Wanted: Advice on updating my Drill Press

[blame]

Ok I'm Still waiting on my Taps to come in on my other project i was thinking of updating my DP from a bench model without a table to a bench model with a table or floor model?.

whats the best table size? i was thinking 16" x 16".

would you add a fence? should it be removable or permenent?
would have to be adjustable

type of raise and lower mechanism? idealy i would like to use the gear meathod

length of travel for the table? depands on the length on the new shaft?
bench model should be 12" to 16"
floor model would be ?

whats the measurement of you guys with a floor model?

any advice would be great
thanks
blame

[LCHIEN]

ouch, I can see where a new DP would help a lot.
That one has no moveable table and very little clearance under the chuck so you are limited in the length of bit you can use and also in the height of the piece you can drill in (just flat objects, mostly). What you can drill doesn't get much support.
Looks like someone already raised the column a couple of inches.

A DP with adjustable height table (preferably with a rack and pinion lift) and a lot taller column would be nice.
A woodworking table mounted to the DP stock table of approx 24" wide by 12-20" deep would go a long way to supporting longer and wider pieces encountered in woodworking.

If you buy a new DP you need to learn the lingo:
Swing the main measurement given, a 12" DP has a swing of 12" which means it can drill to the center of a 12" workpiece because it has a column 6" from the drill axis. swings of 8, 10, 12, 13, 15, 16 are common, 8&10 are pretty small for woodworking unless you do real small projects.
Quill travel or stroke - how far the chuck will travel up and down.
Speeds 3, 5, 12, 16 speeds common. mostly by changing belts on pulleys. 3 & 5 have two pulley stacks, one belt 12 & 16 speeds have three pulley stacks and 2 belts.
HP - motor power - mostly suited for the size, 1/6, 1/3, 1/2 and up are common.

what's your objective - save money or get a real nice DP?

[sparkeyjames]

I'm quite happy with the one in the link below and I got a great price. ($127). Got it on sale plus a 15% off coupon. Normaly 189.99.Couldn't beat the price. Has a little vibration in it but link belts should take care of that. Very little run out and enough speed range (16 speeds) to be able to work with all sorts of materials.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=38142

sparkeyjames

[Russianwolf]

I recommend Microsoft's DP Professional with the Security Pack 2 (don't want your drill press getting any unwanted viruses).

Seriously, that looks like someone shortened the riser on it at some point in the past as I've never seen one that short or without an adjustable table.

I have a Ryobi bench model that was a goft from my daughter that is nice. and the price is right since it used to be $99 (might be cheaper now).

[blame]

hey guys thanks for the replies

i dont want a new DP i want to upgrade mine it has 16 speeds and and 3 1/2" spindel travel it just needs a table like thisone here
and rack and pinion lift for it
the place i work has a onsight complete metal shop with everything you could ever dream of needing to build anything, you name it its there and somebody knows how to use it or i have a neighbor thats is a knife and gun smith who has just about as much stuff as the machine shop at work
so i can get just about anything made for cheaper then buy a new one
it also has a 1 hp motor all the fetures of the bigger floor models just doesnt have a table

my main issue is i dont have room for a floor model DP but dont want to have to redo it later on down the road so do i scrap workbench space and go ahead and make it into the floor model or leave it a bench model and limit my usablity?

thanks blame

[lrr]

hey guys thanks for the replies

i dont want a new DP i want to upgrade mine it has 16 speeds and and 3 1/2" spindel travel it just needs a table like thisone here
and rack and pinion lift for it

[...]
thanks blame

The problem I see is that you are not going to easily fabricate a rack and pinion lift. You might be able to scrounge one from a cheap, Harbor Freight DP when they go on sale (usually for $39.99 or so). And you could scavenge the column, assuming they are the same diameter pipe. But, this seems like more trouble than it is worth. I guess it boils down to your desire to keep the DP head and the 1HP motor.

I think I'd take your existing DP, convert it to a horizontal boring machine or some other specialty tool, and buy a DP that does what you want.

If you do get it modified, I'd be interested to see what you are able to do with it.

Good luck!

[blame]

I think I'd take your existing DP, convert it to a horizontal boring machine or some other specialty tool, and buy a DP that does what you want.

If you do get it modified, I'd be interested to see what you are able to do with it.

Good luck!

hey now thats not a bad idea i'll have to think on this
blame

[LCHIEN]

hey guys thanks for the replies

i dont want a new DP i want to upgrade mine it has 16 speeds and and 3 1/2" spindel travel it just needs a table like thisone here
and rack and pinion lift for it

So you have a nice head (which is about 2/3 of a drill press), but lack the other 1/3.

If you upgrade what you have, you need to find/build a column to match what you have. You need a table mechanism that mounts to the specific dia. column (I don't think there is a standard dia) and the rack and pinion mechanism and right-left tilt for the table.

Then finally the woodworking table which is an add-on you pictured. $100 if bought but you can make your own relatively cheaply. I think that's the easy part.

The hard part will be the column and table mechanism which can be made surely if you have access to a machine shop, just a lot of work to make or find one that fits. No magic, just heavy duty castings and stuff, usually.

Looks old, no parts available from the mfg? Hard to believe it came with no table, I think that'd be unusual and maybe someone removed it along the way. (probably was used in production where they drilled the same part(s) repetitively, and cut the column to exact height and removed the table to avoid anything that might get moved or readjusted).

[blame]

my first thoughts about this spefic DP is that it was used in production some where for something

i got from my FIL who bought from a auction somewhere

it did have a crosslide table so it might just be a cheap version of a mill

i have not found anything on the net about yet but i'll research it
and see what i can come up with

i got get some sleep its 1:15 am and i have to be at work @ 7 am

thanks blame

yeah i'm tired