Drill press?

[LouieAtienza]

Originally Posted by murrmac123

That is indeed the most annoying feature of these drill presses... I have never been able to figure out a wholly satisfactory solution.

I just used a hose clamp at the top and bottom. Alas, no more free standing drill press for me.

[murrmac123]

Originally Posted by LouieAtienza

I just used a hose clamp at the top and bottom. Alas, no more free standing drill press for me.

Louie, i think we might be talking at cross purposes here. The annoying thing to which I was alluding was the inevitable tendency ( on the Chinese built floor standing drill presses with a rack and pinion rise and fall mechanism) , for the table to swivel about when the lock is released, so that when you lower the table to fit a larger drill to open out a pilot hole , you have to mess around getting the center relocated, which is a pain if you are drilling multiple holes in the workpiece against a fence .

I don't know who the high-end American manufacturers are, but over here Meddings drill presses set the benchmark for quality and precision. These drill presses have a keyway milled the length of the column so that when you lower or raise the table it stays in the exact same orientation in relation to the quill.

The only solution I ever managed to come up with on my Chinese Craftsman drill press was to have a point marked on the wall behind the drill press and a stick which went from the point on the wall to a marked point on the drill press table... that way at least I could release the lock , swivel the table and relocate it exactly.

I do see how a hose clip could act as an accurate stop as far as height and depth are concerned ...

[Hot Vibrato]

Originally Posted by Bowie

Glad to see this thread as I'm getting to the point where I need a press. Not to hijack, but this seems like it might be a relevant question here; what should one watch out for when purchasing a cheapie press from someplace like Harbor Freight? I normally wouldn't buy any serious tool from a place like that but my needs are such that it's the only way to make this purchase justifiable for occasional use (3 or 4 small projects a year).

The thing to be concerned about when buying a large power tool from Harbor Freight is parts availability. I wouldn't necessarily count on them having parts available in ten or fifteen years.

If you are on a budget, Grizzly tools is a great choice. Similar prices for their budget models compared to Harbor Freight, but Grizzly's product support is top notch, and parts are available even for their discontinued models..

I'm not knocking Harbor Freight. It's hard for me to walk in there and not spend at least $100. However, many of the things I buy from Harbor Freight I consider disposable. But a large power tool is for life. Buy it from a manufacturer who will still have parts available years from now.

[tadol]

Originally Posted by murrmac123

on the Chinese built floor standing drill presses with a rack and pinion rise and fall mechanism) , for the table to swivel about when the lock is released,
I do see how a hose clip could act as an accurate stop as far as height and depth are concerned ...

If I may - its not uncommon to see people put hose clamps at the top and bottom of the rack gear to lock it against the column, which will minimize the side to side movement in the table when raising and lowering, but doesn't elminate it, and there is still enough slop in the mechanism to prevent accurate alignment after lowering and raising the table, but it does improve it. Not seen a Meddings drill press, but sound nice and will have to look them up and see what they make -

As far as I'm concerned, the only way to maintain accurate alignment with a fence or jig, is to lock the table in place, and add spacer blocks to the table or jig assembly to lift the workpiece so it meets the bit - pins, to maintain alignment as the assembly gets taller, is the only way to go -

[charles Tauber]

Originally Posted by murrmac123

The only solution I ever managed to come up with on my Chinese Craftsman drill press was to have a point marked on the wall behind the drill press and a stick which went from the point on the wall to a marked point on the drill press table... that way at least I could release the lock , swivel the table and relocate it exactly.

I wasn't aware that (some) drill presses with rack and pinion height adjustment of the table didn't have keyways or other attachment of the rack to the vertical column of the press.

Couldn't you drill a hole through the rack and the vertical column and insert an alignment pin to prevent lateral movement of the rack? Or, drill and tap a hole in the column and a matching hole in the rack and bolt the rack to the column?

[murrmac123]

Originally Posted by charles Tauber

I wasn't aware that (some) drill presses with rack and pinion height adjustment of the table didn't have keyways or other attachment of the rack to the vertical column of the press.

The rack on these drill presses is held loosely at the top and the bottom in a collar and is free to move around the center column, although always maintaining alignment with the pinion, admittedly.

Couldn't you drill a hole through the rack and the vertical column and insert an alignment pin to prevent lateral movement of the rack? Or, drill and tap a hole in the column and a matching hole in the rack and bolt the rack to the column?

Good suggestion. I will have a look at my Craftsman drill press tomorrow morning and report back.

EDIT : there are, of course, times when you actually do want to be able to move the table out of the way ...

[yellowesty]

"there are, of course, times when you actually do want to be able to move the table out of the way"

For me at least, there are many more times when I want the rack to rotate when I shift the table than when I want it to remain rigidly fixed. So I'm pleased that drill presses are made as they are. (Since they are made as they are, I may not be alone in my preferences.)

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by yellowesty

"there are, of course, times when you actually do want to be able to move the table out of the way"

For me at least, there are many more times when I want the rack to rotate when I shift the table than when I want it to remain rigidly fixed. So I'm pleased that drill presses are made as they are. (Since they are made as they are, I may not be alone in my preferences.)

There are many times I pull the extension table off mine and swing it around to facilitate clamping the work to the rigid sides of the table. sometimes it's just the quickest, easiest, and safest way to perform an operation.

In that respect I'm also glad that there isn't anything to impede freely rotating the table around the column.