FrankenPress Idea

[Mike Goetzke]

I have an old belt drive floor standing drill press that I’ve been wanting to replace with one of the Nova electronic speed control DP’s. I found a Viking head unit without the post/base.

Yeah, was wondering if I could mount the Viking head on my floor standing DP post? The Nova has a post diameter of 3.07” and my current DP is 2.87”.

Thanks
Mike

(Edited: More I think about it this is probably a bad idea - probably need a tight fit between the head/post and shimming would probably not work.)

 

[rmwarren]

Two tenths is probably enough to have a one tenth bushing machined, similar to a router collet bushing. I'm not sure how easy/effective it would be to simply wrap shim material around the post at that thickness.

Probably comes down to how cheap the head unit is relative to the complete machine, and whether there are any compelling reasons to use the old table.

RMW

 

[Mike Goetzke]

Two tenths is probably enough to have a one tenth bushing machined, similar to a router collet bushing. I'm not sure how easy/effective it would be to simply wrap shim material around the post at that thickness.

Probably comes down to how cheap the head unit is relative to the complete machine, and whether there are any compelling reasons to use the old table.

RMW

Yeah - getting the DP head quote today and if it's not a killer deal I'll pass.

I too originally though maybe wrap with shim stock but don't know how effective it would be. I've also thought of getting a piece of tubing at 3" for the head and welding it to the old column but again a lot of "if(s)" involved.

 

[Mike Goetzke]

Well was surprised the Viking DP head will be $500 to my door. Makes it very tempting to do.

I did find a steel tub 2.87ID and 3.00OD (my need is 2.87"ID and 3.07" OD). Think 0.070" diametral clearance is too much?

Also found a tube 3-1/8" OD with correct ID but would need to find a place to machine it to 3.07".

 

[Bob D.]

Well was surprised the Viking DP head will be $500 to my door. Makes it very tempting to do.

I did find a steel tub 2.87ID and 3.00OD (my need is 2.87"ID and 3.07" OD). Think 0.070" diametral clearance is too much?

Also found a tube 3-1/8" OD with correct ID but would need to find a place to machine it to 3.07".

Is your plan to add that on the end(top) of your old DP column or slip it over as a bushing?

How does the Viking head attach to their column. It just slips over the column and is secured with 2 grub screws from what I see in the manual.

You might want to know what the ID of the column opening is in the DP head before you buy your tubing. You may find you have that extra 0.055" that you need already.

 

[rmwarren]

Being a hacker myself I'd be inclined to do it but beware when dealing with tolerances in the thousanths, I'd expect to have to fiddle with it. Best case is you split the sleeve and get a press fit on the old post, worst case is you have to spend a few hundred extra for machining oversized sleeve material down to fit the head ID.

If the sleeve is split the the head's grub screws ought to compress it to clamp the post.

RMW

 

[nclemmons]

The head is heavy!  I had to rig up a block and tackle when assembling my Nova DP.

Wonder why someone would have the head but not the column for sale?

 

[rvieceli]

Mike, where in the US are you?

Ron

 

[Mike Goetzke]

Mike, where in the US are you?

Ron

Just outside of Chicago (SW suburbs).

Mike

 

[rvieceli]

Grizzly has a Voyager in their scratch and dent section in the Springfield Missouri showroom. They usually don't ship that stuff preferring to have you pick it up but you might want to inquire about it and see if they will send you pics and maybe ship
https://www.grizzly.com/products/as...source=listrak&utm_medium=email&utm_term=VIEW+CURRENT+INVENTORY&utm_campaign=Expanded+Showroom+MO-plus+ZIPs&utm_content=Expanded+Showroom+MO-plus+ZIPs

under drill presses

They just recently upped the price to $2099 and extended delivery dates out to 2/9/2023

If you want new, you might take a look at the Powermatic PM2820EVS the anniversary model comes with an add on table. There seems to be inventory in the US.

Ron

 

[Bob D.]

"They just recently upped the price to $2099..."

Wow, $2100 for a damaged DP. How prices have jumped.

 

[rvieceli]

[member=60461]Bob D.[/member] The $2099 s for a brand new one with a shipping date in February of next year.

There are usually pretty good discounts on the scratch and dent stuff.

Ron

 

[Mike Goetzke]

The Viking drill head is on it’s way. Figured I can use this now and see if I really would rather have a Voyager down the road and sell this.

I was going to sleeve the old DP post to make the new Viking fit tight on the post but couple responses said KISS. So was wondering if the DP reactive forces are like a hand drill where the torque at the chuck it reacted by a force at the distance your hand holds the handle (i.e. no torque at the post)? If this is the case I think all I really need to do is make sure the post attachment keeps the drill head perpendicular to the table and reacts the force of pushing the bit into the workpiece.

Sound right?

 

[shanegrilah]

The distance between the post and the spindle is a moment arm. When drilling there will be an opposite reaction force through the axis of the bit upward wanting to pivot the head upward around the post connection. The harder the material and larger diameter bit that is being used, the more this upward force will be. If drilling a 1/16" hole through marsh mellow the weight of the head would be enough to overcome the force but a 1" hole through steel would be a different story. A tight slip fit between the head and post will limit how much the head will be able to pivot around the post when drilling.

Shane

 

[Mike Goetzke]

The distance between the post and the spindle is a moment arm. When drilling there will be an opposite reaction force through the axis of the bit upward wanting to pivot the head upward around the post connection. The harder the material and larger diameter bit that is being used, the more this upward force will be. If drilling a 1/16" hole through marsh mellow the weight of the head would be enough to overcome the force but a 1" hole through steel would be a different story. A tight slip fit between the head and post will limit how much the head will be able to pivot around the post when drilling.

Shane

[member=5578]shanegrilah[/member]  Shane thanks for the reply. I was looking at it like this - if I could grab the spindle under load the drill head and post will want to spin around the axis of the spindle. So if I use the moment arm between spindle and the post and apply a tangential force at the post axis isn't this the only reaction force needed?

I was thinking instead of sleeving the post what if added two more sets of tapped holes for set screws? I made a simplified sketch of the post (red) and bore of the drill head (black). The head has two set screws at the 3 o'clock position. If I added set screws at the 9 & 12 o'clock position do you think this would be enough? (I can sleeve the post if necessary but added set screws I can do myself.)

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[shanegrilah]

Mike,

There will be some rotational force that will want to spin the head around the column axis. But usually the head weight in combination with the set screws into the column are enough to overcome this torque. The force I'm talking about is the upward force caused by pushing the drill into the material. Because of the distance between the drill bit and the column, the head will want to pivot upward. The looser the fit is between the head and column, the more the head will want move. Could adding set screws at 9 & 12 helps this? Maybe, depends what you are planning to drill. Wood might be OK; diameter of bit dependent. Anything harder will increase the downward force necessary to get the drill through the material and hence increase the upward force against the head. There's a reason drill presses are made with a tight fit between the column and the head.

Shane

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[Mike Goetzke]

[member=5578]shanegrilah[/member] Thanks Shane - will stick to the original plan and sleeve it with a snug fit.

 

[Bob D.]

If you have access to a welder you could build a new
column and not cannibalize your old DP.

Make it so you can use the table from your old DP or
maybe you can find one on Craig's List.

Maybe something like this.

 

[Mike Goetzke]

If you have access to a welder you could build a new
column and not cannibalize your old DP.

Make it so you can use the table from your old DP or
maybe you can find one on Craig's List.

Maybe something like this.

[member=60461]Bob D.[/member] Wow that table lift mechanism is slick (but expensive). I'm using my old DP because it has the table lift built-in. Also, I found a tube available that is about 0.001" under the diameter of the old drill press post. Thinking of heating the tube to shrink fit it but I do have a welder so can additionally tack it in a few places. The OD of this tube is 3-1/8" and I need around 3.07" - will need to have someone turn it down for me.

 

[Mike Goetzke]

Had some bad luck getting a good drill head from Teknatool but third one was the charm. The machined tube/sleeve worked out perfect. Couldn't be happier with the results! (thanks for all the help)

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