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.
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.
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The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
I put my Nova Voyager on a Grizzly T28922 - The Bear Crawl "Cub" Mobile Base. Very low to the ground. It works great.
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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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.
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.
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