EASY Drill Press Mod I Should Have Done Years Ago

Great idea, well done. One caution, however: a single clamp is only a pivot point; always use at least two clamps or things will turn around on your pivot point!

Being picky here , but that is steel rule , not a ruler , which is used by school kids .

Why didn’t you just drill from the underneath? That way you would be sure to be in the proper place

What kind of clamp are you using? Looks to be modified It's hard to get a good look at it.

The only thing someone in the future might do is drill at the end of the existing holes. By drilling through the ribs it makes the wall thickness for the holes a little deeper.

Just another idea.

What a great idea Tim! How often do we default to an additional tool to accomplish the task? You go straight after it. Anyone with a fixture table knows how well this type of clamping works. KUDOS

How fast to run a spindle? Start in the Ball Park... (For Lathe, Mill, and Drill Press)
Cutting Speeds (CS) are --- Steel = 100, Alum = 400, Stainless = 40, wood = 800+
RPM = 4 x CS / Tool Dia. (inches)
RPM = 4 x 100(steel) / .125 = (3200 RPM --- With Coolant!)
FEED = RPM x # of teeth X Chip-load = IPM
FEED = 3200 x 4 x .0025 = 32 IPM (With Coolant!)
Make the tool as short as possible. Adjust these specs accordingly! Wear safety goggles!

To reduce chatter and increase the effectiveness of any drill press, use the shorter "screw machine" length drills instead of the long "Taper" length drills. ALSO, place a mechanical jack between the base and the table, such as seen on any manual milling machine. Safety First! ALWAYS clamp your work to the table. I've been a machinist for over 55 years, and I can still count up to 21 with all my digits in place (and still functioning well!) (LOL)

How about using c clamps 🗜️????

Good idea.

just rewatched, and thought, wow, I need to do this....thanks so much Tim, Paul in Florida

Hi Tim, is that a sewing machine motor on the drill press? How is it working out? Keep up the good videos!

What if you put a T bolt in that clamp? Drop it through the slot and turn to lock. Nice build though

I cannot see that toggle clamp holding good enough when using large bits. I can see the work spinning on the table. Hope not, because it could be a dangerous situation. As a retired machinist for 40 years, I have learned to access the situation beforeit happens. Have seen alot of bad stuff over the years.

Good idea I made my drill press table like that thank's for the idea

Wouldn't it have been better to make a hole or two closer towards the center, because you're rich is not that close to the drill bit to clamp a smaller piece!

great video. next time just drill ALL starter holes, THEN to 5/8 bit so your not changing bits so many times. im gonna try your clamp idea

Hi Tim where can I get those clamps

Great idea! I'll have to do that.

For some odd reason i keep thinking this is how to dad's brother....

Cast iron contains carbon and copper. In our tool and die shop they cut massive pieces of cast iron dry and just blow they chips away with air.

You should look at variable speed drill presses if you have any use for one since I know you have a mag drill now. (I’m pretty jealous haha). But I got the WEN variable speed drill press for right around $200 & it can get down to 550 or 600 RPM I think not %100 sure off the top of my head. But it works great drilling through metals

Very nice. I am saving to buy the Fein magnetic vise for my drill press but your tip is a nice addition.

A year late, but hope you fitted the VFD drive.
I did to mine and it transformed the drill press as it’s so easy to adjust the speed for the size of drill bit being used.
So easy to vary the speed to get that perfect curl of steel coming up the flutes.

Very helpful

Sorry to ask such an ignorant question, but why not just use one of the ViceGrips such as their 82584 or 5 or 6? Thanks!

Another simple way is to use a fence with wing nuts. BTW you need to secure that press table not good if it rocks like that

Very cool.

Obviously it’s not a complete success as you can see the component slide when being clamped?

Good fix for an old problem when using a drill press. BTW nice extension on the end of your vise grips. Very helpful!!

The speed of the drill is determined by the speed of the outer edge (circumference) and should be reduced for a larger one - it is because the edge of a larger drill travels much faster than a smaller one.

Nice work...Cast iron is self lubricating - sharp drill alone/proper feed and speed/or air fixture to blow chips from the workpiece. Hope that helps.

Dude! That's frickin great. Nice mod.

Maybe just a trick of the camera, but it seemed like the clamp pulled the metal piece out of place slightly as you clamped down on it. Has that been a problem for doing a precise location hole?

We did not use any lubricant for cast iron mould machining neither for spherical graphite nor for laminar c.i. But this idea is great, congrats!

Thats a great mod. Thanks.

Brilliant idea. Gonna do that to my drill press too. Thanks for sharing sir.👍😊

Great tip! I may use it on my own drill press should the need arise.

Thumbs Up 🙂

Cast iron is machined dry, no oil needed!!!
Tim

A really elegant solution. That drill bit is a little expensive, as are the stronghand clamps.
To use my locking c clamps on my drill press table—I can use a 1/4” steel plate under the table to bridge the bumps.

awesome, just check my drill press and this will work just fine, buying the clamp now

Unistrut nuts work great in the slots for bolting stuff down

I can't find the clamps you have, I did find a similar one on Amazon, it's called a 9" Drill Press vice clamp

I've got a similar drill however the table is a different design (more square) and the problem I have is that it flexes when drilling so you end up going out of square.

Well done 👍🏼👍🏼

What is the throat opening on your Fireball Tool 5/18 Inch Inserta Piers?

You can quickly loosen the motor to adjust your belts. If you look closely at the rigging up there, it slides back and forth. This also lets you tighten the tension if you notice some slack in your v-belts. Thank you for this. I've have the exact same problem nagging me in the back of my mind for years.

I need that clamp!

Variable speed will be different that changing the ratio the motor has on the drive wheel.