Drill press locking device?

[Lynn Reid]

Hi. I want to lock my drill press so that the table will go straight up and down and not side to side. I'm thinking some sort of ring to clamp on the post to hold the geared strap in one position...but still allow it to be raised and lowered.

I have searched for such a device but cant find the right search terms...or such a device isn't made. Anyone got any ideas? Or can you direct me to such a thing? Thanks!!

Lynn

[pat warner]

If holding center as you raise/lower table is your goal don't expect an accessory to do this.
The rack/pinion table ht. changers will keep your table somewhat alined but no chance of precision.

[Eddie Darby]

If you are trying to maintain your table orientation to the drill chuck, then try some scratch lines in the column.

[Harvey Melvin Richards]

On one of my drill presses this could be accomplished by attaching the correct size band clamp around the rack, probably one at the top and one at the bottom.

edit: This would keep the table mostly in line, there would be play due to the looseness of the rack and gear.

On my other drill press there is no height adjustment mechanism for the table, so it would be difficult.

[Lynn Reid]

The issue was boring then counterboring...one bit would fit then there wasnt enough room to fit the other in the chuck. I think youre right about precision...now that I think about it...it just wouldnt happen. Well...maybe if you locked the thing down...but I do need it to swivel sometimes. I didnt use a scratch line...I put a Sharpee mark on the column and it gets it close.

Im wondering if a laser guide will be dead on after you raise or lower the table or swivel it out of position. Thanks again!

[Richard Dooling]

2 cents:

I just acquired a drill press with a laser cross hair. I really thought this was a joke and didn't care one way or the other but most larger newer machines have them now.

This is a great convenience as it turns out but in your case the cross hair would "get lost" in the interior of the initial bore. For a small enough drill bit it would get you close, but probably no better than what you are doing now.

Raising and lower the table does not effect the accuracy except by virtue of the fact that any error is magnified the further away from the source you are.

.

[Kevin Groenke]

Perhaps one could drill and tap a hole through the rack and the column? This would probably work best near the top of the rack.

put a thumbscrew (or even a spring plunger) in the hole and you could quickly unlock the rack on occasions when you do need to rotate the table.

Another possibility is to use/adapt/make a shaft collar, though integrating the rack may be tricky.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#split-collars/=6w3eiw

-kg

[glenn bradley]

I have some boards of different thickness and a decent size stacked near the DP. If I am doing something that requires the sort of activity you describe, I put a 1" thick board on my table, clamp the work, drill the hole, remove the board thereby dropping the table 1", change bits, replace board, clamp, drill, repeat. A little basic but, functional. For everything else I have a scratch-awl mark up the column.

[pat warner]

"activity you describe, I put a 1" thick board on my table, clamp the work, drill the hole, remove the board thereby dropping the table 1", change bits, replace board, clamp, drill, repeat."
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And after removing the sub-flooring, how do you get the work back to the same exact spot?
Scibelines, fences?

[Eric Gustafson]

I drill all my pilots using flip stops or pieces of wood to index multiple holes. Then I raise the table for the countersink. The first hole I line up using a shortened drill bit or rod the same diameter as the previous drill bit. Then back to the indexing.

[John Coloccia]

I'm able to get the laser line on mine aligned so that it's accurate in the range that I move my table. The problem is that the line is too thick to be as precise as I'd like it. Where the two lines cross is relatively wide, and I do better lining it up by eye with a brad point bit or one of my starter bits.

The laser line on my miter saw is a different matter. I have it lined up so that the LEFT side of the line is precisely where the saw will cut. The right side is always my cutoff. If I need it more precisely than that, I line up the kerf with the laser turned off.

[glenn bradley]

"activity you describe, I put a 1" thick board on my table, clamp the work, drill the hole, remove the board thereby dropping the table 1", change bits, replace board, clamp, drill, repeat."
*********************************
And after removing the sub-flooring, how do you get the work back to the same exact spot?
Scibelines, fences?

Correct, and thanks for helping me be complete . Fence and stop block(s) to register the material. Your example of using setup blocks to set the depth of plunge routers was one of the ideas that got me more into stops and setup blocks for measuring, rather than a rule and pencil. The boards to raise and lower material on the DP are just an extension of this sort of method.

BTW, I still brag to anyone who'll listen about the router bases I got from you. Real quality stuff Pat. Thanks.