Anyone using a mobile base under a Nova Voyager DP?

[Brian Tymchak]

I just got my new Nova Voyager DP. I could not believe how heavy the head is. Required some serious ingenuity to get if from the garage to the basement workshop.

Anyway, facing the assembly task now, and started reading thru the owners guide. Right up front it says to NOT use a mobile base for this machine. I assume the warning is due to the high center of gravity with the weight of the head. My guess is the head is ~120 lbs with the base/column/table ~150 lbs. Having a small shop I absolutely need to put this DP on a mobile base.

I have a Rockler universal mobile base that should easily handle the weight. But, I'm wondering just how much risk there really is in putting this machine on a mobile base.

So, has anyone done this or have thoughts on this risk in doing this?

Thanks!

[Jon Nuckles]

Most or all floor drill presses probably come with a similar warning. I have a big Clausing drill press and built a mobile base for it. Try to extend the casters as far out to the sides as you can to give it a bigger footprint. I am careful when I move mine, but have never come close to tipping it.

I’ll try to post a picture when I’m on my computer.

[Derek Cohen]

I have not come close to experiencing a problem, Brian. The steel base is very close to the floor, creating a low centre of gravity.

https://i.postimg.cc/jdCWPvf6/4.jpg

I will post a few pics tomorrow of the drill press table I am completing.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[ChrisA Edwards]

I've had my floor standing Delta drill press on a mobile base for years. My garage floors (multiple locations) have all had smooth surfaces that the base's castors will roll on easily. I just make sure the floor is clear of debris before I wheel it out to use.

[Jon Nuckles]

Here is a picture of the base I made for my drill press:
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[Ross Manning]

I have a Bora heavy duty mobile base on my Nova Voyager - very stable even on my uneven floor.
Be like Nike - just do it.

[Larry Frank]

I have a wheeled base under my Nova Voyager DP and am careful when I move it.

Yes, the head is very heavy and not easy to install.

[Doug Dawson]

I just got my new Nova Voyager DP. I could not believe how heavy the head is. Required some serious ingenuity to get if from the garage to the basement workshop.

Anyway, facing the assembly task now, and started reading thru the owners guide. Right up front it says to NOT use a mobile base for this machine. I assume the warning is due to the high center of gravity with the weight of the head. My guess is the head is ~120 lbs with the base/column/table ~150 lbs. Having a small shop I absolutely need to put this DP on a mobile base.

I have a Rockler universal mobile base that should easily handle the weight. But, I'm wondering just how much risk there really is in putting this machine on a mobile base.

So, has anyone done this or have thoughts on this risk in doing this?


I have mine on (in?) a Portamate 2500. It's bolted to the base, of course, so the base and the press stand are one piece. With that stand, it tends to tilt slightly when stationary, so it's useful to have a piece of plywood or (roughly 1/4 inch) steel plate as a spacer, with an additional spacer, maybe (measure it?) 1/3 inch, at one end (front or back?) to level things out. The stand holes are 1/2", so you'd do best to have a decent 1/2" twist drill bit on hand to mate things up, and those fasteners too. It's very stable when assembled just so.

I really like this press. Big head, big hair! The 80's want their GUI back too. :^) Good times.

[Brian Tymchak]

Thanks to all for your responses. I'll go forward with confidence.

Mounting that head on the column is going to be a fun time...

[Doug Dawson]

Thanks to all for your responses. I'll go forward with confidence.

Mounting that head on the column is going to be a fun time...

I strapped the head securely to my foldable HF engine hoist (the master of so many object movements) and it was straightforward, proceeding with care. Just get the right tackle arrangement. Secure the base and stand first, of course.

[Jay Kepley]

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I put my 17" Jet drill press (which weighs about 190 pounds) on a simple homemade mobile base. I glued up a southern yellow pine board that extends about 1 1/4 inch outside the drill press base. I used 3" casters from Home Depot. I used plywood cutoffs to raise the drill press off the floor until I could slide it on the mobile base. It was very easy and safe. No risk to my bad back! Once on the mobile base, the drill press is easily movable. It rolls easily, and it has less top heaviness because the wheels of the base are outside the base itself. It is a joy to be able to move a drill press so easily. Good luck!

[Jim Becker]

Yea, it's always been a stated warning with drill presses to avoid mobility, but reality is that many folks need to move them from time to time. My opinion is that a mobile base that gets the tool base as close to the floor as possible and gets all or at least two wheels off the floor when mobility is disengages is best. You want it "rock solid" when the tool is in use and ideally, the minimal height raise you can get for when you are actually moving it. Moving should be done really slowly and carefully, too...purely because these things are very top-heavy and very narrow compared to most other tools. My old Jet DP is on a "put together" type mobile base (I don't recall the brand) and both front swiveling wheels are off the floor when it's parked. There are adjustable feet for leveling at the same points so the base is on four points when parked and cannot rock. There is no more than about a half inch, if that, between the bottom of the tool base and the floor.

[Brian Tymchak]

Thanks Jim. The Rockler base I'm using also keeps the base within about a 1/2" of the floor. I've used this base for other tools, albeit not nearly as heavy as this DP. I got it all assembled and stood up today and it is very stable. I'm quite happy with how it all turned out.

[Brian Tymchak]

I strapped the head securely to my foldable HF engine hoist (the master of so many object movements) and it was straightforward, proceeding with care. Just get the right tackle arrangement. Secure the base and stand first, of course.

I have a split top workbench so I was able to lean the base/mobile base/column assembly over between the tops and maneuver the head onto the column fairly easily. Then I slowly leaned it all back up on the base. It worked surprisingly well and easy.

[Derek Cohen]

Yea, it's always been a stated warning with drill presses to avoid mobility, but reality is that many folks need to move them from time to time. My opinion is that a mobile base that gets the tool base as close to the floor as possible .....

This memory is painfully fresh in my mind ...

The Voyager came to stay in my shop just two weekends ago. The journey home from Carbatec (local woodworking store) required unpacking and stacking parts, as the single Big box was too large to fit in my wife’s Golf. Once the parts were in the shop, came the assembly. The main section is very, very Heavy! You are warned! Fortunately, I have an equally large and strong neighbour.

I decided to ignore maker’s warning about not using a mobile stand since my shop is half of a double garage, and some machines get moved around on occasions. The drill press is one of these. My plan was to build a simple base out of Pine 2x4’s and screw on lockable wheels. This has worked for me before. Well, I did this first, and then added the base, then the steel tube - all bar the drill head ... and then called over my neighbour to assist with the head attachment and hoisting. Bearing in mind the cost of this thing, dropping it was something I wanted to avoid.

It was Sunday morning and I caught Gareth just before he was due to leave for work (he builds houses and this was his display day). With the tube on the ground, we wrestled the head onto it with the aid of lithium grease, and hoisted the drill press erect. I cannot under state how much sweat went into the marriage of the head and tube. Brian says it was easy. Not these guys - four left hands... Finally, done ! Congratulating ourselves, Gareth went off to change, and I stood back to admire the new drill. It dawned on me that the controls were a little too high for comfort. I am a Mr Average - a little under 5’10” - and the Voyager was obviously designed for me, but now the height would have suited someone about 6’2”.

What to do? I called Gareth over again, and together we hoisted the drill press up onto rafters so I could remove the base and install the one in the earlier photo, which was on another machine. This was a fun activity. Not. I was working frantically against the clock to resize the mobile base and then bolt it to the drill press before he left for work. It was held up there with his winch and, as I was unfamiliar with it, I did not want to attempt to release it on my own.

Resizing the mobile base and attaching it to the hanging drill press took a while longer than I hoped, and Gareth went off to work. The Voyager was left hanging off the rafter all day. It was a testament to his patience that he helped lower it at 7:00 p.m. on his return. Was it worth it? Yes, absolutely. This machine really does need the correct size/height base . The one I have literally skims the floor, adding perhaps 1" to the height, which is fine. It feels pretty solid on the wheels, which are hard without any spring.

https://i.postimg.cc/Xq1ptBRy/1.jpg
Today I hope to complete the drill press table. It's been a little more work than I expected. That seems to go with the territory :)

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Jim Becker]

Derek, good choice with the change, both for stability and for, um...the height adjustment. :) I'm actually impressed with the width of the base on that tool and the fact that it appears to be a quite solid.

[Tom Dixon]

I put my Nova Voyager on a Grizzly T28922 (https://www.grizzly.com/products/Grizzly-The-Bear-Crawl-Cub-Mobile-Base/T28922) - The Bear Crawl "Cub" Mobile Base. Very low to the ground. It works great.

[David Buchhauser]

I have used the Grizzly mobile bases for several of my drill presses. The one on the left weighs over 600 lbs. - and the other one is around 300 lbs.
The key is to mount them so that you are moving the drill press from front to back. It is when they are moved from side to side that the problems crop up with tipping it over.
David

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[Jay Kepley]

Here's one more thought on a mobile base on a drill press: as long as the mobile base itself is stable, the mobile base is larger than the base of the drill press, and the drill press base is securely attached to the mobile base, the drill press has to be more stable than without the mobile base.

I have a Jet 17" drill press. Sitting on the narrow cast iron base, it is unstable. I could easily tip it over by giving it a hard lateral push. I put mine on a base that is 1 1/4 inches wider and longer than the cast iron base with the casters as far out as I could put them. With that, my drill press is materially more laterally stable. I used HD locking casters. With two casters locked, I can easily do what I need to do. It's very nice to be able to move the drill press to beside my bench, where I can put pieces after drilling.

[Mike Wilkins]

I put a mobile base under my Voyager, making sure to bolt the cast iron base to the mobile base. The mobile base enlarges the footprint of the machine, making it more stable. Just make sure to move it slowly and carefully across the shop floor, and you should be fine.

[Jeff Duncan]

Ok maybe your drill press is different, haven't been exposed to that particular model, but on most drill presses I've used and come across the head is just as adjustable as the table. Generally there's a locking ring just below the head, with the head locked you loosen the ring, lower it the distance you want to lower the head, and then re-tighten. Then simply lower your head to the ring. Makes getting the head at the right height much easier than what you had to go through anyway.

good luck,
JeffD

[Tom Dixon]

Ok maybe your drill press is different, haven't been exposed to that particular model, but on most drill presses I've used and come across the head is just as adjustable as the table. Generally there's a locking ring just below the head, with the head locked you loosen the ring, lower it the distance you want to lower the head, and then re-tighten. Then simply lower your head to the ring. Makes getting the head at the right height much easier than what you had to go through anyway.

good luck,
JeffD

Yeah that's not how the head works on the Nova Voyager. It slips on and you lock it in place. It is not adjustable up and down.