Bench/Pillar Drill

Pete Howlett · Nov 22, 2018

The central machine in most home shops in the US is the table saw, often operated (remarkably safely) without crown guard or riving knife. If I could only have one machine for cutting it's not an obvious choice because it won't do curved cuts - something a bandsaw can do along with passable straight ones (that will need 'cleaning' up`).

If I only had space for and could just afford one more machine it would be a bench/pillar drill with a rise and fall table. My Friday noon (BST) lecture at fb.me/petehowlettukulele is all about how this machine can have roles other than drilling that make it an obvious second pick for the essential tool kit. And yes, I will be demonstrating my $5 thickness sander....

DPO · Nov 23, 2018

Pete, I am a non FB adherent for various reasons, sometimes your videos are available to me and sometimes not. This one is a not.

Timbuck · Nov 23, 2018

One of the main problems in using a drill press for other things rather than drilling holes as it was designed for, is that the bearings and spindle are not strong enough to stand up to the side pressure imposed when using the machine for spindle sanding and safe-t planer operations ..But this can be overcome with a few modifications as this video shows https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3menFwDDFOI

Pete Howlett · Nov 23, 2018

Brilliant link Ken. Will be sending you an email...

sequoia · Nov 24, 2018

Timbuck said:
One of the main problems in using a drill press for other things rather than drilling holes as it was designed for, is that the bearings and spindle are not strong enough to stand up to the side pressure imposed when using the machine for spindle sanding and safe-t planer operations

This is so true Ken. Using tools to do operations for which they are not designed can/will damage them. I use my drill press for sanding radiused blocks using a sanding spindle. Over time the amount of "play" has increased due to damage to the bearings. I compensate for this by tilting the table ever so slightly so that the spindle is plumb when pressure is applied. However, the piece being sanded has to be at exact right angles to the plane of the tilt or... You know. New bearings in my future.

Pete Howlett · Nov 24, 2018

The thing is, if you are using a bench drill ALL THE TIME to do these other operations you are going to punish it. What I am doing is offering a solution for the hobby builder who can't afford to splash out $2000+ on a good thickness sander and bobbin sander. Please watch the Lecture here:

This is unscripted so there are errors. However I am trying to fulfil a promise I made on this forum over 6 years ago and I'm doing the best I can. It is the way I build and NOT the way TO build - two different things. I hope you like it.

PS: I have explained several times why I use Facebook as the delivery platform for my content. For clarification they are as follows:

I have no interest in using Youtube because of the amount of competing content
I can control the standard of comment on Facebook
I am recording in 720dpi - minimum for good quality casting Youtube is 1280
My main audience is on Facebook

I can't please everybody. if you cannot view it, ask if you can use your partner's account - they will have one

DPO · Nov 24, 2018

I have been using my cheapo Ryobi drill press to sand banjo uke bodies on a pattern sander for over five years, and it is still going strong. You can eliminate much of the side pressure by fixing a stop for the bearing to run against on the opposite side of where the pressure is coming from if you get what I mean. I also have four or five of your thickness sanders Pete in different grits, they do all I want them to do.

saltytri · Nov 24, 2018

Many drill presses use a Morse taper male shank that is attached to the chuck and then jammed up into a corresponding female Morse taper socket in the spindle. The taper is very gradual so that friction keeps the parts engaged. When drilling, the force is vertical and increases the friction, tending to keep the chuck firmly attached to the spindle. If this kind of drill press is used with a tool such as a milling cutter or a sanding drum, the side load can loosen the Morse taper joint. Many milling machines also use a Morse taper, with the critical difference that the Morse taper joint is positively held in place by a threaded rod called a draw bar. Though there may be exceptions, I've never seen a Morse taper drill press that uses a draw bar. For all I know, big commercial drill presses may be built this way but if you have it in your shop it probably isn't.

This is entirely separate from the issue of side loading the bearings.

Although there may be differing opinions that will be voiced here, most machinists consider it dangerous to side load a Morse taper attachment that lacks a draw bar. The fact that you or someone you know has gotten away with it doesn't make the practice safe. You don't want to be in the room when a chuck separates from its spindle.

Please friends, Safety First!

Pete Howlett · Nov 24, 2018

Well I have had that happen when I have been drilling and it just drops down. I think you're overthinking this. I am not advocating that these ideas are the vanguard of the replacement for tools that do their jobs. As a British artisan maker I absolutely cringe when I see US artisans glibly cutting work on a table saw with no riving knife or crown guard. There is more likelihood for accident with this machine than occasionally using a drill as a sander - sales of Sawstop machines prove this. And I know there will be a tsunami like flood of attacks on my dislike of unguarded table saws but it is what it is. I find it frightening to watch someone pass their hand either side of a large piece of sheet material on a table saw then draw the waste backwards towards them, or deep saw some 10/4 lumber that has the potential to bind the back of the blade, bow or spring and then kick-back! And it is for this very reason I emphasise the safety precautions necessary and explain that this is a solution for the hobby builder who may occasionally use his or her drill like this. You wanna do this for a living? Spend some money on a professional dedicated machine. I have no argument there.

DPO · Nov 24, 2018

saltytri said:
Many drill presses use a Morse taper male shank that is attached to the chuck and then jammed up into a corresponding female Morse taper socket in the spindle. The taper is very gradual so that friction keeps the parts engaged. When drilling, the force is vertical and increases the friction, tending to keep the chuck firmly attached to the spindle. If this kind of drill press is used with a tool such as a milling cutter or a sanding drum, the side load can loosen the Morse taper joint. Many milling machines also use a Morse taper, with the critical difference that the Morse taper joint is positively held in place by a threaded rod called a draw bar. Though there may be exceptions, I've never seen a Morse taper drill press that uses a draw bar. For all I know, big commercial drill presses may be built this way but if you have it in your shop it probably isn't.

This is entirely separate from the issue of side loading the bearings.

Although there may be differing opinions that will be voiced here, most machinists consider it dangerous to side load a Morse taper attachment that lacks a draw bar. The fact that you or someone you know has gotten away with it doesn't make the practice safe. You don't want to be in the room when a chuck separates from its spindle.

Please friends, Safety First!

Mine has dropped out twice in over five years. Nothing dramatic happens, it simply drops out.

Bench/Pillar Drill

Pete Howlett

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DPO

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Timbuck

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Pete Howlett

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sequoia

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Pete Howlett

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DPO

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saltytri

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Pete Howlett

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DPO

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