Craftsman drill press "vari-slow" speed adjust

Just got a sweet new toy. I believe this is a 1950's craftsman drill press. Only issue is the belt tension and pulley set up which is made of pot metal is cracked and broken in a few pieces. Has anyone tried to brazze pot metal or any idea on how i can salvage this ?

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Very nice, I have never seen that type of pulley setup. If you can find a model and possibly a serial number you may be able to get parts for it. Do an online search for Sears replacement parts.

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So the last one I've found sold for 400 dollars in 2011 on ebay. Sears doesnt sell replacements but they did help me find a owners manual online! I'm tempted to make one or retro fit it with a VFD but it would deffently be cool to keep it orginal.

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It may not be pot metal and may be Zinc. I have an Craftsman branded Atlas lathe from the same era that has a lot of zinc parts.

I don’t think brazing with any strength is going to be possible.

However, t doesn’t look that complicated and a steel replacement wouldn’t be impossible to fabricate if you use the old one to make a few jigs.

 

I just bought an old Craftsman too. I love the style of yours and never could find that speed change system. Could you use some steel strapping on each side of the break and two screws on each side of the break?

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Here is mine.

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"Pot metal" is generally mostly zinc, of sketchy alloy. The foundries would toss remelt parts, gates and runners, floor sweepings, just about anything into the melt pot. No big deal for non structural cast trim parts, more of a strength issue for parts like you're dealing with here.
Pot metal can sometimes be welded, it's difficult because the melting point is very low, and the stuff sort of melts from the inside out- the core can be molten and sort of held together by a skin till it just blobs and runs away. You could try gas welding it, it's hard to get it clean enough because of the impurities in the metal. You would probably be farther ahead to duplicate the parts in steel or aluminum.