Knee jack for my drill press

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Apr 27, 2021, 11:41 PM
Frank S

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Knee jack for my drill press

I have a couple floor standing drill presses neither are anything to write home about as far as being a precision piece of machinery.
My larger one has a 4 inch diameter column 12 speeds vis belts 1 1/2HP #3 MT in a 2 1/4" spindle with an 18x18 square table While it has plenty or power to plunge drill a 1" diameter hole through 3" thick steel the stupid table is only held on with a single 3/4" bolt and a dog point set screw to lock it from tilting. Even when drilling small hole like 3/8" I can feel the table flex downward so I solved this once and for all today by standing a trailer jack under the table with a length of 2" pipe on top of the jack I can set the table at the height I want then crank the jack until it is tight against the bottom of the table this removed all deflection in the table even while plunging a 3/4" hole through several layers of 1/4" steel in the drill jig
Attachment 39373
Apr 28, 2021, 01:35 AM
Claudio HG

I have a similar drill press, but with a slightly beefier table. However sometimes I feel the table flexes so I use an old scissor car jack with some wood blocks to rig it the very same way you used the trailer jack. Though your arrangement seems to be better than mine.
Apr 28, 2021, 10:40 PM
Toolmaker51

A nifty trick, supporting with adjustable jack. I'm thinking a scaffold leveling screw, section of pipe, and that big wingnut can work too.
Apr 29, 2021, 12:28 AM
paul_j

1 Attachment(s)

Attachment 39379

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frank S

I have a couple floor standing drill presses neither are anything to write home about as far as being a precision piece of machinery.
My larger one has a 4 inch diameter column 12 speeds vis belts 1 1/2HP #3 MT in a 2 1/4" spindle with an 18x18 square table While it has plenty or power to plunge drill a 1" diameter hole through 3" thick steel the stupid table is only held on with a single 3/4" bolt and a dog point set screw to lock it from tilting. Even when drilling small hole like 3/8" I can feel the table flex downward so I solved this once and for all today by standing a trailer jack under the table with a length of 2" pipe on top of the jack I can set the table at the height I want then crank the jack until it is tight against the bottom of the table this removed all deflection in the table even while plunging a 3/4" hole through several layers of 1/4" steel in the drill jig
Attachment 39373

I used a similar solution on my old Craftsman drill press. That table has gotten heavier as I've gotten older.
Apr 29, 2021, 05:53 AM
DIYer


Thanks Frank S! We've added your Drill Press Knee Jack to our Drilling and Drill Presses category,
as well as to your builder page: Frank S's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

<div id="blocks"> <div class="block b1 pngfix"> <div class="bimg"> <div> <a href="https://www.homemadetools.net/homemade-drill-press-knee-jack"> <img src="/uploads/248752/homemade-drill-press-knee-jack.jpeg"/> </a> </div> </div> <div class="head pngfix"></div> <div class="left pngfix"></div> <div class="right pngfix"></div> <div class="blockover b1 pngfix"> <div class="title"> <a href="https://www.homemadetools.net/homemade-drill-press-knee-jack">Drill Press Knee Jack</a> <span> by <a href="https://www.homemadetools.net/builder/Frank+S">Frank S</a></span> </div> <div class="tags">tags: <a href='https://www.homemadetools.net/tag/drill-press'>drill press</a> </div> </div> </div> </div>