I went out today with a mirror and flashlight to look up into my 1/2" drillpress chuck to see how to detach it.
When I took out the drillbit, shavings fell out. I blew it out with air, and chucked up another bit. It ran a lot smoother than that one.
Soooooooooo, I think my drill press is not as big a POS as I once thought. I think I just need to pay attention to some of the obvious simple things that can cause fluctuations in machinery and measurements.
I still want a better one, but at least this one is running just a little better.
The strip on the side that has teeth on it is held in place with two conical rings, top and bottom, with Allen hex bolts. How hard would have it been to drill and tap two holes to keep this track from wandering around? Not a lot, but just one of the cheap characteristics of this machine.
At least I get some more experience drilling and tapping. Looks like it's time to go buy a drill and tap set. I love it when I can justify buying some new tool. (or better yet, a SET) I think I'll go open an account at Grainger again.
It's the same on my 17" Jet. I understood that to allow rotation of the table around the column while still retaining the rack in the table groove with the pinion. To retain the same functionality with a fixed rack would be complex (read expensive).
Great -- though you have to wonder how the chuck got filled with chips. Wait -- *shavings*? Wood shavings, not metal chips?
Actually -- it would have cost a lot *less* to mount it as you suggest -- but then you would not be able to swing the table to the side to handle either something with an awkward shape bolted to the table tilted over on its side, or to get it totally out of the way for drilling something large stood on the base of the drill press.
I far prefer it as it is designed -- and as mine happens to be (a 16-speed Taiwanese one from about 1977 or so.) And it has not broken in all those years, so they must have done *something* right. :-)
Have a look at eBay auction #180086523200 which someone else on this newsgroup won. This one uses a somewhat similar method for cranking the *head*, not the table up and down. (It is a radial arm drill press), but it has the rack gear ending in a big meaty collar which clamps to the column to prevent rotation when you don't want it, and to allow it when you do. You *could* add such a collar to what you have to allow locking the table from rotating around the column, at the cost of some travel in the table's range.
Another moral: -- what at first appears to be a deficiency may not be.
I guess there must be some reason why a fixed table axis and a rotatable head is not as good, but it escapes me. It seems simpler, cheaper, and handier to me.
1) Sometimes you may want to bolt the workpiece down to the base of the drill press. Being able to move the table allows you to keep the drill chuck centered over the base.
2) Swinging the head partially unbalances the drill press, since it is designed to bear the off-center weight on the base, which is longer than it is wide. Thus -- especially with an off-center load, you may topple the drill press.
Yes -- you *should* have it anchored to the shop floor -- however, how many of us *actually* have done that? (I know that I haven't. :-)
Thanks. I regret that I didn't live closer, and could have just dropped by and showed you. If you can find someone local and close, you can pick up more tips. But I got a feeling that you will just be moving on to other projects, and learning the best way ..... by burning rods.
I haven't drilled anything big and heavy enough yet to get into a balance problem. But when I do bolt the sliding vise and workpiece on the table, and have to move things around to get the center punched starting point right under the tip of the bit, all that maneuverability sure helps. One thing, though, that I learned on the first few drill holes is to watch and not drill holes in the table once you punch through the workpiece.
Yes, that was pointed out to me. Is it a good thing to keep the post oiled to help it move around, or just WD40 it when you're turning it, or just keep it clean, as the oiling and WD40ing would just cause dust and dirt to stick to it?
The aim of untold millions is to be free to do exactly as they choose and for someone else to pay when things go wrong.
In the past few decades, a peculiar and distinctive psychology has emerged in England. Gone are the civility, sturdy independence, and admirable stoicism that carried the English through the war years . It has been replaced by a constant whine of excuses, complaints, and special pleading. The collapse of the British character has been as swift and complete as the collapse of British power.
Since I've owned this drill press (and a little Cameron Micro Precision sensitive drill press) from new, I've managed to avoid drilling "oil" holes in either. But in part because I will usually use a drill press vise with the bit centered over a gap in the vise's bed, or I will support some kinds of workpieces on 2x4 -- where I don't
*care* if I drill into that a ways. :-)
A recent job involved a lot of drilling in an awkward shaped workpiece (steel -- 6" x 30" x 1/4" thick) from everywhere from near the middle to near the ends. What I did was bolt two 2x4s to the table sticking out far enough to one side so the whole length could be supported while drilling near the ends, and enough to keep the balance of the workpiece reasonable when drilling near the center. The 2x4s were attached via lag screws from under the table, and the tiny bit of the points which stuck through were kissed with an angle grinder to take them just below the surface of the wood. The two 2x4s were separated by the diameter of the center hole in the table and thus could provide a gap for the drill bit to protrude into for all of the holes. I did have to rotate the table a bit to bring the gap in line with the chuck when the table was offset a bit.
Since the workpiece was only being drilled #7 holes (for 1/4-20 tapping), and then being tapped with a TapMatic head, the weight of the and length of the workpiece, and the friction against the 2x4s was enough so I did not need to clamp it down, as I certainly would have done with larger holes.
Those 2x4s and their lag screws and fender washers are now kept near the drill press for the next time I have to do something like this. The other two sections of the 10' 2x4 were used under a composite workbench top to provide anti-tipping support for a 24" DiAcro bench shear -- secured to the 2x4s (which ran all the way from front to back of the table) with more lag screws.
I did once start with a virgin drill press at work, but as I was not the only one using it, it was not long before it started to grow an arc of dimples. :-)
I had seen too many with major arcs of dimples of various sizes, (and been offended by it) which is why I was so careful with my own drill presses.
I would use WD-40 and paper towels to clean the shipping preservative off the column, and then *protect* it with Vactra No. 2 waylube (which I have on hand anyway). WD-40 runs off to easily, and dries out too quickly, absorbing water as it does so, so it encourages rust if it is all you are using to protect the surface. And it is *way* too thin to offer much lubrication for something like moving a drill press table on the column.
Vactra No. 2 is a sticky enough lube so it will stay on the column.
If you're drilling something dirty, like cast iron, make a half-tube of cardboard to protect the column from the thrown grunge and chips -- or clean it off with WD-40 again, and re-lube with Vactra No. 2
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