Drill Press Foot Switch

I've been playing with a regular foot switch on my floor standing drill press. Over all I like it except that the work light isn't on except when I am standing on the switch. I can of course wire the foot switch into the leads to the motor, but I was wondering if there is any over riding reason not to have a foot switch on a drill press. Its really quick for some types of job.

Reply to
Bob La Londe
Loading thread data ...

I have a couple drill presses wired with foot switches. The way I wired them I can switch between the foot switch or the regular switch. That way I have the best of both worlds. WhenI'm not using the foot switch it hangs from a hook on the drill press column. I use a different switch for the light. Eric

Reply to
etpm

That is a smart idea. Make sure to use a heavy duty foot switch, not sewing machine switch.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus21051

Sounds like a great idea. It sounds like it's a momentary switch, only on when you have your foot down on it, as opposed to a press on/press off style. Both ways have their pros and cons, I'm sure.

I suggest wiring the lamp through the switch box so that it is always hot, then use the lamp switch for lamp function. That feels like the safest way.

- "Surprisingly, open-minded Hollywood has not yet agreed to allow unvetted refugees to mill freely about their heavily guarded film studios." --Twitter satirist @weknowwhatsbest

Reply to
Larry Jaques

On Friday, February 3, 2017 at 2:01:03 PM UTC-5, Bob La Londe wrote: but I was wondering if there is any over riding reason

I bought a bunchtoy drill press off Craigs List that already had a foot switch wired so one could use either the foot switch or the switch on the drill press. And I can see it would be really good for some jobs, but I rarely use the foot switch. It is just that I usually do not drill two holes with the same drill. So before you run out and buy a foot switch, think about what kind of work you do.

Dan

Reply to
dcaster

Just yesterday I put a foot switch on the vacuum cleaner that I use with my taig mill. For some jobs, there is very little swarf and no reason at all to keep the vacuum running and making noise. This is one of the best sanity

-saving things I've done in a long time.

I don't know why you wouldn't want to use a foot switch on a drill press if you're doing enough holes between tool changes to make it worthwhile.

Reply to
rangerssuck

Are you absolutely certain you will never accidentally step on the foot switch while changing bits in the chuck?

Reply to
Robert Nichols

I agree. But find that I seldom use it.

Dan

Reply to
dcaster

Has not been a problem. THe foot switch that I have has the switch under a guard so it is not likely to be accidentally actuated.

Dan

Reply to
dcaster

I have a footswitch hooked up to my shopvac underneath my work table so I can quickly get rid of debris on the table. Over the years I have had this setup, there have been maybe a half-dozen times when I inadvertently hit the switch, which can be startling with a shopvac coming on unexpectedly.

Jon

Reply to
Jon Danniken

I have a VFD on my drill press, so the foot switch doesn't carry motor current and is just some old thing that I found at the dump. One thing about it is that it is a rocker switch that closes different contacts by stepping on the right side or the left side. So I have forward & reverse. Reverse does get used, but seldom.

I use the foot switch when I want to be able to turn the drill press off quickly, without moving my hand from the feed lever. Since I pretty much never clamp the work, my other hand is busy holding it.

I power tap in the drill press & always use the foot switch for that. Right hand brings the tap down to the hole with left hand holding. Foot switch starts, stops, and backs up the tap.

Bob

Reply to
Bob Engelhardt

Let's play "chuck the chuck"! WHAM! Oops. Most people only play that game once in their life.

- "Surprisingly, open-minded Hollywood has not yet agreed to allow unvetted refugees to mill freely about their heavily guarded film studios." --Twitter satirist @weknowwhatsbest

Reply to
Larry Jaques

Especially one of those old 109dB units screaming at 16kRPM. The whole neighborhood knows when you clean your shop.

Reply to
Larry Jaques

Greetings Bob, I have thought about having a reversing motor for tapping on a drill press many times. I was thinking that I would have a motor that turns CCW by default and turns CW with a foot switch. Then all that needs to be done to back off the tap is to step off of the switch. Now I may really do it. Eric

Reply to
etpm

I set up a foot switch on the mister on my manual mill. I ran on small compressors for several years before finally getting a large commercial duty job, so was always looking for ways to cut air consumption.

Also had a foot switch set up with an outlet so I could use it for my drill press or shop vac.

Jon

Reply to
Jon Anderson

You might need to think about this a bit more. Assuming you have a single phase motor, it will not reverse instantly. But if it is three phase , you just need the foot switch to swap two leads.

Dan

Reply to
dcaster

I ran the big Gorton mill at Gunners to tap the little handle we made for the height adjuster on the DP table. A knob on the VFD + an ON_OFF_ON switch controlled the speed and direction. That was sweet. My buddy Glenn has a VFD and speed knobs for his mill, too. It _sure_ as hell beats changing belts, the way I learned in 8th grade.

Reply to
Larry Jaques

Just make it so it is in a guard, so something falling, or a foot placed wrong won't start it while you are changing drill bits in the chuck. A quonset-hut shape bolted to a mounting plate for the switch would be good.

Perhaps put it in series with the switch on the drill press head, so both have to be on to run the motor. Or a center-off switch with one position for motor on without the foot switch engaged, and in the other position, the motor waits for the foot switch.

What I've done with my 1977 or so drill press is replace the motor with a three-phase one, with a small VFD on the side and three push buttons on the front. Two in guards for forward and reverse, and one with a big red cap for stop. (Oh yes, and a pot for speed.) The red STOP button is in the place easiest to reach, and I can even hit it with my nose to stop while both hands are occupied. :-) What I really like is to set the speed to barely turning, hit the FWD button while the tip of the bit is engaged, and then up the speed once it starts cutting.

But -- there are times when I would like to have a foot switch, perhaps just for stop.

Enjoy, DoN.

Reply to
DoN. Nichols
[ ... ]

Yes -- with the exception that changing belts is still necessary for high torque at low speeds, or for achieving top speed (if the combination of top belt speed and top VFD boost does not go too fast for the bearing in the mill. (Of course, with some mills, there is simply the variable speed crank on the pulleys. :-)

Enjoy, DoN.

Reply to
DoN. Nichols

Right. But the motor still defaults to reverse rotation so all I would need to do is step off of the switch, not toggle it. Eric

Reply to
etpm

PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.