Instant Drill Press Depth Stop
Тәжірибелік нұсқаулар және стиль
If your drill press has a threaded depth stop - there’s a MUCH better way! And, it’s NOT very expensive to upgrade with instantly adjustable nuts that allow you to make drill depth settings in one quick motion.
#drillpress #drilling #machinery #woodworkingtools
We love our drill press - the Powermatic® PM2800 VS. This is a robust drill press with the woodworker in mind. It has an oversized table, adjustable fence with an integrated vacuum port, laser crosshairs, and speed adjustments on the fly with a very handy LED RPM indicator. We’ve further “tricked out” our press with a mobile base and a column-mounted bit holder.
A key feature any drill press has is a depth stop. This allows you to set how deep the drill or bit will lower - allowing for precise and repeatable holes, at the correct depth, to be drilled.
The later model of our drill press has another enhancement - an INSTANT adjustable depth stop. If your drill press has a threaded rod with opposing adjustment nuts, it’s possible you can convert your press to a superior instant stop set up. Sure, the original equipment works, but it’s clunky.
Dirtfarmer Jay demonstrates in this episode how to convert the Powermatic® PM2800 VS using M16 thread, 35mm hex push-button nuts. You’ll need to determine what thread size your machine is and acquire the right sized nuts for it.
These types of nuts aren’t exactly “off-the-shelf”, but they can be purchased from industrial bolt and nut suppliers locally or online.
We bought ours from Progressive Industries at www.progressivepii.com. Their product description is “Morton Machine Works - Hex Nut - M16 x 2.00 Metric Coarse Steel Right Hand Push Button Hexagon Nut.” The SKU number is 1097522, and the part number is 01376706.
We bought 2, each being under $15 each. With tax and freight, our investment was under $35! Two were needed to both create the depth stop as well as a bottom nut to set the drill at a fixed depth without having to use the handles.
Are there any trade-offs when doing this modification? Indeed, there are two small downsides.
First, the nuts themselves are 1-⅛” thick, so that takes out some of the adjustment range that you would have if you were using only the thinner opposing nuts that are supplied with the machine. The same is true if you add a nut at the bottom to lock the spindle.
Second, the size of the nut is such that it’s right against the side of the body of the drill press, so the nut can’t turn. That means the nut can only be set in increments that match the thread pitch (in our case, one thread every 2 mm). This precludes ultra-small adjustments. Even so, we feel these trade-offs are more than worth it because we tend to use a limited range of depth settings anyway.
Heck, you can get a great enhancement to your drill press for a reasonable price and JUST DO IT YOURSELF!
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Пікірлер: 28
Every time I have to fuss with those two top nuts I tell myself I need to solve that issue…and years go by. I really like the nut you introduced except for the sizing interference issue you pointed out. Why do I have a vague memory of a nut that was split vertically and held together by spring wire somehow. It could be adjusted in large leaps by separating it and once in the new position fine tuned by turning as per original design. It might help to add a rubber washer between the two nuts that would help them hold position without having to tighten and cause the nut halves to possibly separate. I know I’ve seen something like that a while back before electricity, when i was a boy. Just thinkin.
just use a washer for fine adjustment
I didn’t know that such a nut existed. Thank you for solving my problem.
@DirtFarmerJay
2 жыл бұрын
Glad I could help! Best, DFJ
Thank you 🙏
@DirtFarmerJay
3 жыл бұрын
You’re welcome, Robert. Thanks for being a part of our viewer family and going along on this adventure with us. Best Regards, DFJ
Thanks for that great tip. Going to check my drill press in the morning....
@DirtFarmerJay
7 ай бұрын
How did this turn out for you? Best, DFJ
@asd67lkj
7 ай бұрын
Was able to make some adjustments, but my rod is M10 with a very fine pitch. It appears that M10 rod has 3 different pitches... @DirtFarmerJay
The nuts on my drill press get "locked" together quite often. In fact I keep the wrench for the nuts on top of the drill press, held fast by a magnet. I like your solution, but this is way too large for my rig. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for sharing
@DirtFarmerJay
3 жыл бұрын
Thanks for watching and writing mimi abraham. Keep watching and commenting. We love to hear from our viewers. Best, DFJ
I would keep the original setup and nice slip joint plier around !
@DirtFarmerJay
3 жыл бұрын
Thanks Alec! Indeed, that's a good solution. I did that for some time. Thanks for watching! - DFJ
@alexllc2958
3 жыл бұрын
@@DirtFarmerJay it is always good to know you have options, specially if you use it a lot !
I will give an A plus² for your video, very effective. In case you need a precise depth you have a few choices, lift or lower the table to the desired position or put a shim under your part. Shims can be very precise. You can shim a 10-ton machine and will work. Not wood shim, metal shims are used for machine alignments.
@DirtFarmerJay
2 жыл бұрын
Great insight, Gil!
Hey Jay, I’m enjoying the videos. This is your AG friend M Kennedy.
@DirtFarmerJay
3 жыл бұрын
Glad you like them! Look forward to talking soon!
If a stop position is needed for less than 2mm precision it seems easy to simply remove this and screw on the old stops temporarily.
If you turn the nut on a metal lathe to a smaller diameter it would rotate for micro-adjustment? Or are the tolerances too small?
@DirtFarmerJay
2 жыл бұрын
Derek, thanks for watching and writing. On our machine, there isn't enough room to rotate the nut shown without colliding with the main housing of the machine. With this set up, the only way to adjust is up and down with the push button. I hope that helps! Best, DFJ
Excellent video, thank you. This is the solution I am looking for to replace those frustrating adjustable nuts.
@DirtFarmerJay
3 жыл бұрын
Glad it helped Mark Murdocca. Thanks for watching and commenting. Happy woodworking my friend! Best, DFJ
Great idea Jay. I've been looking for just this solution. Unfortunately my Jet drill press is a 1/16 too small for this nut near the top of the rod. It's ok for most of it, but I'd lose quite a bit of quill travel. Can the nut be ground down 1/16 or so on one facet? Hard to tell on the pictures.
@DirtFarmerJay
Жыл бұрын
Glad I could help, Michael. Indeed, there would be one direction that could lose 1/16" and still have enough strength to keep everything intact. I just doubled checked this after removing the fast adjust nut off my drill press. Here's the basic idea: it's a six-sided nut, so the instant adjust push-button will be off to the left when the nut is slid down on the threaded rod. The side that is against the main casting of the drill press can be shaved down to get the clearance you need. When you do this, would you be so kind as to take pictures and give the model number and production year of your drill press? We'd like to get the word out to others that this will work for them as well with the modification - and, we'll give you credit for it! You can contact me directly at jay@dirtfarmerjay.com. Best Regards, DFJ
@frossm
Жыл бұрын
@@DirtFarmerJay Thanks for the info Jay. I decided it would be easier to simply replace the post with a piece of 3/8" threaded rod. I then bought 3/8" push button nuts. That gave me the clearance I needed (and the push button nut is only an inch wide.) Seems to be working very well. The post is plenty sturdy, which was my main concern. I'll send a few pictures to your email. I'm really happy with the solution and thank you for it.