Thread: Nova Viking Drill Press

Originally Posted by julie99

I just received the viking benchtop last week - I've used a drill press in the past - but this is the first one I've owned. So my issue is when I raise or lower the table the table swings left and right - I contacted Teknatool via phone, email and filled out their form but no response. I then contacted my dealer. Still nothing. I contacted my dealer again and they contacted Teknatool on my behalf and finally someone from Teknatool got back to me - a week later. They told me to loosen the small allen nut on the back of the column and push the collar down to engage the track that the table runs up and down on. I tried this but the collar was as low as it could go. I then took a video and replied to the email I had received from Teknatool support - but crickets. I'm not sure if this is normal for this type of a tool. The head is brilliant but the machining of the drill table is very poor. I'm not sure if I'll ever need to use the tilt mechanism - hopefully not since this is also very poorly done; You loosen two bolts under the table (in my case I had to use a PB Blast solution to get this unfrozen) and then the whole thing moves, but without any sort of precision - so there is no way to just loosen and turn, the whole thing comes loose and away from the mechanism so when you try and tighten it it sort of has a mind of it's own. I wish the machining of the base/column/table were as good as the direct drive head.

I'm still waiting for an a solution to the table swinging left and right when you raise or lower the table - this can't be correct - ?!

j

Hi Julie,

The photo's are sort of proof i own one I couldn't find one of the table before i added a top but the machining on the top surface is a good as any i have seen, there is no machining nor would i expect any on the underside.

With regards to the table moving side to side when lowering and raising this is normal for un-restrained rack and pinion setups as used on the Nova and for most drills using simple rack and pinion mechanisms. By un-restrained I mean the table doesn't move on a linear rail or keyed solution to stop rotational movement in xy.

With regards to the tilt adjustment, i've used this a few times and it's relatively easy but a pain with with the two bolts.... trick: only loosen both enough to allow you to move the table... not so far as to be able to jiggle it around.
The big bolt is an M16 so anything above 1/4 turn loose is probably too far... How i do it. 24mm socket and just break the M16 loose, Back the M6 locking screw out at least a turn (1mm) and see if the table will move, loosen the M16 till it does.. set the required angle, tighten the M16 back up and honestly I don't recall tightening the lock screw till i revert back to flat.

XB290304.jpg XB220280.jpg

Long story short, there is no solution (well no simply easy one) to the table moving in xy as you raise and lower is it is completely normal and expected it would do so based on the rack and pinion setup used.
Probably not what you wanted to hear but this still remains a stupidly awesome drill press.

Cheers
Phil

The Viking is an absolutely sensational drill press, and the auto start and depth limit settings are invaluable, but I also felt the table mechanism could have been a little more finessed, although it's workable and the top itself is nicely machined. The thing I really didn't understand though was that considering the table and parts are all machined to tolerances to fit, why wasn't the drill centred on the table hole.

It would have been extremely trivial to build this into the design and wouldn't have added any extra machining time as the offset just needed to be moved a few mm, which would then allow to fit chucks, jigs, etc dead centre.

Originally Posted by aarggh

The Viking is an absolutely sensational drill press, and the auto start and depth limit settings are invaluable, but I also felt the table mechanism could have been a little more finessed, although it's workable and the top itself is nicely machined. The thing I really didn't understand though was that considering the table and parts are all machined to tolerances to fit, why wasn't the drill centred on the table hole.

It would have been extremely trivial to build this into the design and wouldn't have added any extra machining time as the offset just needed to be moved a few mm, which would then allow to fit chucks, jigs, etc dead centre.

Well either they fixed it in later builds or you got a bad example as the Nova Viking I got last Nov seems to be centered, I can spin the table around 360 degrees with a pointer/pencil in the drill chuck and the point stays centered on a dot rather than if it was offset it would make a circle... all the measurements i took when i first got it said mine was centered.

Cheers
Phil

Originally Posted by Aussiephil

Well either they fixed it in later builds or you got a bad example as the Nova Viking I got last Nov seems to be centered, I can spin the table around 360 degrees with a pointer/pencil in the drill chuck and the point stays centered on a dot rather than if it was offset it would make a circle... all the measurements i took when i first got it said mine was centered.

Cheers
Phil

Hmmm, I might have to look at the warranty then to see if this would be covered. It is annoying.

Originally Posted by aarggh

Hmmm, I might have to look at the warranty then to see if this would be covered. It is annoying.

I'll pull my wooden table top off over the weekend, i want to make a bigger one as well anyway and put a dial indicator on both the top insert hole and the table through hole to the mount arm ... both could still be off as the test i did above only checks the hole in the mount arm is centered under the chuck.

The hole can only ever be machined centered in the Y axis anyway.... if its centered in Y then you need to rotate the table around the column to center in X.

Originally Posted by Aussiephil

I'll pull my wooden table top off over the weekend, i want to make a bigger one as well anyway and put a dial indicator on both the top insert hole and the table through hole to the mount arm ... both could still be off as the test i did above only checks the hole in the mount arm is centered under the chuck.

The hole can only ever be machined centered in the Y axis anyway.... if its centered in Y then you need to rotate the table around the column to center in X.

Mines not centered in the Y, it's shy about 3mm. I did think of shimming or machining a plate to make it up, but what a PITA.

Is it perpendicular to the chuck? This can be checked roughly but not precisely by putting a large drill in the chuck and placing a square on the table and up against the drill bit. A ground rod instead of a drill bit is the ultimate test but a drill bit gets it close.

This thread might be a bit old but something came up on it that has been bugging the carp out of me for weeks! I've been using drill presses since I was a little tacker and cannot ever remember needing the table centred precisely under the quill. In my experience, all that matters is that the work piece is centred under the quill/bit - so at risk of sounding like a moron, what possible circumstances would require the table to be dead centre

Originally Posted by TTIT

This thread might be a bit old but something came up on it that has been bugging the carp out of me for weeks! I've been using drill presses since I was a little tacker and cannot ever remember needing the table centred precisely under the quill. In my experience, all that matters is that the work piece is centred under the quill/bit - so at risk of sounding like a moron, what possible circumstances would require the table to be dead centre

Oh that's an easy answer... sort of... if you use the center hole in the table as an easy mount point for a live center type device especially for any action that imposes sideways force, ie sanding drums then it's far easier if that hole is centered.....

However in real life it may be easier to use an XY stage to hold that device anyway and no longer an issue.

Cheers
Phil

Originally Posted by TTIT

This thread might be a bit old but something came up on it that has been bugging the carp out of me for weeks! I've been using drill presses since I was a little tacker and cannot ever remember needing the table centred precisely under the quill. In my experience, all that matters is that the work piece is centred under the quill/bit - so at risk of sounding like a moron, what possible circumstances would require the table to be dead centre

There is no need for dead centre (I deliberately made my replaceable waste section off-centre and round). There IS a need for the quill to return to the same spot when a bit is changed.

Regards from Perth

Derek

In most units I’ve used, there is a hole in the centre of the table. One purpose is to prevent damage to the table in case one accidently drills too deep.

For me apart from the fact that it's just as easy to design it accurately as it is to design it out of spec, I want to be able to mount a lathe chuck in the recess, as I often have to drill items in the chuck accurately.

And if it ain't dead centre, apart from looking pretty bad, it then means I need to make up some sort of alignment jig to use the chuck, and while not a massive inconvenience, I have to make the effort each time it's used to ensure it's aligned properly!

Just an unnecessary waste of time really due to some thoughtless designing, but this is my only complaint about the Viking, apart from that it is absolutely sensational.

cheers, Ian

Originally Posted by TTIT

This thread might be a bit old but something came up on it that has been bugging the carp out of me for weeks! I've been using drill presses since I was a little tacker and cannot ever remember needing the table centred precisely under the quill. In my experience, all that matters is that the work piece is centred under the quill/bit - so at risk of sounding like a moron, what possible circumstances would require the table to be dead centre

What size is the table attachment?
47mm?
I bought one of these - great GP table, esp for metal work. It’s 47mm, and needs “shimming” to fit the 48mm hole in my Trade Tools Pedestal Drill (Who’d have thought some were 47mm, and some are 48!?!

Originally Posted by skypig

What size is the table attachment?
47mm?
I bought one of these - great GP table, esp for metal work. It’s 47mm, and needs “shimming” to fit the 48mm hole in my Trade Tools Pedestal Drill (Who’d have thought some were 47mm, and some are 48!?!

You didn't link to anything but I'm guessing you are talking about this table . . .
Vazey.jpg
I have one and also had to shim it up to fit my old Tradetools bench press but then had to turn a fraction off it to fit the Nova - wish these mobs would settle on a standard diameter!!!. They are a great item, very easy to clamp things down on them unlike the Tradetools standard table, and I keep it handy to the Nova but don't use it nearly as much as I did on the old drill press as the Nova table is also pretty easy to clamp things to.