Sounds like your bearings are getting rough, Gil. At that age they are likely dry. I've never seen a drill press with the means to lube the spindle bearings. But, I'd look closely to see if there's any way to do so. We often try to get a thin oil past the seals into the bearings on farm equipment to keep them running until a task is finished for the year, but we know that the bearings will have to be replaced. They need grease, not oil, but oil will smooth things out for awhile.
Long term I'd be looking at replacing the bearings.
