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- Feb 1, 2015
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One thing I haven't seen in this thread is how much drift are you seeing. As has been pointed in other threads, drill presses are not precision devices. Perhaps the single biggest source of error is our ability to visually align the work with the drill.
If you have a mill, try this experiment. Scribe and center punch a piec of plate and clamo it to the table. Mount a small drill and visually center it and note the x and y table position. Then move the table off center and repeat the process, each time recording the position. Do this ten times. This will give you a good idea of your ability to visually locate a drill. Extra credit: now mount a 3/8" drill and repeat the experiment.
My eyesight is nothing like what is was twenty years ago. I can usually get within .01" with careful alignment from two viewing positions. More casual alignment, is more like .02".
If you have a mill, try this experiment. Scribe and center punch a piec of plate and clamo it to the table. Mount a small drill and visually center it and note the x and y table position. Then move the table off center and repeat the process, each time recording the position. Do this ten times. This will give you a good idea of your ability to visually locate a drill. Extra credit: now mount a 3/8" drill and repeat the experiment.
My eyesight is nothing like what is was twenty years ago. I can usually get within .01" with careful alignment from two viewing positions. More casual alignment, is more like .02".