Thomson 100 Mill Drill Table

[Steve Mathews]

I just listed a Thomson 100 Mill Drill Table on eBay that came with a drill press. Someone mentioned that woodworkers like using it so now I'm thinking about keeping it. What are some of its uses?

[Larry Edgerton]

Thats actually a pretty cool unit but if you can get that money out of it sell it and buy a small mill. A drill press is not a mill. The bearings are too far from the cutter for the lateral load that a mill incurs, and there is no way to draw down the MT to insure it stays in the drill. It will eventually drop out, at the worst possible time of course.

[Steve Mathews]

Thats actually a pretty cool unit but if you can get that money out of it sell it and buy a small mill. A drill press is not a mill. The bearings are too far from the cutter for the lateral load that a mill incurs, and there is no way to draw down the MT to insure it stays in the drill. It will eventually drop out, at the worst possible time of course.

I agree. A drill press wouldn't hold up to lateral cuts in heavy metals but it should be OK for wood and thin, soft metals. It shouldn't be any worse than the lateral loads on a router or shaper. I would never consider this a replacement for a real mill. This thing is very well made with linear bearings and polished solid steel and shafts. It must've been expensive to buy new. I just can't see an application for it in woodworking other than repeated cuts and holes drilled using a template.

[Mike Schuch]

I wouldn't use the table for milling on a drill press. But it would be handy for precisely positioning holes or making a row of precisely spaced holes all in a line.

[Paul K. Johnson]

I will buy it from you if it's in good shape. I need a good compound table for my large drill press. The first thing to do is make a fenced table for it. Then you can VERY precisely locate holes. I do a lot of repetitive drilling so I can definitely use it.

This is how to use it: http://www.airfieldmodels.com/information_source/how_to_articles_for_model_builders/tools/x-y_compound_table_fence/

[Ray Selinger]

Heresy Again. I have a Jet 17 and it uses 6200 series bearing. These bearings are much better at radial loads than axial .