Drill Press bit wonders

[Paul Ryan]

In july I bought jet's new 17" drill press. Up to this point I have used it very little. I have drilled a couple of holes in some metal stock for a hitch pin, and a few holes in wood. They have all been single holes and very little plunge action required.

Last week I decided to make a couple of cribbage boards for my brothers. I got the wood all marked and set up a fence and a 1/8 bit. I moved the table down far enough that to reach the wood the quill had to be extended about 4" to drill to the proper depth. As I started drilling holes I noticed my holes did not line up. One was higher than the next then a few would line up and then a couple would not line up again. So I started checking the machine and found out the the quill had about .060 slop when extened almost all of the way. The .060 was measured with a dial indicator on the bit. I can physicall move the quill forwards, backwards, and side to side at .060 of an inch. When the quill is at a stop either fully retracted, extended or at one of the stops I can set for it, it will not wobble, it has about .005 runout when at a stop. But when it is being extended at it's farther limits the wobble gets to .060. The wobble gets larger and larger the farther the quill is extended. I have checked the chuck and spindle it is all tight, but the quill is what moves with in it's casting.

I assume that this movement of the quill is not normal. Am I right in assuming that the quill should stay tight and have no movement when off of stops all the way down to it's limits? That the machine should drill stright holes one after another that line up with in a few thousands of an inch.

[pat warner]

I think your machine needs either/both service or parts; I would not use it.
But to minimize such a calamity when the press is tuned.

1) Use short length drills.
2) Extend as little quill as possible.
3) Tighten the head and table; they cannot move.
4) The work has 12 planes of motion! You gotta control as many as possible. (2 up/down, 2 l/r, 2 back& forth, and 3 cc/ccw modes of rotation).
5) Your work has to be flat, straight & well referenced.
6) Your table has to flat and square to the spindle.
7) And your fence has to be just as good.

You gotta prove all this.

Miss these inspection measures and you'll never find the source of error.

[Bill Huber]

I would also use a brad point bit.

I have found that some of my bits want to wonder so I have gone to all brad point bits for wood.

[Paul Ryan]

I have been using brad point bits but that does not help. Maybe I need to clarify. Do the quills on most drill press' have slop, or movement when extended. That on slop on my drill press allows the bit to wander and not drill in the same place ever time.

[Joe Scharle]

The short answer is NO. The bit should not wander, nor should there be any run-out or slop in the quill. Both my DP have screws to minimize lateral motion in the quill assembly. Yours probably does too..

[harry strasil]

Time to Mic the quill top and bottom to see if its miss machined.

[Mike Hall1]

I have a Jet 17" Drill Press and it does exactly the same.

Mike

[Lee Schierer]

I concur that the amount of side play you are seeing is not normal for most drill presses.

A pPossible workaround solution. I don't own a Jet and have never seen one, but there should be a lock to lock the quill in an extended position. Try tightening this lock and leave it just loose enough to allow you to move the quill up and down.

[Paul Ryan]

I have a Jet 17" Drill Press and it does exactly the same.

Mike

Mike


How long have you owned your drill press? Do you think it is a problem?

Personally I thought this is a problem. I dont think a drill press should have any slop (lateral movement in the quill). I wanted to know what the general consensous is. I contacted jet tech support after I noticed the problem. they didn't know what to tell me except that there is a quill set screw to adjust on the side. I played with that it doesn't move more than 1/8 turn in either direction can take it out or put it in. And all it did was put more tension on the quill while moving but did not take any of the play out.

So jet said take the drill press to a repair shop that does waranties, since it is only 4 months old. I took it in earlier this week. The repair guy called on Fri and said jet asked him to measure the run out while the quill is completly retracted, but would not give him the specs until after he measured it. The run out he came up with was .005 which jet said was with in specs. So jet told the repair guy there is nothing else they can do about it. But the measurement he did was not where the problem is, it is when the quill is moveing near it's further most limit. The repair guy says this is a problem and he thinks it needs to get fixed or replaced but Jet wont do anything becuase it is within the only specs they have. What should I do? I screwed up and did not buy it locally, that is my 1st mistake. I am not going to tell you who I bought it from because they don't need to get involved on a forum. I haven't used alot of drill presses and have never check to see if the quill had lateral movement on those that I have used. But I thought a drill press was suposed to be a precision drilling tool. This one is not. Unless I am asked too much out of it?

[Tom Esh]

...The repair guy called on Fri and said jet asked him to measure the run out while the quill is completly retracted, but would not give him the specs until after he measured it. The run out he came up with was .005 which jet said was with in specs. So jet told the repair guy there is nothing else they can do about it...

Sounds fishy. Jet didn't get to be a major accepted brand by pulling that crap. I'd have another go at their cust service dept. Hopefully another notch or two up the chain of command will find someone with the sense and authority to make it right.

[Rich Neighbarger]

I had this very issue with my 17" Jet, solved with a nylon bolt tapped into the front of the casting, just under the power switch. I don't recall if it were a 1/2" or 3/8" but this allows me to adjust for wear as well as side-side quill movement. It wasn't difficult but did require taking the quill out inorder to drill the hole for the bolt. While I was at it, I drilled a third hole through the depth stop block since it is prone to moving during use. I also replaced the cheepo Jet chuck and arbor with a nice Jacobs.

All in all, well worth the time I spent and the few dollars it cost. I am now happy with what was becoming very irritating to me. I don't have any pictures but would be happy to post some if you're interested in seeing what I'm talking about.

[Jim O'Dell]

I'd contact the Jet tech assist, or have the repair shop do it, and ask them to measure one of their machines with the quill extended where you are having problems and see what they measure there.

On the other hand, why are you drilling, starting with the quill at it's (al)most fully extended range? To me, I would think that this would be inviting problems. Try on some scrap with the quill at it's resting place, and the wood and table raised to meet it. See if you still have the same alignment issue with your holes. This isn't to say there isn't a problem with the drill. (Heck, I may not be reading the problem right for that matter.) But it would at least get you closer to the .005 run out, and away from the .060 run out. Use the machine where it is most accurate. Jim.

[harry strasil]

This is what I made for my import drill press for a depth stop. really simple, its made out of walnut, but any hardwood will work.

[Paul Ryan]

On the other hand, why are you drilling, starting with the quill at it's (al)most fully extended range? To me, I would think that this would be inviting problems. Try on some scrap with the quill at it's resting place, and the wood and table raised to meet it. See if you still have the same alignment issue with your holes. This isn't to say there isn't a problem with the drill. (Heck, I may not be reading the problem right for that matter.) But it would at least get you closer to the .005 run out, and away from the .060 run out. Use the machine where it is most accurate. Jim.


You are right Jim, I should have just drilled with the quill started at its fully retracted poistion. It was easier for me to crank the quill down and position the stop so it started in that postion then it was to move the table up. Just me being lazy, but I didn't expect a drill press to have movement like this at any postion. It sounds like this is a common condition of jet drill presses. It is something I never checked on the display when I bought it, it never occured to me. I may attempt Rich's repair if I can't get Jet to take the drill back and refund my money. I am real happy with this drill press other than the movement. My other choice was the Steel City but I am unsure about their current state.

I would like to hear if anyone else has the same issue with a Jet Drill Press.

[Cliff Stannebein]

I have a 3 year old Delta DP300L 12". It has at least 060" slop.
All of these I have checked (by feel) in stores since then have this much slop also. (consumer quality)

I also inherited from my dad, a 1960 (year) South Bend 14" drill press.
This is definately professional or comercial quality. I can detect no slop by
feel. (no need for dial indicator)

Whenever I am in a tool store I feel for drill presses for slop. It appears that the slop is inversely porportional to the price.

[Dana Vogel]

And when and if you contact Jet's tech support of your finding they will inform you those numbers are acceptable as I have been thru this before with them. Their production QA or lack of production QA allows for a hit and miss of whether you receive a sloppy or tight fitting quill. I have also seen this on Powermatics over priced PM2800 DP, one had slop and another did not. BTW my Jet DP's slop is now up to 1/8" when fully extended up from 1/16" over a 10 year period. I am now searching for an industrial USA or Tiawanese made DP with split housing design to accomodate for a wearing quill.

[Rich Neighbarger]

I had a couple of requests for some pictures, so I figured I should share.

The first shows the modification I did to prevent the stop block from racking as well as the only visible modification to the tool. There is a 1/4-20 bolt inset on the other side of the post that has been countersunk so as not to impede movement of the depth scale. The hole here is only to access this screw with my screwdriver.
129839

The second picture is of the switch removed to show the nylon bolt. The quill was removed so as not to drill into it and the casting tapped.
129840

[harry strasil]

FWIW, I think the boring bar they are using to machine the internal quill slide may be spring some.

And you can get a lot of the slop out in the extended position by attaching a sliding guide similar to the threaded stop on the left, to the right side by using some cold rolled shafting and a shop made guide to the side of the drill press head housing and to the black ring that the depth stop is bolted to the quill, more or less like the tubes on a sliding miter saw head.

[Mike Hall1]

Mike
How long have you owned your drill press? Do you think it is a problem?


Paul

I've had mine for about four years. And yes, it is a problem, but I have learned to live with it. Not happily though.

Mike

[Mike Hall1]

Thanks for the photos Rich. Looks like two clever fixes you've come up with. Something we shouldn't have to be doing!!! :(

Mike

[Eddie Darby]

Jet is not the only manufacturer that does not know how to make a good drill press.
I had a DP that had the same problem, but I had the good fortune to run into good customer service. That is why I always rank customer service high!

These links might be helpful.

http://www.rvplane.com/pdf/drill_press_tune-up.pdf

http://www.woodcentral.com/bparticles/DPModifications.shtml

Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.:eek:
Why is it so hard to make a DP right in the first place?

http://content.wmhtoolgroup.com/manuals/m_354169.pdf

Manual

[Paul Ryan]

Thanks for the links Eddie. I wish mine had a split head but it does not.

[george wilson]

I never buy Jet stuff. Years ago I needed a $2.00 motor starting switch that I sent them a check for. They COULD NOT take VISA!! over the phone. I had been a regular customer. The parts guy was a total jerk. I spoke to Mrs Lyons,then the president. She shuffled me right back to the parts guy. It took me 19 days to get the switch(nothing more that 2 contacts on a spring).

Since when can an international co. NOT take Visa by phone? I vowed to never buy another Jet product again.