Thread: Drill Press Mobile Base

Can anyone tell me what the slots are for on a drill press base??

Originally Posted by Island Nomad

Can anyone tell me what the slots are for on a drill press base??

Swivel your table to the back and use the base as a table for longer items. The slots have a larger opening at one end to slip a tee net or bolt through.

Ok, dumb question, because I need to be making a purchase in a few days. If I buy a pedestal drill that is designed to bolt to the floor, rather than a bench, how do i bolt it to the floor?

This is to go under the house on a concrete slab...

Originally Posted by rhook

Ok, dumb question, because I need to be making a purchase in a few days. If I buy a pedestal drill that is designed to bolt to the floor, rather than a bench, how do i bolt it to the floor?

This is to go under the house on a concrete slab...

Do you mean what fixings go in to the concrete or how to attach the base to the fixings in the concrete?

Now back to the mobile base. I have been thinking for a while about mobile bases as I have to make a couple and I don't want to put them on wheels if I can avoid it. I reckon build a box to put the machine on and the floor face of that box would have a heap of small holes drilled in it. Put an air fitting into the box, hook up an airline and it floats on air....or does it. I will try and see if it works. Be a bit dusty as the air cleans the floor I suppose.

Originally Posted by rhook

Ok, dumb question, because I need to be making a purchase in a few days. If I buy a pedestal drill that is designed to bolt to the floor, rather than a bench, how do i bolt it to the floor?

This is to go under the house on a concrete slab...

With Dynabolts. See

http://www.letsdoit.com.au/?e=32&p=ramset

The example is in a wall but the principle is the same.

regards
Coldamus

Why would you bother?

If you're not drilling rediculously unbalanced items then you won't need to bolt it down.

If you do decide to bolt it down, use screwbolts. That way if you have to move it, you don't have to worry about what to do with the dynabolts sticking out of the floor.

Dan

I bolted mine down using 5/8 loxins and a couple of 100mm x 3/8 hex head bolts. The reason I used the loxins was if I wanted to move it the loxins would be flush with the concrete and wouldn't cause a trip hazard.

For those who don't know what a loxin is here is a picture.

In my father's last workshop, after the drill press fell on me, I made a ply box 600 x 600 x 300 deep and filled it with sand (couldnt afford SilentC's bricks back then!) and mounted it on 4 castors .... bewdy!
Fletty

I've got my bench drill press on a pretty substantial metal cabinet with locking castors. The cabinet has 6 metal drawers for drill bits and accessories, which is fair ballast! I really only move it to clean the floor properly and to get to my bandsaw for cleaning.
I don't reckon I'd try to make a floor/pedestal drill mobile, unless I extended the base and then I'd be worried about tripping over it! Definitely Dynabolt it down. If its really in the way, maybe wall and floor mount a pivot, so it swings out of the way?
And Dynabolts are reversible if you're careful. Remove the nut and the piece that it bolted, hang onto the expanding sleeve with some needle nose pliers and bang the bolt into the floor (or wall) with a hammer. It should slide back through the sleeve. Now bang the claw of the hammer (or pincer bar) onto the sleeve and bolt so it bites in, like you would when pulling a stubborn nail. Lever now and the whole assembly should come clean out of the concrete! If you do it carefully and have a stingey nature you can even recycle them!!

Cheers,

back to the floating on air drill press or anything for that matter.

The simple answer is no, it isnt that simple, but.

there is a company called "aerogo" who make "air castors".

now they do exactly want you mention but it is quite a bit more involved, and they are tempramental devices to say the least.

basicaly they are a plate of aluminium with an air passage (yep just 1) thru them and a bellows like skirt on the bottom. in the middle there is a puck that the castor sits on when not inflated.

the down sides

they do not like anything but the smoothest floors, concrete is ok but it better be good and smooth, then theres the cracks, oh the cracks, dont like the cracks

they use large amounts of air.

the air preasure/ flow to each castor must be ballanced in consideration with the load on each castor. sometimes this is easy sometimes most certainly not.

they don't like being underloaded, with no weight on them they are very silly things, with almost enough weight on them they wont lift in a stable manner they sit there fluffing up & down.

they are expensive, seriously.

there are no brakes, one of the bigest features of air castors is the incredibly low friction, you can moove huge weights with very little force. which means things get mooving very quickly BUT stopping is another thing all together.


air castors they are wonderfull things
If you want some I have a bucket full of em going cheap that do a tonne each, seriously you dont want any unless you can put at least 200 or 300 kg on them.

cheers

that's the trick. I shall peruse the shop-which-must-not-be-named (but rhymes with Cunning) this morning.

As it turns out, further consideration has led me to decide to get a bench-mount model instead, but sooner or later i do need to bolt my bandsaw down.

Originally Posted by soundman

back to the floating on air drill press or anything for that matter.

air castors they are wonderfull things
If you want some I have a bucket full of em going cheap that do a tonne each, seriously you dont want any unless you can put at least 200 or 300 kg on them.

cheers

Can you post a picture so I can see what they are like in size. I have a jointer which is damn heavy and they sound like the go to me. Might also put my new table saw on some. The floor of my garage is board flooring as in a house so is dead flat and smooth.

The air castors are a bout 300mm square & stand about 30mm high.

however unless the foor is perfectly flat and there are no gapes between the boards you are wasting your time.

check the areogo web site these are the 12" castor.
Send me a PM & we will hook up by phone for further info.

cheers