Converting a drill press to mill-drill

[master53yoda]

if you need the castings for the fine feed send me an email artbouvier@hotmail.com

[Matty_D]

if you need the castings for the fine feed send me an email artbouvier@hotmail.com

What a happy coincidence! I was just re-reading this thread from the beginning. I am starting from a very low level of machining experience and thinking that this would be a good project to cut my teeth on. I am just now trying to get my head around how you have converted the head from being fixed to being able to move up-and-down the column. Don't worry about replying, I'll keep reading.

[master53yoda]

This is helpful. Found OE parts and a diagram at SearsPartsDirect.com. Many of the big parts, like the column and the column holder, are obsolete (no longer available). I was hoping the column was still available, in case I want to put the drill press back to its original configuration The breakdown of the quill assembly is informative. The quill is no longer available from Sears, But other suppliers indicated they have it. It's good to know that if I screw up in this key area I can get replacement parts.


Attachment 17361

Replacing 50 and 51 in the drawing above with this angular contact bearing is what i would do for the lower Quill bearing, the upper bearing 52 can remain the same. Loosening the set screws on the right hand side of the column allows the head to be removed and also allows the head to float up and down the column. I use a linear actuator from a tread mill to raise and lower the head. on the current one i plan on using an Arduino stepper motor on a second Z axis for major moves and tie the lifting screw into the head to stabilize alignment. when i do this I'll write up a separate description. at present x and y loose their position when moving the head to make major changes Z.

Art B


https://www.amazon.com/5206-2RS-Bear.../dp/B002BBK0ZQ or http://www.ebay.com/itm/MRC-5206CFF-Ball-Bearing-Double-Shielded-No-Snap-Ring-Metric-30-Millimeters/152491239786

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[G.Paul]

The angler contact bearing is also used on live centers

[Gramps43]

There is a video on YouTube in which a fella upgrades his Grizzly G0704 mill and because he was going to use it only in the vertical mode he disabled the angular movement of the head, which you don't have on a drill press. He then filled the interior with an epoxy concrete, isolating what was needed for operation, to give the head more mass. The concrete was made with marine epoxy and course sand, I don't remember how much weight it added but it would dampen any unwanted movement during operation. He hasn't finished the project but the first part would be worth watching.

Here is link to the 17 video series:

[Philip Davies]

• I go to a ER25 or 30 series collet systems with the proper Morse taper and either use a draw bar or a lock-pin to retain the taper.

On this conversion I have gone to the ER25 series collets. I bought the HF set of end-mills and only need 3 collets for all that is there 3/8, ½, 5/8 . This gives me 3/16 to 5/8 mills

My son has a full machine shop up to a 30hp Haas CNC mill and if I really need something else I go and use his shop. He is production oriented and I’m more of “enjoy the feel , and the journey type. We give each other a bad time about our different views of the world.

The spindle shaft was small enough that I did not want to bore it for the draw bar. So, on this conversion I’m using a lock-screw retainer. I drill and tap a 10-32 hole in the bottom collar of the spindle shaft. I then seat the MT2 collet and center drill about a 1/8”’ deep hole in the Morse taper. I then use a 60^o chamfer on the hole.

When I put the MT into the spindle I line up the MT chamfer with the screw and push it in loosely, I then tighten down screw and it centers the taper on the chamfer, I then tap the taper home and finish tightening the setscrew, because the setscrew and the chamfer share the same center on a fully seated MT, by seating the MT and tightening the set screw the MT is locked in the fully seated position. I retighten the screw after the first pass just for safety sake.

The screw is a mild steel screw that has been sharpened and end-blunted. If I forget to unscrew it before I drive out the MT when changing tools it just shears of the screw and doesn’t mess with the chamfer on the hardened MT. The first one of these I did I used a hard set screw and tore up the MT when I forgot to loosen it once. Lesson learned

In my thinking it isn’t if you forget is when you forget, as you get older you will forget things. As I get older I spend more of my time contemplating the here-after--------what am I here after!!!!!

Attachment 1404

Thank you for a very interesting thread. I have bought an “engineering” bench drill and compound table hoping to start milling, but unhappily the chuck and the collet holder are equally liable to pull out and I consider really I was sold a pig in a poke by the supplier. Unfortunately, I don’t have the expertise to replace the bearing or install a lock screw.