddings are very helpfull, but many parts are not available. The spindle pulley is available at £100.75+VAT+Shipping.

I am in Aldridge, West Midlands.
21 April 2022 at 07:38 #595251
AJAX
Participant
@ajax
Posted by Jon Halland on 14/04/2022 16:38:51:

Hi AJAX,

Thanks for your reply. I just had another look at the threaded cover bar hole in the cast base: the upper 8-9mm has brute force 3/8 x 16 (UNC or BSW) 'thread' and the rest in finer, so no doubt you are right that originally it was a full 3/8×20 BSF. I tried with the lock handle which is 3/8×20 BSF but that now fits worse than a 3/8 UNC. And still it came with a M10x1.5 jammed into the first thread….arghhh.

My reason for trimming the axle was to make it fit a new 22mm bore pulley and use the key and set screw to hold it in place.

Meddings are very helpfull, but many parts are not available. The spindle pulley is available at £100.75+VAT+Shipping.

I am in Aldridge, West Midlands.

Hi Jon,

That sounds like a very expensive pulley to me. I would have thought it should be possible to find one elsewhere at a much more reasonable price. Shame those threads have not been looked after.
21 April 2022 at 08:25 #595257
Hopper
Participant
@hopper
Ebay has generic step pulleys for 25 quid. So does RDG Tools. Should be able to bore out the hole and even cut the keyway in aluminium in the lathe if you have one. You might have to buy a matching pair of pulleys to get constant belt tension on all steps though?
21 April 2022 at 10:38 #595274
not done it yet
Participant
@notdoneityet
I would try to repair the pulley – and likely to succeed. I would bore it out if/as necessary, sleeve it – and replace the smallest sheave if necessary.

Doesn’t look to be a too difficult job. Broach might be required, but one would, at least, have a tool for future use.

Looking at the pic, it likely needs another keyway cutting on the shaft.
28 April 2022 at 19:09 #596238
Jon Halland
Participant
@jonhalland84811
Hi All, thanks for your replies.

I'm not keen to spend ~£130 on a pulley for this 'pig' of a machine (other threads have been misused and the casting for the depth stop has been knocked off). I have been looking at generic 5 step pulleys online. Amazon and ebay have lots available for type A belts (w 13mm / d 8mm) but none for type SPZ (w 10mm / d 8mm) – the slightly larger version used for imperial Vee or 3V belts.

Needless to say this machine came with a type A belt on the Vee groves.

Does anyone know where to get a generic 5 step SPZ pulley?

This is starting to look like a longer term project to either find a used pulley in good nick or bump into someone that can sleeve the original…..or maybe the little common sense voice in my head telling me to sell the good bits and use the stand for the bench grinder wins.
28 April 2022 at 19:42 #596243
David-Clark 1
Participant
@david-clark1
Keep the stand, Sell the drill for spares, and buy another drill t;o go on the stand.
20 June 2022 at 08:34 #602411
Jon Halland
Participant
@jonhalland84811
Sad end for a drill. The body is now a heavy and sturdy base for my work light (came on a lousy tripod that was always in the way and easily got knocked over). Stand will be for the bench grinder and other useable parts are being sold.

Thanks for your replies.
20 June 2022 at 09:59 #602428
Hopper
Participant
@hopper
Could you not just use the generic Type A pulley/s? Some are so cheap you could convert both pulleys to A belt and still come out ahead. Also, an A belt will run in an SPZ groove, as I do on the motor to countershaft pulleys on my Myford. Seems a shame to trash a good old machine for such a minor issue.
20 June 2022 at 14:59 #602461
not done it yet
Participant
@notdoneityet
Posted by Jon Halland on 20/06/2022 08:34:30:

Sad end for a drill. The body is now a heavy and sturdy base for my work light (came on a lousy tripod that was always in the way and easily got knocked over). Stand will be for the bench grinder and other useable parts are being sold.

Thanks for your replies.

Definitely a sad end to something that would likely be readily repaired/altered to make a very good machine.
20 June 2022 at 15:28 #602463
peak4
Participant
@peak4
Posted by not done it yet on 20/06/2022 14:59:00:

Posted by Jon Halland on 20/06/2022 08:34:30:

Sad end for a drill. The body is now a heavy and sturdy base for my work light (came on a lousy tripod that was always in the way and easily got knocked over). Stand will be for the bench grinder and other useable parts are being sold.

Thanks for your replies.

Definitely a sad end to something that would likely be readily repaired/altered to make a very good machine.

But unfortunately one can only undertake repairs with the facilities at hand.
Lots of us could have effected a repair at comparatively small cost, but when you don't have other machine tools, you're limited to hand tools, expenditure, or help from a friend.
If I'd lived closer, I'd have been happy to assist, but not much to be done from this distance.

Bill
20 June 2022 at 17:19 #602489
Nigel Graham 2
Participant
@nigelgraham2
It is a sad end for what should be a very good machine. I am not sure if it's a "Dril Tru" but certainly a very useful machine and in very good condition.

It does look as if it's suffered from a past ham-fisted owner though.

Should it be an "end" though? Rather than break it for spares you might be better trying to sell it intact for overhauling, if what you describe is all that's wrong with it.

You may be able to find a replacement pulley from a transmission-parts dealer but such pulleys seem to be becoming rare. I van vouch for Meddings prices though, as I paid about £80 several years ago to replace one lost in a house move when I'd to dismantle all my machines to be able to move them.

Errr. yes, the missing pulley subsequently re-appeared….
30 July 2023 at 00:06 #654353
Robin Dufton
Participant
@robindufton85682
To drag up an old thread although it might help anyone searching for the same info.

I've rebuilt a few Meddings over the years and have found the spindle pulley from the generic Chinese 16 speed drills to be a close match to the LT and M2 pulleys. The bore is 24mm, so needs taking out, and a keyway needs cutting. Also the smallest step is the same size as the 2nd step on the Meddings and the top step is exactly the same, so the highest or lowest speed is a few percent out while the opposite end speed stays the same. They're also £8 from Machine Mart for the Clarke version and £15 for the Draper, depending on who has them in stock.

The generic type A pulleys don't fit under the cover as they're 80+mm. The 16 speed pulleys are a lot closer to the originals and just fit.

Edited By Robin Dufton on 30/07/2023 00:07:16
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