On 2008-10-19, Christopher Tidy wrote:
DoN. Nichols wrote:

Hmm ... I wonder whether that was an attempt to adjust for a
tailstock which was too low? Ask him about it, including whether you,
or the two of you together, can try to fix that problem. Why not take
the screw out, determine the threads, get a spare of the same size, and
turn off enough head length to prevent the contact. (This way, you can
go back to the original screw if you need to.)

And if it then too *low* -- the proper fix is shim stock of the
appropriate thickness between the base and the top casting which moves
sideways. Same thickness shim stock both sides of the screw so the
barrel remains level.

I had a look at it. My father is happy for me to attempt to fix it, as
long as I don't do anything irreversible. It looks like the head of the
cap screw protrudes by about 1/32", whereas it should be flush or below
flush. I think the screw is either 1/4" or 5/16" BSW, which will not be
an easy size to get. First I think I will remove the screw and see if
there is anything underneath it. It is odd as I thought that the height
of cap screw heads were mostly standard.

Is it possible that the original screw was a slotted head screw
instead -- and someone replaced it with the BSW? Or perhaps the threads
in the hole had been stripped out and it was drilled larger and tapped
for the next size up -- which would of course have a larger head.

[ ... ]

Isn't there a quill stop? for the ones which have a scale
around the feed, there is usually a wing-topped setscrew to allow you to
clamp it to the the feed shank and limit the travel of the quill.

No there isn't. There's just a scale. It's a cheap drill press.


Hmm ... does the scale (or the pointer) rotate as you feed the
quill? Mine was a cheap drill press back in about 1976 or so when I got
it new. Taiwan made, floor standing, 16 speeds. Check for a hole in
the part which contains the pointer or the scale. If you find one,
check whether there is a setscrew in there -- perhaps installed to keep
the scale constant. Remove this, replace it with a longer screw, and
you could have an adjustable stop in that rotating collar.

No, nothing rotates. The scale is a sticker and the pointer is a piece
of steel plate crimped onto a length of threaded rod.

Oh -- that design. The threaded rod is attached to the quill
and moves downward with it? Does it move through a hole or a slot in a
projection from the main casting? If so -- then a depth stop is as
simple as placing a pair of nuts onto the threaded rod, spinning them
down so they touch the projection when the drill bit is at the right
depth, and tightening the two nuts together so they don't vibrate and
change their setting.

And that pointer was probably originally a bent piece of steel
producing two holes for the rod to pass through and capturing between
them a knurled OD nut to allow the pointer to be moved up and down as
needed. There should be a spring to keep the knurled OD nut from
rotating except when you *want* to rotate it -- and perhaps even an
arrangement so when you press a tab the threads disengage to allow
quick motion of the stop.

This is the old way to serve as a depth stop -- present on many
quality drill presses. I suspect that the head casting is split at the
bottom and there is a bent lever which will tighten it around the quill
so you can lock the quill in an extended position as well.

It's not a great
drill press. I am hoping to get another soon.

It may be better than you think -- just missing some parts. Can
you post a close-up of the head part -- especially the threaded rod?
(You can either put them on your own web space, or submit them to the
dropbox (http://www.metalworking.com) and then post the resulting URL
here for us to follow and look at it.

I thought about getting an
Arboga drill a while back, but then decided not in case I got a mill,
because that would make it redundant.

As for drill stops -- you can make them simply by taking tubing
of a reasonable diameter, turning to the right length, and then slipping
it on over the drill bit until it touches the chuck jaws. You may have
to hold it in place -- or stuff it with cotton or blu-tack to keep it
from slipping down onto the workpiece.

I had another idea. The problem with the scale on the drill press at the
moment is that you can't look at the scale and the piece of work at the
same time. So I thought for now I might just wrap a piece of coloured
tape around the drill. It would at least be directly in my field of
view, even if it isn't a hard stop.

Yes -- that can work. I've done similar things around a boring
bar when boring a hole with a bottom instead of a through hole -- and
when threading the ID of a hole as well.

Enjoy,
DoN.

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