Drill press question

[Iron-Iceberg]

Ive had a sears drill press for years and I am looking to step up to someting with a lot more power. I know a shop that is selling an older clausing 20" press but it has a big solid cast iron table.
How do you use a table like this? There is no way to bolt down a vise or clamp from the edges.
Ill try to post a picture of a press like the one I saw.

 

[A_Pmech]

That drill press is fitted with a "production" table. Normally, the table would be drilled and tapped for a custom fixture for the part being produced.

The usual solution is to bolt a T-slotted sub-plate to the table.

 

[Alchymist]

If it's priced right grab it. Use a big drill press vice until you figure out a sub-table for it.

 

[Iron-Iceberg]

I like the sub plate idea. Any place to get something like that?

 

[OccupantRJ]

If you take a wide piece of steel flatbar about 16 inches long and have a slot milled linear near one end of it, then bolt a drill press vise onto the other end of it, you can drill and tap a hole in the table off to one side to bolt it to. This will allow you to move the vise around to allign your desired drilling point without allowing the vise to spin on you. It gives the vise universal alignment capabilities.

 

[tool_scrounge]

The Clausings are nice but there is some belt squealing (probably needed a new vari speed belt). One nice thing about the production table is that most of you drill chips stay on the table for easy cleanup. They are not good for drilling tall parts however.

 

[larry_g]

If you can look closely at that machine I'll bet you can find 'plugs' in the table where fixtures were bolted to the table and later filled. Check the column diameter and if it is the same as your old one then change the head onto a more conventional column/table/base. I would love to find one of those to steal the table for a work table.

lg
no neat sig line