[LS short box]

I did a similar thing a number of years ago. Bought a Clausing drill press when a local machine shop went under. Paid $300 bucks. Deal of the century for a Clausing. It changes spindle speed with a hand wheel. No moving the belt from pulley to pulley to change speeds. Only thing I had to do was change the motor out from 230V to 110V.
As said above be careful if the bit catches it will rip whatever you are drilling right out of your hands. Buy a good drill press vise. You might want to build a small platform bolted to the big platform to make clamping down what ever you are drilling easier.