foot actuated drill press (retrofit??)

[Jim Kountz]

While reading through some other posts about drill presses I started to wonder if anyone here has ever retrofitted a drill press for foot actuation? I know David Marks drill press has this and I can only guess as to whether or not it was made that way or if it was something he adapted it to do. I was sitting here thinking that some sort of linkage attached to a foot lever wouldnt be too hard to do but was hoping someone here may already have some info on this??

[Ralph Steffey]

Jim you may be a bit confused about the use of the foot control. First if you really want to turn the motor on and off with a foot switch most woodworking companys sell a switch that you just plug the tool into and turn its switch on then when you step on the( dead man switch) foot switch it will activate but this feature is better used on maybe a scroll saw. What I think you see on Davids drill is a foot control that lowers the quill leaving both your hands free to position and steady the piece you are drilling. This feature was popular on hi end drill presses used for hi production. Hope this helped.

[Steve Stube]

When I read the subject line I first thought you were referring to a foot switch to turn the spindle on/off. I see you are talking about "foot feed" and in production such a feature was fairly common. It was accomplished by mechanical linkage or by air power (some even used hydraulic) with the later having a foot operated valve. For the Delta/Rockwell line the air operated was called a cyclematic air feed (20-601) and the mechanical foot feed linkage (15-820). In general the air and hydraulic feeds were of two types, one with a direct link by rack and pinion to the spindle quill drive and some simply raised and lowered the head on the column.

I believe there are a number of foot feed mortising machines that may give you some ideas for fabricating your own version, or not.

[Frank Chaffee]

Jim,
I have spent many hours with my right hand on the quill feed of drilling machines.

As I read your question I wonder why you would want to feed the drill head with your foot. I imagine that you want to hold the part with both hands.

The method I know for keeping a part from spinning while being drilled is to provide support for that part on a fixed point on the table, or the post of the drill press itself, to resist clockwise movement of the part.

If the part could possibly be lifted by the drill bit self feeding into the part (which is highly typical in this process except with the heaviest parts), then the part is best clamped down.

Pending adjustment of my approach by those more experienced and knowledgeable than myself, I propose that accurate and safe drilling is best done with the part clamped, or at least with the part against a pin to prevent clockwise movement and a block of some type to prevent upward movement. This will allow freedom for one hand to run the quill feed.

Frank

[Alan Turner]

Jim,
I have an older Delta 15" VS DP with foot actuation (feed). It is a mechanical linkage. I think the linkage would be pretty easy to favricate, but the connection to the quill seems more difficult. My guess is that this was a retrofit, with a Delta option/accessry. I will post apix in the next few days if I can think of it, but you will probably find it on the Delta site, or OWWM.

[Frank Chaffee]

I am simply curious as to why machine manufacturers have made foot feed drill presses. Were/are they used for quickly drilling a number of holes in a part while using progressive stops along a fence where an operator could safely hold the part down?

I don’t get out much anymore but would like to know.

Jim, the mechanics of the process are simple. Remove the three levered quill feed handle and replace it with a sprocket. Run roller chain from there straight back to another sprocket on a shaft with a third sprocket transmitting down to one that is rotated by a foot actuated lever. Size the sprockets so that an eight inch or so movement of the foot lever rotates the quill feed the required amount. This could also be done using a linkage after the first two sprockets. I am just winging/brainstorming this. I am sure you can find better in the public domain.

I have several times ganged up to five cheap drill presses together for drilling thru curved rectangular tubing using the quill feed handle on one drill press. The bits went thru drill bushings in each position and the parts were clamped along the length either manually or pneumatically. The depth positions were slightly staggered along the presses to spread out the feed force required.

Frank

[James Boster]

I'm pretty sure Wood magazine had a setup to do this some years back. It was a wooden pedal on the floor and used a cable like a throttle control cable attached to the quill somehow.

[Bill Simmeth]

I am simply curious as to why machine manufacturers have made foot feed drill presses. Were/are they used for quickly drilling a number of holes in a part while using progressive stops along a fence where an operator could safely hold the part down?I've been to several auctions at WW factories in NC and TN and have seen several foot feed DPs. They almost always seem to be used for rosettes. The tables were fixtured to receive a piece and hold it (relatively) safely while the operator pressed the pedal down. He must have had big thighs.

[Frank Chaffee]

James,
Thank you for telling us about that throttle cable mechanism. I can see that or cable used with pulleys similar to how I described roller chain transmission

Thanks Bill,
When we middle aged operators stopped using those in production the StairMaster® sales must have picked up big time?

Regards all,
Frank

[Jim Kountz]

Alan thanks for the info I'll check that our for sure and be looking for the pics if you get a chance to post some. Sorry for the confusion to the other posters who thought I mean a foot switch to turn the machine on and off, gee whiz even Im not that lazy and I can be pretty lazy at times! LOL. Frank I think we all pretty much clamp the workpiece down on the DP, Im not really trying to avoid that at all. I just thought it would be helpful to have both hands free. And I like tinkering with stuff like this! I actually use an auxillary table with T-slots for hold downs and clamps plus an adjustable fence too. Ive used this setup for a number of years on the DP and it works good for me so far.

[Steve Stube]

Here is a photo of the Delta 15-820 foot feed from the catalog but we will have to rely on Alan to show us the upper end linkage. I see it is much more difficult/impossible to look up items like this on the Delta site.

[Ian Barley]

I am in the process (early design stage) of retrofotting a pneumatic actuation to my drill press. If I can get clever enough it will automatically cycle up and down repeatedly. I have the pneumatic circuit figured but now need the engineering!

Why? I cut about 30,000 8mm counterbore plugs evry year - mostly in the winter. I expect (hope!) the the pneumatic feed will give me a consistency which is difficult to achieve manually in terms of quill advance rate, and that the process will be quicker than by hand.

If I ever get the idea out of my head and into practice I will post pics.

[tod evans]

ian, how about a simple eccentric connected to your cylinder with heim joints? by varying the size of the eccentric you can adjust the length of quill travel...food for thought.