# Speed Controller



## cubera (Mar 9, 2005)

Anyone ever use a speed controller on a router or any other power too?
My question is, if so the the power of the tool decrease when slowed down.
I'm wanting to slow down a floor model drill press, but I'm concerned that when slowed down it won't have the power to pull the larger drills and hole saws.


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## Tortuga (May 21, 2004)

My drill press runs pretty slow as it is...so no help here...

On the other hand..I (and most of us) have a variable speed switch on our lathes. Slower speeds for finishing,etc.. Max speed for turning and cutting. Really don't think you will lose any power on the drill press.. Like the lathe, it will just take you a little longer to drill/cut the same piece of material....

.02


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## Slip (Jul 25, 2006)

Actually, you need different speeds for different materials or drilling. Don't want high speed on large hole saws. Never worried about power as a drill press will yank the wood outa your hands easily and hurt you if not careful. Clamp material down always...........speaking from experience


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## Slip (Jul 25, 2006)

Also, for a router, if you are using large bits such as making paneled doors, you need to slow down the speed. Larger bits need less speed to be safe. They have a wider swing.


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## cubera (Mar 9, 2005)

Simple answer please. 
Does using one cut down the power?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Slip (Jul 25, 2006)

Should not have a big power loss, typically. Depends if you have enough hp to begin with and the loss of power would occur on high speed also, or that is my thought anyway. Haven't seen any on my tools anyway, but if you are borderline on power, just can't say for sure but hp should be the same, but again, I'm no expert or pretend to be.


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## Tortuga (May 21, 2004)

Cube..my thinking is..yes..you would cut down the power. If you are using a rheostat or something like that to slow it down..it would seem to me that to get to half speed you would have to cut half the power to the drill.. One HP motor would have to operate at 1/2 HP to decrease speed..As before..drilling a hole would take twice the time if similar downward pressure is put on the bit.... On a lathe without variable speed we can adjust speed by moving the drive belts ratio without losing power...but on my drill press it has a belt drive with only one set of 'wheels' so that is not an option.

Hope an expert will show up with the true answer...that sure ain't me.. Just using my brand of logic to come to this conclusion.


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## speckle-catcher (May 20, 2004)

on a floor model drill press you should be able to adjust the belts to change the speed.

I think my DP has 10 speeds from about 250 rpm to 3000 rpm


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## bill (May 21, 2004)

if you want to reduce speed but not lose torque, something like this will work as designed (if you don't have belts to change)

http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/pages/speed_control.html I'm sure you could go cheap and find one at harbor freight as well.

the brand of equipment would help us give a better selection


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## cubera (Mar 9, 2005)

OK, now we are getting somewhere.
I was a machinist for 46 years, so I do have some knowledge about feeds, speeds and cutting pressure.
The drill press I was referring to is an older Sears floor model with speeds from around 360 rpm-8500rpm, yes, 8500.
There are times here in the country I have a need to drill a 1" hole in mild steel. The lower rpm is borderline on surface speed for low carbon steel.
I really don't care about how long it takes to drill a hole, just need to keep the shavings from turning blue.
Most of my drilling is steel with wood being occasional.
The reason I posted here was because I thought someone had personal experience with a controller.
For the price, I think I'll be going with the MLCS model. Foot control looks like a good deal also.
Thanks to all.


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## pg542 (Oct 9, 2006)

Have you thought about using a 1" hole saw. If your metal is 1/2" or less, a good quality hole saw(Lennox, Starrett) should cut it with much less torque needed than a regular drill bit, since you'll be removing much less material. Using your lowest "belt speed", I think it would cut it okay, without the need for a rheostat type controller. A tool mist cooler would be good too, with either cutting method...just an option...


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## CDHknives (Mar 17, 2012)

Using the capacitor based speed controllers will reduce torque. To maintain full torque you need something like a variable frequency drive but that is used more for larger equipment...multi horsepower and 3 phase equipment...large bandsaws, belt grinders, lathes and mills, etc.

That's not to say you couldn't do it to a router or drill, but it would seem to be overkill for most home shops.


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## McDaniel8402 (Dec 7, 2011)

CDHknives said:


> Using the capacitor based speed controllers will reduce torque. To maintain full torque you need something like a variable frequency drive but that is used more for larger equipment...multi horsepower and 3 phase equipment...large bandsaws, belt grinders, lathes and mills, etc.
> 
> That's not to say you couldn't do it to a router or drill, but it would seem to be overkill for most home shops.


Single phase VFDs are a little tough to find, but can be had. They are usually pretty small (2-5 HP at most). I've seen them for sale in a McMaster-Carr catalog.


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