Nova Voyager Drill Press

Mario,

I was hoping your response would be the opposite ... and then I would PM you that since we are both in Canada, I could buy your Nova second hand! [drooling]
 
ChuckM said:
Mario,

I was hoping your response would be the opposite ... and then I would PM you that since we are both in Canada, I could buy your Nova second hand! [drooling]

Doesn't always proceed as planned  [tongue]
 
One of these days I'll upgrade from my benchtop drill press to a floor standing, but I have one issue - everything in my shop is on mobile bases because I don't have enough space for things to stay put.  I know drill presses are pretty top heavy, but are there any mobile bases for them that can manage this?  I was looking at the Nova Voyager, but then the Nova Vulcan came out...
 
sprior said:
One of these days I'll upgrade from my benchtop drill press to a floor standing, but I have one issue - everything in my shop is on mobile bases because I don't have enough space for things to stay put.  I know drill presses are pretty top heavy, but are there any mobile bases for them that can manage this?  I was looking at the Nova Voyager, but then the Nova Vulcan came out...

On the Nova Voyager instructions it's stated to NOT use a mobile base. I would guess that the Vulcan is even heavier and that a mobile base is not recommended. I have a 20'x20' shop and the drill press is the first true stationary machine.
 
sprior said:
One of these days I'll upgrade from my benchtop drill press to a floor standing, but I have one issue - everything in my shop is on mobile bases because I don't have enough space for things to stay put.  I know drill presses are pretty top heavy, but are there any mobile bases for them that can manage this?  I was looking at the Nova Voyager, but then the Nova Vulcan came out...

Any mobile base should work.  Just adjust the base so the wheels have a 30-36” span from L to R to give you extra stability.  Bolt the plywood base to the mobile base and the drill press base to the plywood.  Watch where you roll it so the wheels don’t get hung up on cords or other debris. 

You could also build your own, again making sure the outriggers allow the wheels to span 30-36”.
 
RKA said:
sprior said:
One of these days I'll upgrade from my benchtop drill press to a floor standing, but I have one issue - everything in my shop is on mobile bases because I don't have enough space for things to stay put.  I know drill presses are pretty top heavy, but are there any mobile bases for them that can manage this?  I was looking at the Nova Voyager, but then the Nova Vulcan came out...

Any mobile base should work.  Just adjust the base so the wheels have a 30-36” span from L to R to give you extra stability.  Bolt the plywood base to the mobile base and the drill press base to the plywood.  Watch where you roll it so the wheels don’t get hung up on cords or other debris. 

You could also build your own, again making sure the outriggers allow the wheels to span 30-36”.

This is what I was planning to do before reading the instructions  [wink].

Here my personal observation about the Nova Voyager Drill Press after an hour playing with the machine and features;

BODY
Major Parts and guess weight:
Base: 70lbs
Column: 70lbs
Table: 45lbs
Head: 125lbs
Total of: 310lbs (this is more or less what the drill specs says)

This make the drill press a little unbalance when it comes to tilt possibility. To prevent tilting you have a few possibilities, anchors or adding weight to the base. I went for flush floor anchors to secure the drill press.

ASSEMBLY
Cannot be easier intellectually and physically  [big grin]. There is really few parts to put together. Everything was included (allen keys) beside a 17mm wrench and four floor anchors (optional). I used 5/8" x 2" anchors.
Tip: Make a wood insert to fit under the base and seal the base with clear silicone caulk to prevent dust to stack under.

USE
Plug n play they says... sheesh I had to put a drill bit to get any results  [eek]. I did a first test (previous post) and the hole was absolutely perfect.
Non scientific wobble test: I removed the bit and push it manually through the hole and it was a very tight fit. Zero tear out on top and of course some at the bottom but really minimal. I used a brad point HSS 3/8 from Lee Valley for that test.

CONCLUSION
I own a Skill drill press bench top for a few years. I haven't use it since I'm in the new shop, because it was not stable enough for my taste. When you have no confidence in a tool it become a waist of space  [huh] Now I am very happy with the press drill and no [member=57948]ChuckM[/member] you cannot have it  [tongue].

CONS SO FAR
No where to store the chuck key or is it hidden  [huh]
 
Hey Mario here's a shot of one of my Albrecht chucks. This one looks brand new and functions likewise. It's the 1-13mm version that Ron also has. I paid $110 for it on eBay.

The other thing you'll need is the proper arbor. The one shown converts the JT33 in the Albrecht to a 3MT that's needed for the drill press. MSC has a complete selection.
https://www.mscdirect.com/browse/tn...Accessories/Drill-Chuck-Arbors?navid=12108653
 

Attachments

  • 4291.jpg
    4291.jpg
    1.9 MB · Views: 1,161
  • 4301.JPG
    4301.JPG
    2 MB · Views: 1,092
Thanks [member=44099]Cheese[/member].

Cheese said:
Hey Mario here's a shot of one of my Albrecht chucks. This one looks brand new and functions likewise. It's the 1-13mm version that Ron also has. I paid $110 for it on eBay.

The other thing you'll need is the proper arbor. The one shown converts the JT33 in the Albrecht to a 3MT that's needed for the drill press. MSC has a complete selection.
https://www.mscdirect.com/browse/tn...Accessories/Drill-Chuck-Arbors?navid=12108653

I made some research last night and ordered a cheap chuck under 40$, including shipping and a 2MT-B16 arbor that fit also with the chuck that came with the machine. Not that I need a second arbor but it was included. The chuck is a nobrand one and looks like an uxcell chuck.

At least I will be able to experience keyless chuck for a fairly low price. I haven't found any Albrecht chuck under 190$ used and new ones are over 500$  [eek]. I learned that the quill on the Nova voyager accept 2MT arbor  [big grin].

By the way, where do you get that wedge to detach the arbor from the quill?

P.S. I really hate the new chuck key that comes with a loaded spring  [mad]
 
Darn i just found out that there is keyless chucks that comes with a KEY  [eek] The key goes on the upper part to prevent the quill from turning when you apply pressure.
31MD1uKV34L.jpg


Hopefully the Nova Voyager come with a feature that apply force/hold the quill for 30 seconds.

[member=297]Michael Kellough[/member] wondering if that 30 seconds can be reduced?
 
A less expensive alternative is Rohm (German made) or Shars (Chinese made, but I've heard the quality is pretty good).  The Rohm you might find around $100 on ebay, the Shars is probably around $40?  I don't know much about excell, but I've seen it repeatedly on amazon while searching for various bits and bobbles.
 
RKA said:
A less expensive alternative is Rohm (German made) or Shars (Chinese made, but I've heard the quality is pretty good).  The Rohm you might find around $100 on ebay, the Shars is probably around $40?  I don't know much about excell, but I've seen it repeatedly on amazon while searching for various bits and bobbles.

Same here Rohm Keyless chuck

I will give a try to the chuck coming and if accuracy do not meet my expectation will look at Rohm chucks

Thanks for confirming  [wink]
 
[member=57948]ChuckM[/member]
ChuckM said:
A drill press in my opinion is more a machinist machine by itself, and the first thing I would add to any drill press for woodworking is a drill press table with fence. I got mine from Lee Valley:http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=63315&cat=1,240,41060

The clamp is functional, but I am planning to see if I can replace it with one of these:http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=70864&cat=1,43838,70865

You linked some quite interesting items. I bought that same exact table when I puchased my previous drill press and never been able to fix it on the drill table. Time to un-dust that table and give it a second try. And about the Bessey clamps, I have four of those for my Domino jig.  [big grin]
 
Most keyless chucks have an upper collar that is fixed. Hold that with one hand while you tighten the sleeve with the other, in a couple of seconds. Before I used the Voyager I too worried that using a keyless chuck would be problematic without all the friction of belts and pulleys but the inertia of the quill/armature of the direct drive head is enough to get the initial tightening done with one hand holding the bit and the other spinning the sleeve. With the bit in place just move both hands up an inch or so and wring the chuck to really tighten.

I bought an Llambrich keyless chuck from Zoro.com. Llambrich made Jacobs branded keyless chucks until Jacobs shifted to China.
https://www.zoro.com/llambrich-usa-drill-chuck-keyless-steel-0512-in-2mt-jk-13-mt-2/i/G2332206/

This chuck has a wrench for tightening the chuck sufficiently to use taps. You stick the chuck removal tool through the hole in the quill and use the wrench on the chuck and the bit will stay tight even in reverse.

I do have a problem using this keyless chuck but I don’t know if it’s me or the chuck. When I was doing a project in aluminum last year I had to do several operations on the same hole. The keyless chuck made that go much faster than a keyed chuck would allow but I’d often find that the bit wasn’t seated right in the jaws. There would be too much runnout. It sometimes took several attempts to get the bit to run true. (Even testing with virgin 1/2” drill rod) Never did figure it out. My procedure was to slowly rotate the bit while I gently tighten the sleeve. Then punch F2 which was programmed for 300 rpm to see how it spun. Had to tell with a twist drill but better than drilling with too much runout.

It was critical using a 5/8” counterbore. If I ran that bit seated out of true then there would be so much shakeing the chuck would get wrenched crooked in the quill and at least once came loose from the quill. (In that case ease up on the quill just a little to keep the arbor engaged in the quill enough to keep the bit/chuck from scampering but eliminate rotational drive so it stops spinning)
 
Thanks Ron for the clarification. I watched a video last night on how to remove the arbor from a quill and saw the poster using it  8)
 
Michael Kellough said:
The Voyager does come with a drift key.

[poke] about time you answer that question  [crying] I was wondering what that key was for lol. It have a magnet and both ends are shaped differently. see image on page #1
 
Back
Top