# Need some ideas, help adapting a drill press



## liteace (Nov 15, 2021)

Ive picked up this drill / mill jig press, its not the best but its a start




Ive also pick up this old, hardly used electric drill, as its old its got decent bearing in so I hope it can take a bit of sideways force




what I want to do is mount the drill, after a strip-down onto the drill press





There's a couple of problems Ive run into and need some suggestions as to what to do, the drill press is designed to take a 42mm drill unit




the collar on the drill is 50mm but does unscrew, its left handed thread




What I would like to do it get a new collar machined up that longer and stepped down from 50 to 42mm I dont think thats going to be an option due to the left handed thread, next thought was to machine large piece with 50mm bore, 3 or 4 thread bolt holes to hold it to the 50 mm collar, stepped down to 42mm to fit into the drill press, if I done that I then need a chuck extension





Do chuck extensions exist, shall I make one, can I get a tapered fitting for this so I can use the chuck from my emco 8,, all suggestions please

Thanks


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## talvare (Nov 15, 2021)

Unless there's something I'm not seeing/understanding, it seems that the easiest thing would be to bore the 42mm hole in that clamp block to 50mm to fit the collar on the drill.

Ted


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## tq60 (Nov 15, 2021)

Stop with the large drill. It will not be a good match to that table.

Instead look for Dremel size tool but something with stout bearings and continuous running.

It will do better to that table work.



Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk


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## matthewsx (Nov 15, 2021)

Something like this would be good.









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## liteace (Nov 16, 2021)

The problem with boring the clamp to 50mm is there's not enough on the drill collar for a good bite to hold it on place + I dont think there's many machine shop that are capable of doing work like this here.

The 400w spindle motor, how would I mount it, its 52mm, has that got enough power to also be used for drilling or will that struggle


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## brino (Nov 16, 2021)

I wouldn't necessarily abandon the drill you have. In my opinion it could work!
Just realize the limits:
1) Use it carefully! The torque from that big drill motor may be more than the drill press column clamps were designed for. If a drill bit cutting edge catches the work piece before the other it could try to spin the head (or the table) around the column. I would not use hole-saws with it!
2) the speed of those big universal motor AC drills is very difficult to control with the trigger alone. Perhaps a simple and cheap motor speed controller would help. Something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Electronic-C...router+speed+controller&qid=1637067288&sr=8-7

https://www.amazon.com/Pukido-220V-...r+speed+controller+240V&qid=1637067880&sr=8-2

Just be sure it is rated for the proper voltage and current of the drill motor!

Can you make a replacement clamp block?
Grab a square chunk of aluminum in the 4-jaw chuck of your emco-8, drill and bore to 50mm.
Then drill and tap for the locking screw and split it from the middle of one flat face to the thru hole with a hacksaw.
There's your new clamp block.

How does the existing one attach to the drill press?

Good Luck! ............and please let us know what you decide to do.

-brino


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## liteace (Nov 16, 2021)

I think I am going to use the old large drill for the time being, later Im thinking of getting a small used milling machine so dont want to spend to much on this, as I said, I know its not going to be up to much but its a start,

Ive got cheap motor speed controller on order

Heres how the existing clamp attach to the drill press

its adjustable, you can see the clamp just to the bottom right behind the set square




If I pull the cheap plastic indicator dial out the way, this is what is behind





Ive not completely dismantled it yet so dont know what holds that in, this is the bottom of the clamp, its a cast piece and not solid




I put a socket in the clamp just to check its alignment, I need to adjust the table a tiny bit but I'll do that after the modification has been done,
this side near on perfect




This side a little bit out




The only thing that might be a problem is the collar on the old drill, its only 13.5mm




and the clamp on the stand is 30mm




If I make an adapter, I might have to clamp it to the drill collar just to give it that little bit of extra grip, what do you think


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## brino (Nov 16, 2021)

That socket could be tapered. I doubt any socket manufacturer would spec that.
Do you have a piece of accurate shaft you could check with? 
Maybe turned, ground and polished = TPG shaft, or drill-rod/silver-steel, or even turn a piece to act as a gauge on your lathe that you know the dimensions and taper of.

Also, I'd check right at the vise or table if possible, not on that piece of white plastic in the vise.... we don't know that it's not tapered too!

-brino


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## brino (Nov 16, 2021)

....and that clamp piece is more complex than I originally thought.
With it being hollow obviously there's no way you could bore it out.
-brino


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## liteace (Nov 16, 2021)

I think what Im going to do to start is get a lump of aluminum, one end bored out to 50mm to take the collar, with 3 threaded wholes for clamping, the rest turned down to 42mm to fit in the clamp, large hole through the middle for chuck extension, the chuck extension, I might, depending on what I can find is support that with a bearing as with the extension there will be more load on the existing drill bearing


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## matthewsx (Nov 16, 2021)

The biggest question is what are you trying to accomplish?

If you're trying to mill (slotting, facing, etc.) you will be disappointed unless your goal is working with very soft materials, small bits, high speed and light cuts.

If it's precise hole patterns, that big drill is likely to vibrate so much that you won't achieve accuracy better than laying your pattern out and drilling by hand.

Many of us have tried adapting machines to do different jobs than what they were designed for, results are variable but not usually satisfying.

Lets start with the project you are wanting this machine for and work from there, otherwise it's difficult to give informed advice.

John


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## liteace (Nov 16, 2021)

Its mainly for drilling and maybe a bit of milling, the milling only soft material, alloys and plastic, what would cause the vibration on the big drill ?


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## matthewsx (Nov 16, 2021)

liteace said:


> Its mainly for drilling and maybe a bit of milling, the milling only soft material, alloys and plastic, what would cause the vibration on the big drill ?



How big of holes do you need to make? That large of a hand drill is designed for torque needed for making large holes, it's also probably variable speed so you will either need to modify it or set it up to run at top speed. Either way it's unlikely to be any better with that little stand than just using it by hand. You can try making some holes with it before you get too far into the project and judge for yourself.

If you want to do any milling with a setup that flexible you'll need to be running very small bits at high speed, otherwise any cuts you make won't be true to the axis of your x/y table. If you can find a Dremel tool it would probably work well but hole size would be limited.

John


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## liteace (Nov 16, 2021)

Its a single speed, just on / off, Its no load speed is 550 rpm, I know the little spindle motor run a lot lot faster but Ive not seen one with any real power for drilling, prob max size I will be drilling will be 10mm and that will be into alloy or plastic 

Im not going to get to involved and start chopping parts up, I'll try and make the adapter, I'll keep everything as is so if need be I can reassemble and turn it back into a large hand drill, I'll also keep the drill stand as it is so If I do go for spindle motor it'll fit straight in


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## matthewsx (Nov 16, 2021)

Good luck and let us know how it works out.

JOhn


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## liteace (Nov 18, 2021)

Looking around for something to start turning down and found this, it was still attached to the crankshaft but luckly enough the water had not got into that part yet and a hand wound puller managed to extract it 
	

		
			
		

		
	






straight into the lathe and I started chopping slowly




Had a bit of vibration as it was grinding down those teeth but got there in the end




next was the other side, chop of the raised part and bore it out




It all fits well, Ive marked it out, Im going to put 3 allen bolts in so it clamp the drill into place but I need a pillar drill for this






The finish is a bit rough but I though best like that as give it more grip.
Ill sort the rest out next week at some point, I'll also put extra fixing on the drill to keep it steady.


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## liteace (Feb 7, 2022)

This is still ongoing, slight change of plan, Im not going to use the monster dill, that is reassembled back to a working drill, I used it last week to drill some cylinder head bolts out. slow but done the job no probs.

Ive a milling machine spindle on the way so will be trying to adapt that


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## liteace (Feb 14, 2022)

Plan B, It arrived, is it called a quill? spindle from emco 3 mill, it has m14x1 thread for collect chuck (on order) at the business end and m10x1 at the drive end, I machined out the adapter I made for the LARGE drill, Ive got a very powerful unstoppable 12 volt motor that under extreme load pulls at peak 80 amps, Im going to build a forward / reverse speed controller, Ive not tested torque at lower speed yet, dont worry about
that motor drive coupling, thats not going to be used, thats just there to check height of motor, please comment and give me your ideas

Thanks


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## Toolmaker51 (Feb 16, 2022)

Just to be clear, not negative. You'll learn a lot about machine design and building. Drills are configured for a reason, so are mills. Mills CAN drill, there are endless examples of conversion attempts being unsatisfactory, even unworkable.
All that power, a spindle from a more stout machine, endless adaptations vs a minimal column, far too much distance from cutter tip to column mount, limited span between bearings, non-fully supported quill, no vibration damping mass, incorrect means to hold an endmill; 3 jaws don't do sideloads........a quick scan didn't reveal any consideration of table and positioning screws.
ACME threads? Replaceable nuts? Backlash correction? Gib adjustments? Are gibs dissimilar material? If not they'll gall.


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## LucknowKen (Feb 18, 2022)

liteace said:


> Ive got a very powerful unstoppable 12 volt motor that under extreme load pulls at peak 80 amps, Im going to build a forward / reverse speed controller,


Sounds a little dangerous. I like it.
Operating that machine may require protective eye wear.


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## Illinoyance (Feb 18, 2022)

tq60 said:


> Stop with the large drill. It will not be a good match to that table.
> 
> Instead look for Dremel size tool but something with stout bearings and continuous running.
> 
> ...


The machine you are starting with does not have the rigidity to handle what you are trying to accomplish.  Stick with a Dremel sized motor or maybe a 1/4" drill motor.  Forget milling.

I saw the progress you made.  I am sorry to say that I think your work is wasted as it will not perform satisfactorily.

Why didn't someone put the kibosh on this project before OP had so much time, effort an probably money invested?  tq60 and Matthew sx seem to be the only ones that offered common sense.

Yes, I do expect to get a lot of hate mail over this.


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## matthewsx (Feb 18, 2022)

Illinoyance said:


> The machine you are starting with does not have the rigidity to handle what you are trying to accomplish.  Stick with a Dremel sized motor or maybe a 1/4" drill motor.  Forget milling.
> 
> I saw the progress you made.  I am sorry to say that I think your work is wasted as it will not perform satisfactorily.
> 
> ...


Sometimes the truth hurts. 

Sometimes people only learn by doing.

This community is open to all kinds of machines and projects. For the most part we do our best to help with guidance that will enable folks to achieve their goals. When those goals appear to be unattainable we try to help folks adjust their goals to align with what they have available.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but at least we try to be nice about it.

Yes, a Dremel is about all that is likely to work with this device. But, hopefully the OP will continue to participate here and maybe even post up some videos of the project running.

JOhn


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## liteace (Feb 21, 2022)

Yes its still in the running, The eye protection is always on even when I doing light jobs.
Not got the time at the mo to go any further with it + Im waiting for some more parts to arrive so I can put together the speed controller + as its direct drive Im looking for a flexible coupling that can withstand the power of the motor without twisting its self to pieces, any suggestions?


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## liteace (Mar 12, 2022)

A couple of other parts arrived, Ive started on the table as you can see, Ive also got a pulley for the quill so maybe another plan as for drive motor


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## Toolmaker51 (Mar 13, 2022)

Cable drives are a rarity; but have been utilized. Best I know was *Kearney & Trecker Tri-D Milling Attachment*. It's far too stout and long for your build, I have one, probably weighs over 10 pounds on it's own. Bosch shows listings too, but seem out of production.
There could be companies that build to order; a casing, couplers, core, lubrication and seals. The challenge won't be spinning the core, it will be the cutter not loading up and kinking it. If an automotive speedometer could just transmitting a 'signal'......
Hard part will be twisting into your build based on physical size. I'd consider belt transmission.


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## Toolmaker51 (Mar 13, 2022)

Illinoyance said:


> The machine you are starting with does not have the rigidity to handle what you are trying to accomplish........snip............tq60 and Matthew sx seem to be the only ones that offered common sense.
> Yes, I do expect to get a lot of hate mail over this.


I wouldn't expect hate mail, but as said, the truth hurts.
I believe purpose of this forum supports any tier of experience; it's not productive to label something a failure or kill it off beforehand, despite 
'our' better judgement. Taken with sufficient salt, critiques _should _guide the builder, and _allow_ keener observations when it runs, to characterize 
whatever weaknesses become evident.
The rigidity issue is more than viable. That round column will go harmonic instantly. A single bearing regardless variety and grade is inadequate support for a spindle, especially subject to side loads.
On the other hand, look at who succeeded by initiative; followed by determination and repeated experimentation......those two elements are the best teachers of all.


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## liteace (Mar 13, 2022)

As said before, I know you guys with big professional machines will laugh at this and also think, what is he doing, is just a project, it might work, it might fail.

Ive seen a tiny emco unimat 3 milling machines, similar to this:






eating through steel very slowly, this rig I have is about 3 times as big, it stands 2.5 foot tall, it was designed to take a 43mm European large hand drill, so I cant see why with a few mods its not going to mill plastic or aluminium.

If I could go and buy a used milling machine, I would, problem is where I live, there isnt any, everything has to be transported and with the price of the fuel its crazy prices for the transport,  I was lucky to get my "toy" emco compact 8 lathe here

Ill keep at it and see how we get go, ALL suggestions welcome

Thanks


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## matthewsx (Mar 13, 2022)

I have a small servo motor like this that I’m working on for my mill/drill project. It may be viable for your project and the price is good.









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## liteace (Jul 18, 2022)

This is still in the pipeline just on hold at mo, I hope I'll have some time this summer to finish it, we've built a melting pot so we can pour aluminium to rough size and then turn it down on lathe, Ive got another idea to hold the quill, I hope it works, if not back to the drawing board


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## great white (Jul 18, 2022)

I’ll add its a good thing you decided not to use the old school drill.

I collect old drills like that and I’ll tell ya if that sucker jams up in a work piece it will twist that mount into a pretzel before it breaks something off and goes rattling across the floor. The “hold” button on thise also doesn’t “pop out” like a modern drill will if you drop or bang it. Once the trigger is locked on those, its locked until you unlock it. Thats what causes serious carnage once it grabs:  the gearing is so low and the throttle lock on means if the drill in the chuck isn’t turning, the body of the drill itself *WILL* be turning…

They’re nicknamed “wrist breakers” for a good reason...


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