adjusting drill press lash

[david brum]

Hi all

I have an '80s vintage Taiwanese floor style drill press. Acceptable tolerances, etc. It has worked fine for many years until now. I bought a DP mortising kit which clamps to the shaft column. Now I notice that there are 1 or 2 degrees of lash in the column. I would have never noticed with round bits, but having a mortising chisel pivot during the cut makes a really messy mortise.

There seems to be a keyway on the column. Can anybody tell me how to adjust the play out of this? I did some online searching and found virtually no info on adjusting this. I have enough projects already without disassembling my drill press to see how it works. My owner's manual is long gone.

Please note, I already have a bench mortiser, but was hoping to replace it with this attachment. I always have any xy vice on the table anyway, so attaching the mortiser takes 2-3 minutes, tops. It actually works really well except the the mortise walls which currently look like they were make with a screwdriver.

[Bill McDermott]

David - Same issue here. The only way to remove the rotational play was to tighten things to the point that it bound up the desired movement. Now I simply remove the play by rotating before each plunge. Suboptimal, but it keeps things in line off a consistent reference.

[david brum]

Thanks for the response Bill. So, you rotate the mortiser head before each cut and let it counter-rotate during the cut? That makes sense, but seems like a pain and something I'd forget to do. Have you had your DP apart to see if a wider key could be fitted?

[david brum]

Latest report:

I ended up taking out the shaft, very easy to do. It turns out that the key is nothing more than a mild steel machine screw which is threaded through the head. It has the sides filed down to create a sloppy fit into the keyway. In order to tighten the play, you rotate the screw so that it binds diagonally in the keyway. It is possible to remove most of the play, however the play will come back as soon as the screw wears. Sigh. At least most of the play is gone for now.

[John Coloccia]

I would keep the bench mortiser. In fact, I'm in the market for a mortiser myself because doing it on the drill press isn't optimal.

[Mike Harrison]

why not just put the X-Y vise on the mortis machine?

[david brum]

why not just put the X-Y vise on the mortis machine?

Good question Mike. I have a set up exactly like yours already. I was hoping to eliminate a machine from my shop and gain myself a few square feet of space. I got the DP mortiser for $12, so thought I'd experiment.

[Kent A Bathurst]

........ doing it on the drill press isn't optimal.

+1

Round-trip setup + alignment on DP takes kinda long, for "sub-optimal" operation. Would never get rid of my mortiser, even tho it might sit there for a couple months at a time making no chips - when it does make 'em, it makes 'em correctly.

[Chip Lindley]

...I was hoping to eliminate a machine from my shop and gain myself a few square feet of space. I got the DP mortiser for $12, so thought I'd experiment.

...and while you are saving a bit of shop space, a DP is needed to bore a hole while it is set up as a mortiser. Tear it down back to the DP mode...bore a hole or two...set up the mortise attachment again...oops, forgot to bore one more hole... Those tabletop mortisers are small enough to be hung on the wall, or tucked under a bench when not needed.

Best of both worlds? Put your DP on casters, and mount an auxillary table off the rear of the DP column. Bolt the mortising machine there. 180 degrees gives a whole new persepective on mortising.

[david brum]

OK, I give up. The only way to get the play out of the DP does in fact create enough friction to make it unfeasible. These drill presses just weren't designed for this type of work. I knew that, but needed to see for myself. I'll grudgingly stick with my mortiser. Anybody want a good deal on a mortising attachment?

[Rod Sheridan]

OK, I give up. The only way to get the play out of the DP does in fact create enough friction to make it unfeasible. These drill presses just weren't designed for this type of work. I knew that, but needed to see for myself. I'll grudgingly stick with my mortiser. Anybody want a good deal on a mortising attachment?

I gave mine to someone I didn't like

Regards, Rod.

[david brum]

Ooh, good idea. I'll start making a list.