Adapting a Older Drill press to R&P table adjustment

[Mac McQuinn]

Came across a older Delta (1940's?) Floor model drill press and wondered if anyone has ever adapted the newer style rack and pinion table adjustment to an older DP? I'd really like to get into an U.S. made older machine although would really miss this feature if it did not exist on a DP.

Mac

[Van Huskey]

I have seen it done but only using parts from the same machine that also came R&P.

One of the issues is many of the R&P mechs were attached to non-tilting production tables. Honestly if you don't already have a press I would look for one that has what you need/want. Some of the Delta 17" DPs came with a R&P tilting table, an excellent place to start for a WWing DP. Barring this look for modern or vintage machine parts for machines with the same column diameter and go from there.

[glenn bradley]

You'll find a couple of ideas here: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?163398-Drill-Press-Gloat-and-Looking-for-Table-Lift-Ideas

[Myk Rian]

Which DP do you have?
Newer DPs come with a rack and pinion (DP-350 for one) but the mechanism is cast into the table collar.
Some have rigged a trailer hitch jack to their tables. Others use a counter-weight inside the column, with a pulley on top and a cable around the table collar. The counter-weight was an option on some models. A rack and pinion was also an option.
Every now and again they show up on OWWM BOYD.

[Bill Huber]

As you can see in the thread that Glenn showed I am using a hydraulic cylinder and it works just fine. There are a lot of really good ideas in that thread.

My old table will not title so I had to make a jig for that but I have found that I really don't do a lot of angle drilling.

If I had a R&P on my drill press it would be hard to use because of the way my drill press sets in my shop, very small shop.

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[Mac McQuinn]

Thanks for the ideas, I'm not sure of the model as it was tucked away between a lot of other typical garage stuff in a un-lit garage. I doubt it's seen the light of day in a long time. Looking at pictures of 50-60 year old Delta DP's leads me to think it's from that era. There's enough grunge on it which appears to have preserved the machine from rust. Looks like a prime candidate for restoration/clean-up and use.

Thanks, Mac