In the course of making a hammered dulcimer, I needed to drill some holes
at 38 degrees for braces between the two pin blocks. After much
muttering and adjusting, I got the table to lock down at that setting.
But when I drilled the holes, I found that tilting the table to 38
degrees in one axis also tilted it 2-3 degrees in the other axis. That
means the braces won't fit from one pin block to the other.

Now I'm trying to figure out what happened. OK, it could just be a
faulty drill press and I'm SOL. But I'm wondering what if the table was
not exactly centered under the head. Since both swing independently,
it's possible for that to happen. And I had to swing both 90% to avoid
hitting the base (it's a benchtop drill press, albeit an old heavy one).

But my geometry visualization skills aren't of the best. If the head and
table weren't on the same exact vertical (Z) axis, would a change in the
parallel to the shaft (X) axis result in a change in the perpendicular to
the shaft (Y) axis?

I've filled the holes and am waiting for the glue to dry. If the
centering is the problem, I'll get everything lined up and try again. If
not, I'll find another way to install braces - I've already figured out
one or two alternatives.

While I'm on the subject of drill presses, does *anyone* make one that
doesn't require loosening a bolt to tilt the table? I've looked at
Delta, Jet, Powermatic, Shop Fox, etc. and they all use a bolt and a pin
to force 0 degree alignment.

I'm seriously thinking of getting a radial arm drill press when I can
afford one, but I've heard that they aren't too accurate because of too
much flex. Is this still true? Or mayde still true for some and not
others?

--
Intelligence is an experiment that failed - G. B. Shaw

On 11/8/2011 2:13 PM, Larry Blanchard wrote:
In the course of making a hammered dulcimer, I needed to drill some holes
at 38 degrees for braces between the two pin blocks. After much
muttering and adjusting, I got the table to lock down at that setting.
But when I drilled the holes, I found that tilting the table to 38
degrees in one axis also tilted it 2-3 degrees in the other axis. That
means the braces won't fit from one pin block to the other.

Now I'm trying to figure out what happened. OK, it could just be a
faulty drill press and I'm SOL. But I'm wondering what if the table was
not exactly centered under the head. Since both swing independently,
it's possible for that to happen. And I had to swing both 90% to avoid
hitting the base (it's a benchtop drill press, albeit an old heavy one).

But my geometry visualization skills aren't of the best. If the head and
table weren't on the same exact vertical (Z) axis, would a change in the
parallel to the shaft (X) axis result in a change in the perpendicular to
the shaft (Y) axis?

I've filled the holes and am waiting for the glue to dry. If the
centering is the problem, I'll get everything lined up and try again. If
not, I'll find another way to install braces - I've already figured out
one or two alternatives.

While I'm on the subject of drill presses, does *anyone* make one that
doesn't require loosening a bolt to tilt the table? I've looked at
Delta, Jet, Powermatic, Shop Fox, etc. and they all use a bolt and a pin
to force 0 degree alignment.

Bolt as in need a tool to make the adjustment? My Delta requires a tool
in for left /right tilt but has built in bolt loosening levers for the
tilt of the table front to go up or down.


I'm seriously thinking of getting a radial arm drill press when I can
afford one, but I've heard that they aren't too accurate because of too
much flex. Is this still true? Or mayde still true for some and not
others?

I had an old Rockwell radial DP, it was a good DP but was short on
features. One thing that may be inherent and I don't like is adjusting
the drill head to have a longer reach. It is not a smooth action. As
you extend the head out and the motor comes closer to the vertical shaft
the whole thing binds. You have to lift and pull or push...

"Larry Blanchard" wrote in message
...
In the course of making a hammered dulcimer, I needed to drill some holes
at 38 degrees for braces between the two pin blocks. After much
muttering and adjusting, I got the table to lock down at that setting.
But when I drilled the holes, I found that tilting the table to 38
degrees in one axis also tilted it 2-3 degrees in the other axis. That
means the braces won't fit from one pin block to the other.

Now I'm trying to figure out what happened. OK, it could just be a
faulty drill press and I'm SOL. But I'm wondering what if the table was
not exactly centered under the head. Since both swing independently,
it's possible for that to happen. And I had to swing both 90% to avoid
hitting the base (it's a benchtop drill press, albeit an old heavy one).

But my geometry visualization skills aren't of the best. If the head and
table weren't on the same exact vertical (Z) axis, would a change in the
parallel to the shaft (X) axis result in a change in the perpendicular to
the shaft (Y) axis?

I've filled the holes and am waiting for the glue to dry. If the
centering is the problem, I'll get everything lined up and try again. If
not, I'll find another way to install braces - I've already figured out
one or two alternatives.

While I'm on the subject of drill presses, does *anyone* make one that
doesn't require loosening a bolt to tilt the table? I've looked at
Delta, Jet, Powermatic, Shop Fox, etc. and they all use a bolt and a pin
to force 0 degree alignment.

I'm seriously thinking of getting a radial arm drill press when I can
afford one, but I've heard that they aren't too accurate because of too
much flex. Is this still true? Or mayde still true for some and not
others?

--
Intelligence is an experiment that failed - G. B. Shaw

A couple of possibilities. 1) There was a shim in the table rotating
mechanism that fell out when you rotated the table. 2) The plane of
the rotating mechanism isn't parallel to the quill axis.
Art

But my geometry visualization skills aren't of the best. *If the head and
table weren't on the same exact vertical (Z) axis, would a change in the
parallel to the shaft (X) axis result in a change in the perpendicular to
the shaft (Y) axis?


I don't know the luthier terms so I don't know exactly what your part
looks like but if when the table is flat and the part is aligned
exactly 90 degrees to the axis of post to the drill head, then if the
table rotating axis was not also exactly 90 in that same axis,
rotating it will change to the incident angle of the drill to the part
in the perpendicular axis as well, so yes a slight misalignment could
easily introduce 2 degrees of change.

Even if you are certain the table is aligned, I would still check the
alignment once it is rotated up to the 38 degrees. You should be able
to square off the drill head somewhere to be sure the part is
perpendicular.

"SonomaProducts.com" wrote in message
...

But my geometry visualization skills aren't of the best. If the head and
table weren't on the same exact vertical (Z) axis, would a change in the
parallel to the shaft (X) axis result in a change in the perpendicular to
the shaft (Y) axis?


I don't know the luthier terms so I don't know exactly what your part
looks like but if when the table is flat and the part is aligned
exactly 90 degrees to the axis of post to the drill head, then if the
table rotating axis was not also exactly 90 in that same axis,
rotating it will change to the incident angle of the drill to the part
in the perpendicular axis as well, so yes a slight misalignment could
easily introduce 2 degrees of change.

Even if you are certain the table is aligned, I would still check the
alignment once it is rotated up to the 38 degrees. You should be able
to square off the drill head somewhere to be sure the part is
perpendicular.

I never go straight to working on my "good" pieces, I always have some scrap
or extra rough duplicates to test angles, depths and other potential
problems. I would rather destroy the cheap wood rough pieces or scrap wood
trying to get it right than risk damaging my final good piece.

YES... you are right if they are not aligned you would introduce error.

To fix this problem I suggest a few tricks. Bend a wire in a Z shape,
but more like L's
.. Make the bottom L as long your drill bit distance, plus piece size to
be drilled after tilting the table.

Mount the wire in the drill press. Mark where it touches the table on
each side of the table. Draw a line between the two marks.
That is your aligned center line. Your piece if square must be on or
parallel to that line.

On 11/8/2011 3:13 PM, Larry Blanchard wrote:
In the course of making a hammered dulcimer, I needed to drill some holes
at 38 degrees for braces between the two pin blocks. After much
muttering and adjusting, I got the table to lock down at that setting.
But when I drilled the holes, I found that tilting the table to 38
degrees in one axis also tilted it 2-3 degrees in the other axis. That
means the braces won't fit from one pin block to the other.

Now I'm trying to figure out what happened. OK, it could just be a
faulty drill press and I'm SOL. But I'm wondering what if the table was
not exactly centered under the head. Since both swing independently,
it's possible for that to happen. And I had to swing both 90% to avoid
hitting the base (it's a benchtop drill press, albeit an old heavy one).

But my geometry visualization skills aren't of the best. If the head and
table weren't on the same exact vertical (Z) axis, would a change in the
parallel to the shaft (X) axis result in a change in the perpendicular to
the shaft (Y) axis?

I've filled the holes and am waiting for the glue to dry. If the
centering is the problem, I'll get everything lined up and try again. If
not, I'll find another way to install braces - I've already figured out
one or two alternatives.

While I'm on the subject of drill presses, does *anyone* make one that
doesn't require loosening a bolt to tilt the table? I've looked at
Delta, Jet, Powermatic, Shop Fox, etc. and they all use a bolt and a pin
to force 0 degree alignment.

I'm seriously thinking of getting a radial arm drill press when I can
afford one, but I've heard that they aren't too accurate because of too
much flex. Is this still true? Or mayde still true for some and not
others?

YES... you are right if they are not aligned you would introduce error.

To fix this problem I suggest a few tricks. Bend a wire in a Z shape,
but more like L's
.. Make the bottom L as long your drill bit distance, plus piece size to
be drilled after tilting the table.

Mount the wire in the drill press. Mark where it touches the table on
each side of the table. Draw a line between the two marks.
That is your aligned center line. Your piece if square must be on or
parallel to that line.

On 11/8/2011 3:13 PM, Larry Blanchard wrote:
In the course of making a hammered dulcimer, I needed to drill some holes
at 38 degrees for braces between the two pin blocks. After much
muttering and adjusting, I got the table to lock down at that setting.
But when I drilled the holes, I found that tilting the table to 38
degrees in one axis also tilted it 2-3 degrees in the other axis. That
means the braces won't fit from one pin block to the other.

Now I'm trying to figure out what happened. OK, it could just be a
faulty drill press and I'm SOL. But I'm wondering what if the table was
not exactly centered under the head. Since both swing independently,
it's possible for that to happen. And I had to swing both 90% to avoid
hitting the base (it's a benchtop drill press, albeit an old heavy one).

But my geometry visualization skills aren't of the best. If the head and
table weren't on the same exact vertical (Z) axis, would a change in the
parallel to the shaft (X) axis result in a change in the perpendicular to
the shaft (Y) axis?

I've filled the holes and am waiting for the glue to dry. If the
centering is the problem, I'll get everything lined up and try again. If
not, I'll find another way to install braces - I've already figured out
one or two alternatives.

While I'm on the subject of drill presses, does *anyone* make one that
doesn't require loosening a bolt to tilt the table? I've looked at
Delta, Jet, Powermatic, Shop Fox, etc. and they all use a bolt and a pin
to force 0 degree alignment.

I'm seriously thinking of getting a radial arm drill press when I can
afford one, but I've heard that they aren't too accurate because of too
much flex. Is this still true? Or mayde still true for some and not
others?

You could also get a digital angle gauge, like the Wixley Gauge at
Woodcraft. Not so cheap, but might have other uses around the shop.

On Tue, 08 Nov 2011 18:57:29 -0800, scritch wrote:

You could also get a digital angle gauge, like the Wixley Gauge at
Woodcraft. Not so cheap, but might have other uses around the shop.

I have one and used it on this. But it doesn't like being tilted
perpendicular to its face.

--
Intelligence is an experiment that failed - G. B. Shaw

I'm seriously thinking of getting a radial arm drill press when I can
afford one, but I've heard that they aren't too accurate because of too
much flex. Is this still true? Or mayde still true for some and not
others?

Can't help with the issue, but if you want somethign really nice to drill
and work with, check out a mill-drill or even a used Bridgeport.

I only mention these because you mentioned the radial arm unit, which is
probably large and expensive to begin with but very low on additional
features.
--


Regards,
Joe Agro, Jr.
(800) 871-5022 x113
01.908.542.0244
Flagship Site: http://www.Drill-HQ.com
Automatic / Pneumatic Drills: http://www.AutoDrill.com
Multiple Spindle Drills: http://www.Multi-Drill.com
Production Tapping: http://www.Drill-HQ.com/?page_id=226
VIDEOS: http://www.youtube.com/user/AutoDrill
FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/AutoDrill
TWITTER: http://twitter.com/AutoDrill


V8013-R

"Joe AutoDrill" wrote:

Can't help with the issue, but if you want somethign really nice to
drill and work with, check out a mill-drill or even a used
Bridgeport.
-------------------------------------
Back in the days when Bridgeport was king, had a customer that dabbled
in the used machinery business.

Had a standing order with Bridgeport while maintaining an inventory of
6-10 units in the shipping container ready for sale.

Lead time from Bridgeport was about 12-15 months.

Need a Bridgeport in a hurry, Joe had one, at a price.

Kept him in Friday night poker money.

Lew

On Wed, 09 Nov 2011 18:41:38 -0500, Joe AutoDrill wrote:

Can't help with the issue, but if you want somethign really nice to
drill and work with, check out a mill-drill or even a used Bridgeport.

I only mention these because you mentioned the radial arm unit, which is
probably large and expensive to begin with but very low on additional
features.

I'm afraid a Bridgeport and its ilk are well out of my price range. But
there are a few inexpensive radial drill presses out there. Rikon makes
both a bench and a floor model:

http://www.rikontools.com/productpage_30-140.htm

Grizzly and Shop Fox make similar units and there are probably others.
Grizzly also makes a somewhat different unit:

http://www.grizzly.com/products/Radi...ll-Press/G9969

Any comments on these from owners?

--
Intelligence is an experiment that failed - G. B. Shaw

On 11/10/2011 11:10 AM, Larry Blanchard wrote:
On Wed, 09 Nov 2011 18:41:38 -0500, Joe AutoDrill wrote:

Can't help with the issue, but if you want somethign really nice to
drill and work with, check out a mill-drill or even a used Bridgeport.

I only mention these because you mentioned the radial arm unit, which is
probably large and expensive to begin with but very low on additional
features.

I'm afraid a Bridgeport and its ilk are well out of my price range. But
there are a few inexpensive radial drill presses out there. Rikon makes
both a bench and a floor model:

http://www.rikontools.com/productpage_30-140.htm

Grizzly and Shop Fox make similar units and there are probably others.
Grizzly also makes a somewhat different unit:

http://www.grizzly.com/products/Radi...ll-Press/G9969

Any comments on these from owners?


what are you going to use the radial drill press for? i've seen people
dismount the drill head from the support, mount the support on the
ceiling, upside down, and remount the head. that gives them a longer
throw, for drilling long things. this doesn't give you the sideways
drilling capability though.

On Nov 8, 3:13*pm, Larry Blanchard wrote:
In the course of making a hammered dulcimer, I needed to drill some holes
...
But when I drilled the holes, I found that tilting the table to 38
degrees in one axis also tilted it 2-3 degrees in the other axis. *That
means the braces won't fit from one pin block to the other.

Now I'm trying to figure out what happened. *OK, it could just be a
faulty drill press and I'm SOL. *But I'm wondering what if the table was
not exactly centered under the head. *...

Yes, that mialignment will add a little to the angle.

If you get an angle measuring tool in there, you can
chuck a straight rod in the drill press and measure
the angle between it and the table.

There is also the time honored practice of trial and
modification using scrap.

--

FF

http://www.grizzly.com/products/Mill-Drill/G0463
would be a better choice. Column moves up down and is always
square with the drill point.

The issue with round columns is they loose registration. They rotate.

If you move in and out of the column, the drill might be at a
slight angle of 2 degrees - or 5 degrees...

It is flexible - able to move in all directions - but alignment is hard
to keep up with.

Martin

On 11/10/2011 12:10 PM, Larry Blanchard wrote:
On Wed, 09 Nov 2011 18:41:38 -0500, Joe AutoDrill wrote:

Can't help with the issue, but if you want somethign really nice to
drill and work with, check out a mill-drill or even a used Bridgeport.

I only mention these because you mentioned the radial arm unit, which is
probably large and expensive to begin with but very low on additional
features.

I'm afraid a Bridgeport and its ilk are well out of my price range. But
there are a few inexpensive radial drill presses out there. Rikon makes
both a bench and a floor model:

http://www.rikontools.com/productpage_30-140.htm

Grizzly and Shop Fox make similar units and there are probably others.
Grizzly also makes a somewhat different unit:

http://www.grizzly.com/products/Radi...ll-Press/G9969

Any comments on these from owners?

On Thu, 10 Nov 2011 20:26:17 -0600, Martin Eastburn wrote:

http://www.grizzly.com/products/Mill-Drill/G0463 would be a better
choice. Column moves up down and is always square with the drill point.

The issue with round columns is they loose registration. They rotate.

You guys keep trying to spend my money :-). I might be able to afford a
$300 DP, but that's about my limit.

And even the non-radial (i.e. normal) can lose registration, in the sense
of the table still being centered under the bit and at 90% to the column,
every time the table is raised or lowered. That's what caused my problem
in the first place.

BTW, I got my DP "re-registered" and redrilled my 38 degree holes -
worked pretty good this time. About 0.2 degrees off of perfectly
vertical, which was well within tolerance for the project.

But I'm still considering budgeting for a low end radial DP.

--
Intelligence is an experiment that failed - G. B. Shaw

"Larry Blanchard" wrote in message ...

On Thu, 10 Nov 2011 20:26:17 -0600, Martin Eastburn wrote:

http://www.grizzly.com/products/Mill-Drill/G0463 would be a better
choice. Column moves up down and is always square with the drill point.

The issue with round columns is they loose registration. They rotate.

You guys keep trying to spend my money :-). I might be able to afford a
$300 DP, but that's about my limit.

And even the non-radial (i.e. normal) can lose registration, in the sense
of the table still being centered under the bit and at 90% to the column,
every time the table is raised or lowered. That's what caused my problem
in the first place.

BTW, I got my DP "re-registered" and redrilled my 38 degree holes -
worked pretty good this time. About 0.2 degrees off of perfectly
vertical, which was well within tolerance for the project.

But I'm still considering budgeting for a low end radial DP.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do yourself a favor. Tram your table square and leave it there. For angles,
build a fixture.

"CW" wrote in message
m...


"Larry Blanchard" wrote in message ...

On Thu, 10 Nov 2011 20:26:17 -0600, Martin Eastburn wrote:

http://www.grizzly.com/products/Mill-Drill/G0463 would be a better
choice. Column moves up down and is always square with the drill point.

The issue with round columns is they loose registration. They rotate.

You guys keep trying to spend my money :-). I might be able to afford a
$300 DP, but that's about my limit.

And even the non-radial (i.e. normal) can lose registration, in the sense
of the table still being centered under the bit and at 90% to the column,
every time the table is raised or lowered. That's what caused my problem
in the first place.

BTW, I got my DP "re-registered" and redrilled my 38 degree holes -
worked pretty good this time. About 0.2 degrees off of perfectly
vertical, which was well within tolerance for the project.

But I'm still considering budgeting for a low end radial DP.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------
Do yourself a favor. Tram your table square and leave it there. For angles,
build a fixture.


Excellent advice.
Art

"CW" wrote:

Do yourself a favor. Tram your table square and leave it there. For
angles, build a fixture.
----------------------------------
Sounds like a winner.

I had my table brazed in position to eliminate one axis of
registration problems.

Lew

On Fri, 11 Nov 2011 14:07:39 -0800, CW wrote:

But I'm still considering budgeting for a low end radial DP.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do yourself a favor. Tram your table square and leave it there. For
angles, build a fixture.

I had considered that. Building an adjustable fixture that handles
multiple angles is just re-inventing the drill press table. And I doubt
I could get any better accuracy than a factory full of CNC machines.
Especially with wood rather than metal. You, and others, *might* be able
to, but I don't think I am.

I could probably get acceptable accuracy with a dedicated fixture for
each angle needed, but that's a lot of work and eventually a lot of
storage.

And neither solution fixes the problem of drilling a long piece at a
steep angle where the base of the press or even the floor gets in the way.

So it boils down to how much angled drilling I'm going to be doing. If I
continue to be intrigued with building old-time musical instruments,
it'll be quite a bit. Or if I get into making chairs. If I go back to
my old ways of making boxes, chests, and cabinets my current press will
do fine.

Thanks to everyone for all the help.

--
Intelligence is an experiment that failed - G. B. Shaw

"Larry Blanchard" wrote in message ...

On Fri, 11 Nov 2011 14:07:39 -0800, CW wrote:

But I'm still considering budgeting for a low end radial DP.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do yourself a favor. Tram your table square and leave it there. For
angles, build a fixture.

I had considered that. Building an adjustable fixture that handles
multiple angles is just re-inventing the drill press table. And I doubt
I could get any better accuracy than a factory full of CNC machines.
Especially with wood rather than metal. You, and others, *might* be able
to, but I don't think I am.

I could probably get acceptable accuracy with a dedicated fixture for
each angle needed, but that's a lot of work and eventually a lot of
storage.

And neither solution fixes the problem of drilling a long piece at a
steep angle where the base of the press or even the floor gets in the way.

So it boils down to how much angled drilling I'm going to be doing. If I
continue to be intrigued with building old-time musical instruments,
it'll be quite a bit. Or if I get into making chairs. If I go back to
my old ways of making boxes, chests, and cabinets my current press will
do fine.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was going to address each point but you seem determined to continue to
stumble along. Have fun.

Go to an engine rebuild shop and get a big old exhaust or intake valve.
When you need to square your table, chuck the valve up, loosen the
table adjustment screws, bring the valv down to a flat surface of the
table, and tighten it up. Accurate enough for most woodworking.



--
When the game is over, the pawn and the king are returned to the same box.

Larry Wasserman - Baltimore Maryland - lwasserm(a)sdf. lonestar.org

On 2011-11-12 20:03:43 +0000, Larry W said:

Go to an engine rebuild shop and get a big old exhaust or intake valve.
When you need to square your table, chuck the valve up, loosen the
table adjustment screws, bring the valv down to a flat surface of the
table, and tighten it up. Accurate enough for most woodworking.

Just use a piece of coat hanger bent into a stair shape. Chuck it, then
rotate by hand to check square.

On 11/12/2011 2:03 PM, Larry W wrote:
Go to an engine rebuild shop and get a big old exhaust or intake valve.
When you need to square your table, chuck the valve up, loosen the
table adjustment screws, bring the valv down to a flat surface of the
table, and tighten it up. Accurate enough for most woodworking.



You might want to go to the local auto parts store and pick up that
valve. One discarded from a rebuild shop is likely to be bent.

On Saturday, November 12, 2011 9:49:49 AM UTC-8, Larry Blanchard wrote:
On Fri, 11 Nov 2011 14:07:39 -0800, CW wrote:

Do yourself a favor. Tram your table square and leave it there. For
angles, build a fixture.

I had considered that. Building an adjustable fixture that handles
multiple angles is just re-inventing the drill press table.

If the angle is important, you could set up an angle plate, and tilt
the table until the angle plate is level (use a bullseye level for this).
Then remove the angle plate. The only problem is, you have to
find a metalwork outfit with angle plates (and gage blocks),
and do some math. You also need to adjust your drill press
spindle accurately vertical.

On Nov 13, 2:45*pm, whit3rd wrote:
On Saturday, November 12, 2011 9:49:49 AM UTC-8, Larry Blanchard wrote:
On Fri, 11 Nov 2011 14:07:39 -0800, CW wrote:
Do yourself a favor. Tram your table square and leave it there. For
angles, build a fixture.

I had considered that. *Building an adjustable fixture that handles
multiple angles is just re-inventing the drill press table.

If the angle is important, you could set up an angle plate, and tilt
the table until the angle plate is level (use a bullseye level for this).
Then remove the angle plate. * The only problem is, you have to
find a metalwork outfit with angle plates (and gage blocks),
and do some math. * You also need to adjust your drill press
spindle accurately vertical.

You also want your bits as sharp as possible. Dull ones
skate around and won't drill plumb. Prob is even worse
if they're bent, or sharpened off center.

"whit3rd" wrote in message
news:32882306.1705.1321213546315.JavaMail.geo-discussion-forums@yqiu15...

On Saturday, November 12, 2011 9:49:49 AM UTC-8, Larry Blanchard wrote:
On Fri, 11 Nov 2011 14:07:39 -0800, CW wrote:

Do yourself a favor. Tram your table square and leave it there. For
angles, build a fixture.

I had considered that. Building an adjustable fixture that handles
multiple angles is just re-inventing the drill press table.

If the angle is important, you could set up an angle plate, and tilt
the table until the angle plate is level (use a bullseye level for this).
Then remove the angle plate. The only problem is, you have to
find a metalwork outfit with angle plates (and gage blocks),
and do some math. You also need to adjust your drill press
spindle accurately vertical.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Setting the angle is not the problem. I can show you how to set an angle to
within a few minutes of arc with a few pieces of scrap and a steel rule.
Getting everything lined up is the problem. Pivot point of table needs to be
precisely centered under spindle. Part needs to be perpendicular to the
table pivot. All do-able but not worth the effort. Lock the table square and
build a fixture. Very seldom does it take more than a few minutes to build a
fixture after making a few universal fixture components (nothing hard about
these either).

On Mon, 14 Nov 2011 11:13:20 -0800, CW wrote:

If the angle is important, you could set up an angle plate, and tilt the
table until the angle plate is level (use a bullseye level for this).
Then remove the angle plate. The only problem is, you have to find a
metalwork outfit with angle plates (and gage blocks), and do some math.
You also need to adjust your drill press spindle accurately vertical.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Setting the angle is not the problem. I can show you how to set an angle
to within a few minutes of arc with a few pieces of scrap and a steel
rule. Getting everything lined up is the problem. Pivot point of table
needs to be precisely centered under spindle. Part needs to be
perpendicular to the table pivot. All do-able but not worth the effort.
Lock the table square and build a fixture. Very seldom does it take more
than a few minutes to build a fixture after making a few universal
fixture components (nothing hard about these either).

I do appreciate the help. And you're right - getting things lined up is
the problem. That and my inability to visualize trigonometry :-).

For example, I can get the pivot point lined up side to side, but the arm
that holds the table is enough longer (1/16" to 3/32") than the offset of
the chuck that I can't center a bit front to back in the hole in the
table.

In another test, I put my Wixey gauge on the table facing me and zeroed
it. Then I loosened the table clamp, rotated the table 90 degrees, and
retightened the clamp. The gauge showed 0.3 degrees, which I think is
due to the sag of the table arm.

I took a good look at a Rikon radial arm drill press at Woodcraft
yesterday. Then I went home, got my gauge, an engineers square, and a
drill rod and went back. The Rikon wasn't any more accurate than my
current DP!

What I need to do is build a table that compensates for the problem and
then use fixtures as you suggest. Luckily, I got the angled holes
drilled for the current project, so there's no urgency.

We're hoping to move next year. Maybe I'll get space for a floor mounted
DP - I hope they're made to closer tolerances than the benchtops.

My DP has its problems, but it sure is heftier than the current crop of
benchtops. The column appears to be a floor model column cut in half, a
lot thicker than what I've seen lately. And the motor is 3/4hp - I
didn't see that on any of the benchtop DPs I looked at. If I can get
that compensating table built I'll keep mine till it dies or I do.

Thanks again for the help.

--
Intelligence is an experiment that failed - G. B. Shaw

On Nov 14, 2:13*pm, "CW" wrote:
"whit3rd" *wrote in message

news:32882306.1705.1321213546315.JavaMail.geo-discussion-forums@yqiu15...

On Saturday, November 12, 2011 9:49:49 AM UTC-8, Larry Blanchard wrote:
On Fri, 11 Nov 2011 14:07:39 -0800, CW wrote:
Do yourself a favor. Tram your table square and leave it there. For
angles, build a fixture.

I had considered that. *Building an adjustable fixture that handles
multiple angles is just re-inventing the drill press table.

If the angle is important, you could set up an angle plate, and tilt
the table until the angle plate is level (use a bullseye level for this).
Then remove the angle plate. * The only problem is, you have to
find a metalwork outfit with angle plates (and gage blocks),
and do some math. * You also need to adjust your drill press
spindle accurately vertical.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Setting the angle is not the problem. I can show you how to set an angle to
within a few minutes of arc with a few pieces of scrap and a steel rule.
Getting everything lined up is the problem. Pivot point of table needs to be
precisely centered under spindle. Part needs to be perpendicular to the
table pivot. All do-able but not worth the effort. Lock the table square and
build a fixture. Very seldom does it take more than a few minutes to build a
fixture after making a few universal fixture components (nothing hard about
these either).

Shim with masking tape to get the precise angle.