Drill press adaptation

[Bill Studebaker]

I use a Micromark drill press with the digital readout and speed control, and have been very happy with it overall. The only glaring problem I have encountered was the height adjustment: it just seemed far too imprecise to unlock the collar, listen the locking wheel, raise or lower the head, tighten the locking wheel, and finally raise the collar and lock it.

So here's what I did.

I fabricated a lift mechanism that works like my giant floor drill press.

I removed the locking collar and mounted a block of brass (threaded to accept a I/4" threaded rod) to the back of the head. I then attached a guide to the top of the shaft to keep my lift rod vertical. ( note: this guide is not threaded.) I then cut a piece of rod slightly longer than the drill press column and attached a crank style handle to the end of it, passing this down through the guide and threading it thought the block. The bottom of the rod rests on the base: I drilled a small depression in the base to keep the rod from "wandering". Now I unlock the head, raise or lower it with the crank, then lock it into place. I later adapted a smaller drill press the same way, changing the location so as not to interfere with the internals of the case.

[ElgaKoster]

Clever idea Bill, thanks for sharing.

[GiseleH]

Thanks Bill, I am now adapting my Micromark drill press using your photos. It will greatly improve the performance and utility of my drill press. This site is offering so much already.

[Wm. R. Robertson]

Another thing you do is check how many threads per inch (tpi) your screw is. For example a standard American threaded rod would be 1/4-20 or 20 tpi. That means 20 turns equals 1" of movement, so 10 turns is a 1/2", 5 turns is 1/4", 1 turn is .050", a 1/2 turn is .025" etc. So, let's say you are making a molding, you take a test cut, measure it with your calipers and let's say you need to adjust another .010", just turn it 1/5 of a turn. You could even get fancy and mount a dial up there, just make sure you can easily zero it at any starting point.

[GiseleH]

Thank you for bringing this to my attention, never really thought about the measurement calculations.I will keep note of your calculations, saving me much time of figuring this myself.

[greenie]

If you use METRIC as a measurement, then use a 6mm X 1mm threaded rod, instead of the 1/4 inch.

 

That way, 1 turn of the raising handle, equals 1mm, either up or down.