OT- Drill press, Messed up pulley Options

[jeffdon]

I have an old 15" Walked turner drill press that dates back to the 40's. It's a wonderful beast of a cast iron machine, but the pulley that goes on the quill is messed up. The bronze splinned bushing inside was slipping. But I am a smart guy, and taking inspiration from the method we use to put the cam gear on a type 4 crank, I heated it up on a hot plate thinking I could then drive the bushing in tighter.

I ended up melting the largest diameter step off the pulley. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif)

I have not been able to source a replacement. Got to thinking, since I am trying to run at a lower speed, why not just get a motor controller and turn down the speed?

Any one know if this would work, and a good place for a speed control?

[worn]

I have an old 15" Walked turner drill press that dates back to the 40's. It's a wonderful beast of a cast iron machine, but the pulley that goes on the quill is messed up. The bronze splinned bushing inside was slipping. But I am a smart guy, and taking inspiration from the method we use to put the cam gear on a type 4 crank, I heated it up on a hot plate thinking I could then drive the bushing in tighter.

I ended up melting the largest diameter step off the pulley. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif)

I have not been able to source a replacement. Got to thinking, since I am trying to run at a lower speed, why not just get a motor controller and turn down the speed?

Any one know if this would work, and a good place for a speed control?

I would run the motor as it was designed and fix the problem. Is the part with the splines still OK? If so you can have a machine shop put it into a step pulley. It will not cost a lot and it will save the function and originality of an excellent tool. You could do it yourself...if you had a drill press (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif)
If you do go variable speed, try to find a motor designed for it. That would cost though.