Thread: Drill Press Table Suggestions

I don't think there's a satisfactory filler that could hide the divots. I pondered how in the world the morons could place so many divots in so many places. But I guess it's easy if the table is centrally mounted under the quill, with rotational adjustment.

I would accept the divots as part of the tool's "character." They won't affect function, and won't be repeated, if you rehearse drilling with a stationary test plunge, to ensure the drill penetrates where it's supposed to.

BTDT.

Cheers,
Joe

Could weld and file/grind. Don't do them all at once,however.

I suppose you could drill more divots, in an attempt to create a deliberate pattern. A half-arsed "solution" at best, though.

Cheers,
Joe

Thanks for all of your comments.

I think I will try the Devcon epoxy metal filler - the colour won't match I suppose but better than the Swiss cheese look - can't do any harm I guess.

I think I would just live with it the way it is.

A suggestion if I may

plate over it with either sheet 3 to 6mm alli or steel or just make a table like we do for woodworking out of melamine.

Originally Posted by artme

Coul weld and file/grind. Don't do them all at once,however.

An alternative is to make a steel cover, ie get a piece of 1/4" steel machined to the same shape and weld some threaded rods on the underside and drill 3-4 holes in the existing table to hold it in place.

I would probably look at wedlong. However the deeper holes would take a lot of filling. I would fill most of them with over length steel plugs and weld the plugs into place, then grind/sand down the excess. There is more than enough undamaged flat left so I don't think it would need to be re-machined.

How about "Beaumont's Egg"? Worked fine on the Tay Bridge (well, until it collapsed

"a filler composed of lamp black, fiddler's rosin and iron filings or "borings" to cover up faults in the metal (an alternative was a mixture of sulphur, cast iron siftings and sal-ammoniac)."

Cheers,
Andrew

Hey, it's an old machine and looks like it's done a bit, all the old warhorses that I know have a few battle scars, just leave them, they add a bit of character and make it look like that it gets used. We don't all need to have a shed like Les (in Red Dear) (sorry Les)

HazzaB

Originally Posted by BobL

An alternative is to make a steel cover, ie get a piece of 1/4" steel machined to the same shape and weld some threaded rods on the underside and drill 3-4 holes in the existing table to hold it in place.

I would probably look at wedlong. However the deeper holes would take a lot of filling. I would fill most of them with over length steel plugs and weld the plugs into place, then grind/sand down the excess. There is more than enough undamaged flat left so I don't think it would need to be re-machined.

I see no benefit in drilling new holes for an auxiliary cover. Why not use the existing oblong holes?

There are only two through-holes that demand such filling. All of the oblong holes are original construction, provided for attachment of accessories such as cross-slide vises, or of workpieces themselves. They should be preserved. In special circumstances, they can also be used for drill penetration, but with rehearsal as advised earlier.

Cheers,
Joe

Thanks for your input. I can never understand people being so careless to drill into their machines like this - just plain lazy and stupid - but that sums up a large percentage of the population I guess.

I will keep you posted on the outcome and intend to take a lot of pics of the rebuild - I love machine restoration stories so I may as well post one of my own on here.