zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I sold my 15" Wilton drill press last week and replaced it with a 20" Jet. Both were floor models but the 15" Wilton had a small table with the four slots that were machined and went all the way through. My new Jet has a much larger table and does not have the through slots, just the "T" slots like a mill table. At first I thought to myself this is going to be a bigger negative than it actually turned out to be.
I am used to using a small drill press vise and merely locking/wedging it against the column of the drill press to keep from spinning or rotating out of my hands for safety. Well with the larger throat on the 20" drill press the vise now is further away from the column. Last night I had to drill a few holes for a small repair that I was doing and it got the better of me, I decided to address this and come up with a solution.
About six years ago I had picked up a couple of the 4" Vise Grip brand half locking clamps that have the large washer and wingnut on the bottom. These are designed to drop through the 1/2" or 5/8" slots in the drill press table and put the wingnut on from the bottom, you can then clamp your work or the vise against the table. I have used them alot and they work great. However, now with the "T" slots on the new larger table they wouldn't work. I almost let them go with the drill press when I sold it because the guy that bought my 15" Wilton was admiring them but for the price I sold the drill press there was no way I was going to give the clamps away.
I did not want to keep using the "T" nuts, blocks and clamps like I use for my mill table merely because the setup time to drill a quick hole made it too slow of a process. I wanted something that would quickly lock the workpiece down safely. My experience has been if it is quick and simple it is more likely to be used on a regular basis, if it takes too long to setup then there will be a time when it is not used and that will be the one that bites you in the ***. I came up with a quick solution and thought I would pass it along just in case someone else has a similar issue.
I machined two spacers that were the depth and width of the "T" slots plus a few thousands so they would slide through the "T" channels with relative ease. I used a piece of 3/4" cold rolled round bar and machined a step down to .580" so it would slide in the .590" wide channel. I then drilled and tapped the pieces to accomodate the 1/2-13 thread of the half clamp.
Here is one of the pieces threaded and ready to install next to the other clamp which already has the part installed.
Here is the clamp slid in place in the "T" slot and ready to clamp the workpiece down.
While I was at it I also machined a stop that would slide into the "T" channel merely to lock the part against or the vise, not necessarily to lock it to the table just to keep it from spinning if the bit grabs.
This piece is machined so the groove will snugly fit and you can just slide it to the position you want and then the work will lock against it.
Here it is in the "T" slot.
Mike.
I am used to using a small drill press vise and merely locking/wedging it against the column of the drill press to keep from spinning or rotating out of my hands for safety. Well with the larger throat on the 20" drill press the vise now is further away from the column. Last night I had to drill a few holes for a small repair that I was doing and it got the better of me, I decided to address this and come up with a solution.
About six years ago I had picked up a couple of the 4" Vise Grip brand half locking clamps that have the large washer and wingnut on the bottom. These are designed to drop through the 1/2" or 5/8" slots in the drill press table and put the wingnut on from the bottom, you can then clamp your work or the vise against the table. I have used them alot and they work great. However, now with the "T" slots on the new larger table they wouldn't work. I almost let them go with the drill press when I sold it because the guy that bought my 15" Wilton was admiring them but for the price I sold the drill press there was no way I was going to give the clamps away.
I did not want to keep using the "T" nuts, blocks and clamps like I use for my mill table merely because the setup time to drill a quick hole made it too slow of a process. I wanted something that would quickly lock the workpiece down safely. My experience has been if it is quick and simple it is more likely to be used on a regular basis, if it takes too long to setup then there will be a time when it is not used and that will be the one that bites you in the ***. I came up with a quick solution and thought I would pass it along just in case someone else has a similar issue.
I machined two spacers that were the depth and width of the "T" slots plus a few thousands so they would slide through the "T" channels with relative ease. I used a piece of 3/4" cold rolled round bar and machined a step down to .580" so it would slide in the .590" wide channel. I then drilled and tapped the pieces to accomodate the 1/2-13 thread of the half clamp.
Here is one of the pieces threaded and ready to install next to the other clamp which already has the part installed.
Here is the clamp slid in place in the "T" slot and ready to clamp the workpiece down.
While I was at it I also machined a stop that would slide into the "T" channel merely to lock the part against or the vise, not necessarily to lock it to the table just to keep it from spinning if the bit grabs.
This piece is machined so the groove will snugly fit and you can just slide it to the position you want and then the work will lock against it.
Here it is in the "T" slot.
Mike.
