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Drill press table adjusting mechanism

R

retroboy

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Nov 19, 2011
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Has anyone fabbed up a crank operated table adjustment mechanism for a floor mounted DP with a lock/unlock only table? I'm thinking a threaded rod set-up which would be OK for small adjustments but not so hot for large adjustments. Any suggestions much appreciated.
 
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geepster

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I want to do the same to my DP and am looking at the use of a linear actuator; search Grainger site. If you've had any sensible replies, share please.
geeppster
 
A

alan camby

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FrankLee said:
Someone somewhere made a counterweight system where the weight travels inside the dp column, and is attached to the table with a cable and pulley at the top of the column. Very slick modification. Maybe someone has a link to that thread.
Click to expand...

This idea has been done quite a few times. I almost wonder if a manufacture offered this on their DP at some point in time.
I think I like Larry's Idea. Might end up trying that.

Larry, What DP is that. Looks like a heavy duty table. I will be building some kind of assist for my Powermatic 1150 table.
 
O

Outlawmws

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I'm collecting the parts for a motorized lift screw and collar. I have the screw, and motor, need the seat and lift collars...
 
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rharman

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alan camby

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HTML: 
Quote:
Originally Posted by rharman  
Built this table for my Craftsman drill press some time back. Problem is that it is so heavy it's difficult to adjust the height. As soon as you loosen the clamp it wants to fall and is a pain to raise.

So, today I added a counterweight. 2" PVC filled with lead shot. About 27" long and weighs in at 25 lbs. It doesn't totally offset the table weight but helps tremendously. Gives me about 2' of table travel which is good for 99.9% of what I do. Completely concealed in the column.
Do you get a wind chime affect? Meaning, If you are working with the drill press do you hear the weight hitting the inside of the column?
 
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larry_g

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alan camby said:
This idea has been done quite a few times. I almost wonder if a manufacture offered this on their DP at some point in time.
I think I like Larry's Idea. Might end up trying that.

Larry, What DP is that. Looks like a heavy duty table. I will be building some kind of assist for my Powermatic 1150 table.
Click to expand...

It's an old Rockwell. Perty simple basic DP.

lg
no neat sig line
 
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rharman

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alan camby said:
HTML: 
Quote:
Originally Posted by rharman  
Built this table for my Craftsman drill press some time back. Problem is that it is so heavy it's difficult to adjust the height. As soon as you loosen the clamp it wants to fall and is a pain to raise.

So, today I added a counterweight. 2" PVC filled with lead shot. About 27" long and weighs in at 25 lbs. It doesn't totally offset the table weight but helps tremendously. Gives me about 2' of table travel which is good for 99.9% of what I do. Completely concealed in the column.
Do you get a wind chime affect? Meaning, If you are working with the drill press do you hear the weight hitting the inside of the column?
Click to expand...

No. It's a close fit. I actually had to mount the PVC in my lathe and shave it down about 1/8" so it wouldn't bind. Kept it fairly close and also put a coat of wax on it. Remember, it's PVC so it won't "clank" like metal would.
 
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Old Skull

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Québec Canada
Roman empire technology! Counterweight! This is a commercial link but I don't know if they still sell this kit, It's easy to duplicate this system or design your own based on this one...

http://www.onlinetoolreviews.com/reviews/easyriser.htm

Silhouettes_Both.gif
 
M

MPOWERD

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This is all great stuff! I will have to incorporate this into my C-Man DP restoration. Thanks!
 
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bluebolt

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A

alan camby

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Made my table lift today. Used a spring cylinder with a stroke of 13" and a load assist of 50lbs.

Made 2 of these collars over a scrap piece of 3" DOM
IMG_20130504_144052_436_zps0d5f72f1.jpg

Wanted a design that would allow me to swing the table to the side if I needed it out of the way.
IMG_20130504_181809_648_zps212ab2bf.jpg

Fully compressed. Table to the side for a better picture
IMG_20130504_181542_306_zps4a1370da.jpg

Here are all the parts. Sandblasted parts will be painted.
IMG_20130504_221312_911_zps501e6ae1.jpg
 
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rharman

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Very clean. I like it.

Looks like you have to loosen the cinch bolts on the top collar to raise/lower, correct? If so, is there a reason for that as opposed to having it free floating?
 
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alan camby

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Painted the brackets the other day and just finished installing them. It works great. I can lift the table with two fingers on the end.

Here you can see the two washers that I installed on the top collar to give the collar a loose fit on the column. The other side has two more of these M10 washers acting as a spacer. I like using Metric washers for this due to their small OD. The bolts are 3/8-16x3" grade 5.


Here is the bottom clamped tightly against the column.




Thanks for looking
 
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alan camby

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:thumbup:Thanks guys


The gas spring cylinder came from Mcmaster-carr.
I never have luck linking to a part # on their site.
The part # is 4138T62 and I selected 50lb force.
I can't emagine what the 250lb force would be like. Seems like a lot of force for the small ball stud on these things. The threads on the ball stud are 5/16-18.
$21.65 and made in the USA.

The phasing rod also came from Mcmaster and it is 1/2" W1 drill rod that I threaded to 1/2-20 on the end. Mcmaster # 8890k45.

The 2 items from Mcmaster total $31.48 and that is my total out of pocket.

Every thing else I had in the garage. The heim is a 1/2" unit with 1/2-20 threads for the drill rod. The sleave for this is 1"ODx.25" DOM tube that was bored to 17/32".
The main clamps are cut out of 3" sch40 black pipe and welded to the 1"x.25" non drilled DOM for the 3/8-16 bolts.

Hope all that helps. I will be happy to help if anyone has more questions.

Alan
 
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