Tuning up a drill press?

L6steel

L6steel

Joined
Sep 23, 1999
Messages
5,855
Is there any way to tune up a drill press and make it even close to as accurate as a mill or is it a waste of time? Thanks!!
 
Michael, the only thing i did to my drill press
was put a dial indicator in the chuck an true
up the table. An that won`t do you much good
if your spindle isn`t tight
 
I have not tried it for steel but I do put in a wood router bit and use mine to route out the inside of wooden knife cases from solid slabs of wood.

The bearings are not designed for side thrust in a lot of drills so I cant say how it wold go with steel.

The only other thing I did wAs put a flat sanding disk in the chuck.
That did not work well the sand paper tore off and the disk flexed. Just luck on this occasion it actually tapered my hand for me, but I gave it up as a plan.

If you sucseed let us know.

I also use the drill as a vertical lathe for small knobs. I put the metal in the chuck and use files to shape not a cuting bit.
 
I have a older drill press that has a spindle lock I believe they were designed to to light milling.I have used it to mill out rifle stocks and it worked well.Most of the newer models are built considerably lighter also the bearings are not designed for lateral loads.
 
I wasn't planning in using my drill press as a mill, I have a milling machine. I just want to tighten and tune the press up so the holes I drill with it are truer and so it has less potential wobble. Guess I better save up and buy one of those $400 Harbor Freight mills.
 
If your bearings are good closely check your chuck, or replace it with a high quality one.My newer drill press is not near as accurated as my older one.
 
Michael, after truing your table with an dial test indicator, or the lower tech bent piece of wire, you can use a piece of drill rod in your chuck to test for square and if you really want to get crazy check run out. Aside form this kind of stuff; sharp quality drills make a big difference.
 
Thanks Andrew!
I bought a new Jacobs chuck but I can't figure out how the old chuck comes off and I don't want to bugger my press up so I haven't replaced it yet. I have the table squared up, I've just noticed a big difference between holes I drill on my press and my mill. I'd use my mill all the time except it's a mini mill and has a spinner handle that lowers the spindle, not a crank like a drill press and it just seems to take alot longer. Maybe I need to learn some patience. It sure has been worth using the mill for my folder pivot and stop pin holes. Don't know why it would be such a leap to use it for my bolster and handle screw holes too.
I think I'm going to buy some metric drill bits that are closer to the actual size of the shaft of the screws I'm using too. Maybe that will help tighten things up a little more.
Thanks for the tips guys!
 
Micheal,

I have a small mill. I made digital read outs for axies. It would not be difficult to do for your drill press to put one on its Z axis (the chuck direction). I used inexpensive digital calipers. They cost me about 38 bucks a piece. I needed three, three axies. I would be very happy to send pics of my efforts to you if you like. There is one thing a mill and a press have in commen - that is the Z-axis. If you put a X-Y table on your press you can put them on those axies also. The calipers of the instument need to be cut off and it needs to be attached solidly inorder to get accurate readings when coming back to previous positions without getting a backlash effect. All in all, one DRO for your Z-axis should cost you about 40 bucks plus some effort on your part. If interested, email me if you want pics sent to you or ask here and I will post for all of us.

Roger
 
Roger,I'd like to see some pix of your set up, email them to L6steel@aol.com, please. I plan on getting some DRO's to put on my mill as soon as the money is available. Saw alot of em on Ebay for what looked like a great price. Just have to figure out how to mount them on the mill.
 
Michael, most drill press chucks are taper mounted. A few smaller models I've use a screw in the back inside just like a hand drill. My Delta is 33J. There is a tool that is made to remove a taper chuck. It is two wedges that ride over each other to push the chuck off from above. I've only seen the wedges in catalogs, but never used any. You might be able to us a single home made wedge; moving it around to slowly break the taper tension.

Rodger, I'd be interested in seeing your mill set-up. Consider posting pics here for all to see.
 
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