Drill Press

My budget drill press now as quite a lot of play on the spindle so I,m thinking of purchasing a new one front to back lenght is a consideration, can stretch to £200 so any suggestions ?

Cheers H

Hello Harry,

If the budget drill press served your needs for a reasonable time, perhaps another similar one will serve too. If the play is in the spindle itself, it might just need new bearings or bushes.

If the play is in the body, you might like to machine the body itself and make an insert. All good fun things to be doing while looking for a new one.

Jim Cahill

heronmeadows.com

If the play is not the bearings but the fit of the quill then there has been at least one article in ME about modifying the holes the rack pinion shaft runs in to take slightly eccentric sleeves. Then the pinion can be adjusted to push A

As for replacements the are often Meddings and Startrites etc available in your budget but might be showing signs of age. Perhaps worth a temporary fix while you look for something near you that you can check before purchase. Another possibility if you have room is some small 1/4 in capacity ancient no name perhaps home made drill that you use for pilot drilling. That's what I do and keep a 3mm permanently in it. The opposite from the guys who will come on in minute and say they just use a milling machine as a drill press.

Lol......how true..... But an expensive drill press or tapping guide, none the less...

Edited By John Rudd on 04/04/2017 14:19:21

Hello maybe should have said the play is in the quill, I have seen a couple of articles on boring out the casing but I don't have the means to do so also I find the 350W motor very prone to stall Ok I could maybe change the motor but all in all thought maybe an up grade was in order.

Jim thinking about your comment thinking about it hasn't do what I would call a reasonable amount of work.

H

It's possible to split the base of the casting and fit a screw to nip it up. This has worked for some people.

My Clarke CDP302B from Machine Mart is slop free and the table is very robust (no droop!) but it takes up a lot of space at nearly a metre tall and 410mm front to back. A lot more rigid than the budget Clarke one which nonetheless I used happily for over sixteen years!

Neil

Thanks for the info Neil

H

For the stick they get on this forum, Clarke do pretty robust things at low prices, there's no way I could afford to splash 1k on a bandsaw for eg..

If this was years ago I'd have no choice but to hacksaw it.

Michael W

Hi Harry,

Whereabouts are you in the country? Depending on what the front to back limitation is, I may have just what you need! I am north of York.

I will send you a message with pictures.

Regards,

John

I'm in the West Midlands so bit of a ride

H

Pop round Harry got an old Nutool DP16/12 barely run in, unused for the last 24 yrs.

Has a 3/4hp Brooke Compton motor standard issue and thick column, just needs a plug.