drill press question

gull wing

gull wing

Joined
May 4, 2002
Messages
2,536
I know a lot of questions have been ask about drill presses,
but I don't recall this one.
I have 9 year old Delta bench top with a wobble problem.
In testing it,I fastened a 1/4" rod in the chuck,and lowered the
quill. There is play at the QUILL area. No play in the bearings that I can see.
Is there a FIX for this? Or a NEW one the only solution.
Lately my folders were not laying in center closed and had a
little play in the open position.
 
I dont know about the fix for the drill press but know that folders have to be very flat or you run into problems you are describing later down the road. In my knife making beginning I thought my new drill press was set up flat. After a few folders I found out the table was off tilt a little. An easy way is to put a bent piece of stiff wire in the chuck, raise the table to the wire. I then put white baby powder on the table and hand spin it to see if its running true. This is the crude way unless you have a guage that you can chuck in and check the level of the table to the thousandth.

Also ways of cheating the off center blade is to vary washer thickness from side to side. I use .020 teflon on both sides and sometimes it doesnt sit right. I can then put a .015 and .025 or use .010 and .030 to get the blade to center up. Hard to notice a few thousandths by eye but an off center blade stands out.

As far as a little play. Is this side to side or up and down? Side to side needs to be tightened and up and down is an incorrect lock. I only know about liner locks and can tell you if the liner isnt positioned correctly the blade will rock. There a 3 points of interest on the liner lock. The pivot pin, the backspacer pin and the point the liner lock meets the back of the blade. The third one is the most important. It has to only catch the blade at the very outside point so it sort of pinches it and it wont wobble. If it pinches it too low on the back of the blade bevel it will rock all day long. Hope some of this helps if it applies to your questions.
 
I agree. I have a 22year old Taiwanese floor model drill press. Awhile back, it started wobbling real bad, using a 1/2" drill bit was dangerous. I got a keyless chuck from Grizzly and it was better than new. Ran truer than the day I bought it.:eek:
 
As others said, replacing the factory chuck can often improve accuracy.

The aftermarket precision keyless chucks are a joy to use. Think the self tightening ones are the best and use them for up to 1/2" diam. drills. Never had a drill chewed by the chuck with these!

Maybe some of the high end keyed chucks would work just as well but are sort of costly.
 
Thank you kindly for your reply.
Knowledge is not easily attained and it is harder to pass on.
 
Check the chuck for tightness first, some have a screw holding it in, open the chuck fully and look up inside. Also check for crap inside the chuck. A new chuck will probably help anyway.

Look at the casting around the quill area, is there a screw(s) with a locknut there? This may be a "gib" adjustment. Clean out and oil first!!!! Hold the screw and loosen the locknut, make a VERY, VERY SMALL turn in, snug up the locknut while holding the screw. Test the quill movement for side slop over the entire range of travel. Looseness at small extentions, getting "tighter" approaching full out indicates dirt(clean out and oil) or uneven wear in the gib. Make many small adjustments so you don't lose the recipe here. attempt to remove all the slop and retain a smooth travel. With 2 screws (top and bottom) you can sometimes compensate for uneven wear.

Just GO SLOW, if you attempt any gib adjustment on any tool. Clean and lube first. Tighten locknuts and test over the FULL range of travel, EVERY time. One gonzo turn and you can wreck your day getting it back.

If in doubt, just send the offending tool to me, all donations cheerfully accepted
 
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