Thread: Getting the most out of my drill press

Originally Posted by notch

The bits seem to turn very straight when properly inserted in the chuck but when I align the bit on a point I’ve marked accurately and created a divet dead centre with punch, I find that the pressure of the bit on the job causes the chuck to deflect slightly.

Are you using a brand new bit or a resharpened/used bit?
Unless the bit is sharpened accurately the tip geometry may be slightly out and this will cause it move in the way you describe.
A used bit might also be slightly bent and/or have worn shank.
Next, are you doing this test on timber with grain - if so then then grain may deflect smaller drill bits.
Try using MDF, higher speeds and a larger bit and see what happens.

Ultimately you need to drill holes and check the hole size with a digital caliber.

The way to check out all out more accurately is to use a dial indicator and starting by measuring "run-out" at 1) the Morse taper (MT), 2) chuck arbor, 3) then the chuck body, and 4) then for a range of drill sizes.
if the MT is out then unfortunately it's a new drill - although a bearing replacement may help
If the chuck arbor is out (unlikely) this can be replaced for a few $$
Likewise if the chuck is out - the jaws may be damaged.

Thank you!
I’ll do some testing today.

To eliminate the bits I bought a new set of quality ones yesterday as I needed an imperial set anyway and I had been using many suspect bits over the history of the drill.

This level of accuracy has never been my target before.

I’ll also see if I can measure the runout as you suggest. I have a dial gauge.

Will

OK, I've reassembled it after the full cleanup and identified the problem as "quill play" - it seems to be something that is common in el-cheapo drills but this isn't a completely rubbish model so I'm thinking there may be some adjustment I can do. Researching now.

This link has a short video of pretty much the problem I'm dealing with:

quill play on drill press – GuShH's DevBlog

and my own experience here:

https://youtu.be/EJOUixi67qc

https://youtu.be/jUMBPooFg2s

Off to study what can be done about it.

Sorry to distract but I didn’t mention this in your other post but I did wonder if you had tested that your Stanley square is actually square?
you can do this by drawing a line along the blade of the square then flipping it over and drawing another line. Lines parallel = a square square. Line not parallel shows the degree of the error

hi Pac man, actually I think the square is ok - I'll go and do a check of that next - as I have a framer's square and another couple of quick squares around I should be able to test that.

The slight deviation you can see in the images was corrected after the photo was taken it was like a hair of a degree rotation of the table clockwise and it seems to look pretty good now.

But... In other news: I think I've fixed my quill play.

With the... Wait for it... The quill play adjustment screw LOL

Actually I didn't know what all these parts were and the manual has no mention of the quill adjustment setscrew with lock nut but once I pulled it out it was clear as day what it was for.

The Quill obviously has a track running down the side and a grubscrew with a machined rectangular end sits in the slot. It's not as wide as the slot so it can be tightened fore or aft and an edge will contact the fore or aft side of the slot. This causes binding and so when I started playing with it I thought I wasn't getting anywhere. But having found I could take the grub screw right out (!!) without removing the quill I could see the edges of the tip were rounded off. Now maybe that happened when I removed it - and if so it didn't take much force so it is very soft. Regardless, after refitting it I found I could tighten it right in and although the pieces would bind and the action of the press is not free and "silky" it is absolutely rigid at the tip - so after cleaning with WD40 and then putting in some quality grease I decided to lock it down at this setting where the slot is running on the setscrew tip and there is no play what so ever but I have to actively press and withdraw the drill bit - so it's going to wear but hey - it's going to work MUCH better in the mean time.

I considered some shims or pulling the quill out and changing the set screw but that would not necessarily give me a better result and when I saw what was involved in pulling the handle and releasing the quill/spindle via the top pully set and bearings I though nah...

So at least now I'm happy I have a more accurate setup.

Will