Using a Variac to reduce voltage/speed will cause the motor to overheat
rather quickly. Optional methods would be to change a pulley, mount another
motor externally and use the existing motor pulley as the intermediate
pulley to double-step reduction, change the motor to DC and use the Variac
(with a bridge rectifier) to adjust speed or finally go to a three phase
motor and a VFD. Temporarily mounting another motor shouldn't be too bad a
method, especially if you already have something useable.
Respectfully,
Ron Moore

"Drew_Y" wrote in message
oups.com...
I have a Delta Shopmaster Drill press. I would like to reduce the speed
from 610 min to about 300 min rpm. Since this is basically an entry
level model my options are limited. I am not concerned about the
longevity of the motor.

Can a variostat be safely used to reduce speed?

This modification would prolong the need to upgrade models. The reason
I need a slower speed is to run a circle cutting tool from general to
cut neoprene gasket material. 500 rpm is max speed for this tool.