does your drill press drill straight?

[jack forsberg]

One of the many uses of a dial indicator in the wood shop. I have found some of the metal working techniques for setting up machine can be helpful to the wood worker.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0og-beb4rg0

Here I demonstrate a simple way to set the table to within 1 thou of 90 with a dial.

[John Lankers]

Thank you for sharing, this is definitely the easiest and most accurate way to check for squareness.

[John TenEyck]

Sure beats the bent wire method. I'll be using that next time - like maybe tomorrow. Thanks.

John

[Art Mann]

I like your method but I suggest using a precision straight edge to verify that the table is flat also. No amount of shimming or adjusting is going to fix a table that isn't flat.

[Matt Day]

Great idea Jack, thanks for sharing.

[Peter Quinn]

I like it! Never occurred to me to do that, and I already have the indicator. Thanks for sharing that Jack.

[Pat Barry]

Thanks Jack. Very informative, I could use this tip

[Al Launier]

Thanks for the video. However, although the overall concept is correct the application is lacking. If you really want to square the spindle to the table it should not be done using a wooden table, especially one that is worn. If accuracy is required, to 0.001", squaring the spindle should be done with the manufaturer's steel table, not wood as it is very unlikely to be that uniformly flat. Also, although the mag base arms can be used as shown, a 3/16" dia. rod, bent to 90° is usually used to sweep the table with an indicator. Plus, the spindle or chuck runout should be checked & corrected first, before attempting to square either the spindle/chuck to the table.
Once the spindle/chuck has been squared to the table, then install a planed wooden table & check the table periodically for wear & replane or replace as appropriate.

[Ronald Blue]

+1 on Al's comments. Also sweep the largest radius the table allows as this increases accuracy although probably overkill for woodworking.

[David Malicky]

I'd suggest being less critical when someone goes to the trouble of making and posting a helpful and basically good video. For woodworking purposes, I see no real problems in it. (If this were about tramming a milling machine for metal, sure we would say more.) Some thoughts:
- He didn't claim it was required to square to 0.001"; it's just showing what's possible.
- For the manufacturer's cast iron table vs a wood top, I would square to the table that I intend to put my workpieces on.
- In machine shops, there is no 1 usual way to mount the indicator (or indicators) for tramming. The mag base arm is the easiest, and nothing wrong with it.

[jack forsberg]

I'd suggest being less critical when someone goes to the trouble of making and posting a helpful and basically good video. For woodworking purposes, I see no real problems in it. (If this were about tramming a milling machine for metal, sure we would say more.) Some thoughts:
- He didn't claim it was required to square to 0.001"; it's just showing what's possible.
- For the manufacturer's cast iron table vs a wood top, I would square to the table that I intend to put my workpieces on.
- In machine shops, there is no 1 usual way to mount the indicator (or indicators) for tramming. The mag base arm is the easiest, and nothing wrong with it.


Thanks Dave that is all i was doing trying get across the use of a dial to square. some good point on setting up (tramming )here above and all should be considered. Really was just setting the tilt on the table as delta's tapered pin location for 90 is out (maybe the guys in the machine shop did not tram the mill when they made it LOL ). I am much more careful setting up the Aceria F4 or the Jones and Shipman jig borer .

thank you all for your comments and hope this helped some.

[Tom Deutsch]

Thanks, David. I'm ignorant of machinists tools, but that looks like an excellent use for a dial indicator. I think I'll pick one up and give that a try.

[Ben Rivel]

Good idea, needs a straight edge under it on the table though as even a tiny nick in the wooden table could through that measurement off if the dial indicator probe fell into one.

[Rick Potter]

Looks like that method could be adapted to square a RAS table also. Just thinkin'.

[Chris Padilla]

Criticisms are fine as long as they are constructive. I learn something new in every thread. Thank you, Jack and Al, for educating me! :)

[Bob Mezzatesta]

Nice Jack. I'll be doing both my drill presses tomorrow.

[John Goodin]

Your timing is perfect. I was just getting ready to post this very question when I saw this. Thank you.

[Brian Henderson]

I like your method but I suggest using a precision straight edge to verify that the table is flat also. No amount of shimming or adjusting is going to fix a table that isn't flat.

That was my thinking as well. A wooden table, especially, gets dinged up and you'll be reading every single divot in the table, something that is almost certainly irrelevant when you're drilling holes. Unless the table is perfectly flat, you're never going to get a very accurate reading.

[Bob Mezzatesta]

Did it today. Surprising how off the tables can be. Also easily and quickly rectified with this method. Well done Jack.

[Myk Rian]

although probably overkill for woodworking.
Bingo!! You nailed it.

[pat warner]

"although probably overkill for woodworking."
********************************
Not if you make jigs. And all of fine woodworking
takes jigs and fixtures.
But, to be sure, drilling to .001" in wood is pointless.
Moreover, if you're that close you can't measure/prove it anyway.
There is just too much surface roughness for the same 5 measurements in a row in the same place.

[David Malicky]

A few more thoughts...
- Dings in the table are no problem, so long as there is enough flat area to read the indicator, and the dings don't tweak the indicator support arm (resweep to check).
- For most purposes, even 10x 0.001" is fine: 0.010" over 12" is about 0.05 degrees. But it's certainly satisfying to get it tighter.
- It's always a good idea to check chuck/spindle run-out, but it's actually not needed to square the table. The spindle bearings define the axis of rotation, not the chuck. That's not to say you'll get a nice hole with a lot of runout, just that the order of checking doesn't matter. But it is helpful to first minimize lateral slop in the quill, if possible -- that slop does affect the axis of rotation. You can also check how that slop translates to indicator movement.

[Frederick Skelly]

Thank you Jack! I can use this tip.
Fred