Hi Neale,

Yes, done something similar to that by slackening the motor / belt tension levers on the drill press. But even with the belt slack there is still quite alot of friction and it still tries to turn the motor.

To remove the belt on my Warco pillar drill completely takes a bit of time and involves a ladder, a screwdriver to open the lid, and releasing the motor bolts and is not very efficient. It's not much fun for long due to the effort of turning the chuck & motor.

The method above is quick to set up (just a quick adjustment on the chuck jaws) and is then very easy to turn.

One thing I will note is that the tap slipped occasionally, even though I tightened it as much as I could. I don't know if they do a keyed chuck version but that might be better. Maybe a bit of degrease on the inside of the chuck jaws would help. Next time I'll also try a tap handle on the round part of the tap shank as you did.