Drill Press Runout

[Liem Tran]

Hello everyone.
I've ruin several pen blanks and tubes due to runout on my drill press. I was wondering if there's anyway to fix this problem besides buying a new one. Thanks in advance for any input.


Merry X-mas and HAppy NeW year to all!

Liem

[Russ Massery]

Most likey It's just the chuck.

[Brian Hale]

I'd look at the chuck like Russ suggested.

Do you use the DP with as drum sander? That can put stress/wear on the bearings or sleeves. You might be able to feel slop when you lower the chuck all the way down and try to jiggle it around. If that's the case it might be time for a new one if it's not an overly expensive model

Brian :)

[Jim Becker]

Try removing the chuck, cleaning the taper and reseating it. That sometimes will correct runout if it's due to dirt and debris during initial assembly.

[lou sansone]

hi liem
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you also

How do you know it is the run out ruining your pen blanks. When I think of run out in a chuck it manifests itself in the drill bit "wobbling" around when trying to drill a hole. Is that the problem you are experiencing? I was wondering if you may possibly be having trouble with drill bit "drift" when drilling your blanks, and not a real "run out" situation. Drilling long holes in wood can cause the drill bit to drift when drilling and this would result in the hole being in the right location at the point of entry, but off center on the exit side. Is that what is really happening ? If you are having trouble with drill bit drift, you might try a few different methods to drill the hole. make sure you are allowing the chips to clear as you drill. this may mean that you have to retract the bit all the way out of the wood to allow the chips to clear and then re-enter the wood for another bite.

Lou

[M Toupin]

Liem,

Start with tuning up your drill press to eliminate it as a factor in your problem. Here's a good article on tuning up your drill press and correct run out. Even a brand new tool needs a bit of tuning to get the full potential out of it.

http://www.owwm.com/files/PDF/FAQ/drill_press_tune-up.pdf

After you eliminate the drill press as a factor, check your bits. A damaged lip or improperly ground/sharpened bit will also cause drift. Lastly, some wood just doesn't play nice. Especially hard woods with the grain running at an angle to the bit can also cause the bit to pull. If that's the case then cut your blanks as bit big and try and compensate when drilling your holes either by drilling off center or canting the blank at a slight angle.

Mike

[Liem Tran]

hi liem
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you also

How do you know it is the run out ruining your pen blanks. When I think of run out in a chuck it manifests itself in the drill bit "wobbling" around when trying to drill a hole. Is that the problem you are experiencing? I was wondering if you may possibly be having trouble with drill bit "drift" when drilling your blanks, and not a real "run out" situation. Drilling long holes in wood can cause the drill bit to drift when drilling and this would result in the hole being in the right location at the point of entry, but off center on the exit side. Is that what is really happening ? If you are having trouble with drill bit drift, you might try a few different methods to drill the hole. make sure you are allowing the chips to clear as you drill. this may mean that you have to retract the bit all the way out of the wood to allow the chips to clear and then re-enter the wood for another bite.

Lou

Lou,
The drill bit wobbles. I haven't measured the amount of runout with a dial indicator yet, but I can see the drill bit wobble. When I move the chuck side to side there's a bit of movement. I'm sure that's enough to damage the pen blanks. I just started pen turning so all of the drill bits I'm using are brand new. I will try what the others have mentioned. Hopefully I can get the problem fix.

Thanks,
Liem

[Pete Bradley]

If the bits are new, try a different one to be sure you didn't get one that's bent.

If you can move the chuck from side to side, that isn't a great sign. Whether/what to fix would depend on how the machine is built.

Pete

[Paul Simmel]

>>> When I move the chuck side to side there's a bit of movement.

The arbor is tapered on both ends, seated to the press, and the chuck is seated to the tapered arbor. All gets seated by putting a block on your table, and using the pull down lever as a press, jamb that chuck down on the block a few times. Then check for play again. If the play is gone, check for runout with anything handy.

One my first, brand new drill press, the arbor was bad and needed replacing. All runout after that was gone.

[Al Willits]

Maybe pull the chuck out of the shaft, then make sure the shaft has no side to side play, then use your dial indicator to measure out of round on the shaft, if these are true your problem lies with the tapered shaft of the chuck or the internal taper on the main shaft being either dirty or out of round, chuck, or you drill bits being bent.

Least that's all I can think of, fwiw.

I had the same problem with my not so quite heavy duty tabletop DP, I made the mistake of taking a bit to much cut on a block of aluminum using an end mill and bent the main shaft, after spending all the time I did to straighten it, I think I might have been better off to just replace it...:)

Either way, good luck.

Al

[Greg Mann]

If there is play side to side it is probably not the fit of your chuck taper as the chuck would just fall off. There could possibly be too much clearance between the housing and the quill. The quill is the larger unit that moves up and down with the the bearings inside. If so, you can mitigate this somewhat by tightening the quill clamp slightly to remove some clearance. This is not a fix, just a work around for a bigger problem.

Having said that, the chuck is usually the culprit. Even a new chuck can be faulty. This is the order of usual problems assuming a well made drill press to begin with. 1/Chuck. 2/Chuck taper. 3/Spindle taper if the manchine has one (good to have). 4/Spindle bearings. 5/quill to housing fit. IF the machine is not well made you can probably reverse the order and you will be constantly frustrated trying to do fine work like drilling pen blanks. I have a cheaply made drill press that was given to me and the quill to housing fit is very poor. For a lot of work it is worse than useless and will soon be gone.

Greg

[Liem Tran]

I had a couple of hours in the shop last night. When I loosen the quill clamp screw I found that the quill clamp itself was cracked. I'm not sure when this happen. I never really used the drill press for any precision work before so this problem was probably overlooked. Does anyone think that the clamp is the cause?

Thanks,
Liem

[Greg Mann]

It can't help. Look for play between the quill and housing. If you have any there you will continue to have trouble.

Greg