# Drill press mod



## woodchuckerNJ (Dec 4, 2013)

Saw this on http://www.instructables.com/id/Accurized-Craftsman-Drill-Press/
Figured what the heck, it could be useful. My drill press doesn't have a depth rod, it has the collar which I find a pain at times. With this mod I can basically set zero as my stop depth and drill to zero. Or I can locate the drill on the wood, zero it and then make a 3/8 hole .375..
For my drill press I had to create a hole in the top to allow the caliper to fit in, and I had to add light to it, as I could not read it easily. It's too dark, so I added an LED. The caliper is from HF.. The led came from one of the free flashlights.










Rather than use the existing small button cell, I used a radio shack box and added a AA for the caliper, and 2 AAA (they did not have the 2 AA holder at the time) for the LED which required 2 cells in a project box, with a single slide switch that is DPDT. The box has micro connectors glued (hot glue) for connection to the caliper and LED. So I can easily unplug and change the batteries.









Since I don't have a stop rod, I had to make a collar to fit around the bottom of the yoke. It was cut in half after sizing and then screws clamp it back on the yoke.









The light is a great help. Not perfect, but the screen was too dark standing up, I had to hunch over to see it. Where I have positioned it causes glare, but LCD screens use polarization, so this is the only location to really put some light on the screen. The holder I made I included some aluminum foil to help direct some light down.. not sure how well that worked, but it couldn't hurt.









Here's what it looked like b4 it was wired up, and poking through the guard.. make sure you avoid your pulleys.









Of course this is not a necessary mod, but it is kind of neat.. and was fun to build.


----------



## bbc557ci (Sep 20, 2012)

I think that's pretty cool !! Took some thought, and some time I'm sure. I'm guessing you must spend some time working with your drill press to invest that kind of time. Again, pretty cool )


----------



## BacktotheWood (Feb 16, 2010)

Definitely a cool idea.


----------



## woodchuckerNJ (Dec 4, 2013)

Well, not too much time. Enough..

it was about 3 hours work. probably 2 for soldering and setting up part. 
The mounting hardware was a pretty quick build.
About $14 in parts, so it really wasn't too bad.

We'll see how it works in practical terms over the next few weeks. Of course I won't abandon the stop collar for repetitive drilling. But this might be the tkt for one or two offs.


----------



## TheGermanJoiner (Dec 1, 2013)

Great job I like that


----------



## steve_in_ohio (Dec 28, 2013)

that is a great idea


----------



## kelvancra (May 4, 2010)

Damn good job. Very creative, and useful.


----------



## MalcolmLaurel (Dec 15, 2013)

Better yet, look at igaging DRO's About the same price, you can cut them to length, and you don't have to turn your head sideways to read it. Or a quill gage made for just this purpose:








This one would be more expensive, but I got it for free. I too had to add some LED lights (not shown above) to make it easier to see.


----------



## ArlinEastman (May 22, 2011)

Nice work Jeff

I could never get past the wishing stage. I have been needing a DP table and just can not figure it out.

Arlin


----------



## MrRon (Jul 9, 2009)

Nice job WoodchuckernNJ. I was doing something similar using the HF caliper, but had a problem drilling holes in the jaws of the caliper. What type of drill did you use? I found that I couldn't even make a punch mark in the metal.


----------



## woodchuckerNJ (Dec 4, 2013)

That's why I used the composite caliper as per the liink in the top piece.

Very easy, and the nice thing is it re-zeros every time you turn it on.

Thanks guys.. For the few bucks this was a good mod.. I have used it quite a bit now.

They go on sale quite regularly plus with the 25% off they are great. I'll take pics of the battery box interior some time soon, as it's worth the effort.


----------



## woodchuckerNJ (Dec 4, 2013)

Well waiting for family to arrive, so here's some pics.




























Hope this is clear enough.


----------



## redSLED (Mar 21, 2013)

This is interesting. I'm still using shreds of green tape on my drill bits as needed to gauge my drilling depths.


----------



## woodchuckerNJ (Dec 4, 2013)

Yep, me too when using a drill hand held or if I have a lot of stopped holes, I use some split ring stop collars.

Like I said this wasn't really necessary, but I like it anyway.


----------



## MrRon (Jul 9, 2009)

woodchuckerNJ, Here is a sketch of a layout tool I made using a stainless steel caliper. I couldn't drill through the hardened jaws, so I had to clamp them in place. I will rebuild my tool using the composite caliper.


----------

