A useful safety addition to the drill press

Obviously we all use a drill press vice or clamps to hold work safely on the drill press table, don't we?

The picture shows a useful tweak for when that isn't wanted. It's simply an aluminium post that's got an M12 thread up the lower end and a bolt to fix it to the table. It stops hand held items from whizzing around if the drill grabs and only needs to be done up hand tight, so it's simple to adjust.

The good thing about this example is that it wasn't even designed for the job. I'd used it as part of a jig when holding things in a hex collet block on the milling machine to drill holes at 120° intervals around their peripheries. When I get around to it, I might make a custom T bolt for it, but for now it works perfectly well with the hex-headed bolt and washer.

Picture's a bit limited, but I just snapped it on the phone tonight after using it.

Edited By Mark Rand on 29/08/2018 21:05:29

When using a drill vice which all tend to have a long cylindrical handle I just place the vice so that the handle is up against the drills column and that will stop it from spinning should the work grab.

My drill vice handle is nowhere near long enough to reach the pillar. About 25 years ago the mole grip style clamp suddenly appeared on all the stalls at the ME show and I got one that has never left the drill table since. I vote for it as the most useful tool in the shed especially as being clamped to the table it never goes missing.

I went for the mole grip idea as well. There was an article in MEW 202, May 2013 on how to convert an old wrench. Not too much work but the finished article is quite cheap to buy!

My effort above and documented build *** HERE ***

John

Hell,have you guys got no sense of adventure ?

What could be better than trying to work out where the job is heading,once it has taken off ?

Works well,if you are a good dancer !!

Still,a vise does come in handy,at times .!

I also use some of those toggle style clamps but there have been times where i have found i can't get one fixed to the table where i need it as the piece i'm drilling gets in the way but they do have the advantage of stopping the part lifting as the drill breaks through .

I like marks idea as it is simple to use and the post can be made shorter to allow the workpiece to overhang it if it's mounted in a vise .

That reminds me , i have some accesories to make for my drill press - after i finish a mountain of other projects !

I've got lots of vices, but not for a drill press, so no, I don't use one.

Andrew

I bought my clamp rather than convert an existing one and found the standard ring nut slow and awkward to use. The problem was solved by making a quick nut; close inspection of the second picture will show the relief to the thread which allows instant tighteneing and loosening.

For some things a bolt dropped through a slot in the vice and a slot in the table will be enough, also the handle on the column trick works well, especially with the basic drill vices

Depends what it is, probably could count on one hand the number of times clamped a part on a drill table the last 27 years.

Just press harder on the job, if cant hold it let go.
Whereas against a stop it will torque off, job will still go flying and break the drill.
Obviously wouldnt be drilling or reaming deep holes with larger diameters, 1/8" MS easy on to sub 1/4" dia.

I suspect the drilling machine would easily come top of the table for machine accidents. I still have a clear image in my mind from the apprentice induction safety lecture 46 years ago. A finger and the tendons from the forearm were laid on the table of the machine, the person who used to be attached to the finger had worn gloves while using the machine and got caught by the drill bit. If the work or vice is not constrained from lifting or rotating you need to have a plan of how to get out of the situation, using a post or the machine column can be useful to contain rotation but breakthrough on thinner material often screws the work up the drill and letting go can be difficult. A stomp, knee or head operated estop can be handy but using it means you have failed to work safely. As it is difficult to not have some of your delicate parts in the firing line of a drilling disaster then having some work holding options readily available to avoid using the five digit clamp is useful.

Mike

Drilling thin sheet metal must be one of the most dangerous jobs on a bench drill . . . once it snags on breakthrough it becomes a rotary slasher

Obviously I don't speak from personal experience . . .

Well, it was a long time ago

Mike.

(must get one of those toggle clamps)

Edited By Farmboy on 30/08/2018 22:52:49

Got a cheap x y vice mounted to the base of my Fobco drill, use for 99% of my drilling jobs, easy enough to remove if a larger item is needed to be drilled. Easy to move co-ordinates too.

Use the Dore Westbury mill if more than usual precision is required.

As an apprentice, we were required to make a machine table clamp about 5" long. Fast-forward several years and it found a home on my pillar drill, being too big to use anywhere else in my workshop. As it's always there ready to go, I almost always use it when I need to drill something.

Here it is lurking behind the finger plate (sorry, it was the best photo I could find)

Edited By David T on 30/08/2018 23:11:56

I liked Mark's idea for a stop to prevent work spinning round when drilling, so I turned one up out of a piece of Alli. Then I though why only one stop so I turned up another one so the two together make an adjustable back to slide work along when drilling a one or more holes on a common line.

Some wise words regarding drilling machine safety. The most used drilling machine in my workshop is a "Pollard Corona". I have (permanently) bolted an XY table to the drills worktable, on that there is a cheap machine vice, one that will open to near 6". This means that most of what I drill will be held safely and conveniently in the vice, no excuse to take a chance on using the "five finger clamp"! There is sufficient room on the other end of the table to clamp work that that the vice cannot grip.

Incidentally, the XY table has an old "Ortec" DRO fitted, I find this so useful in that there is no need to spend time marking out.

John

This is a useful gadget for holding small, and especially thin, pieces. Very low-tech.

When the base is drilled out get another bit of mdf and make a new one.

I came across this in Burghardt's Machine Tool Operation. It must be the only book I've read that doesn't insist on the work being firmly clamped down.