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Thread: mount drill press on lathe bed?

  1. #1

    mount drill press on lathe bed?

    Was asked about making a run of 40 pieces that must have 6 holes drilled equil distant around a 3 inch diameter cylinder. Sort of like giant tinker toy pieces. My lathe has a indexed pulley in the head stock. But drilling the holes square seems like a hassle. so I was wondering. I have a small HF drill press that might be able to mount to the lathe bed to drill the holes at the proper angles. Alternatively, I can use the lathe to mark the points and then fasten a "V" block of wood on the big drill press. Or is there an easier way to accomplish this that I overlook?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    TX, NM or on the road
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    845
    I made a rig like this one for the same project. Drill Guide (davidreedsmith.com)

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Haubstadt (Evansville), Indiana
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    1,294
    Here are a couple of suggestions. Start with about a 1 1/2” square piece of hard wood, depending on your lathe swing for length. Turn the bottom 2/3 to a diameter that will fit your banjo. In the upper third install a drill guide for the diameter you want to drill. I have done this and it works ok. At a cost, I have the OneWay Drill Wizard. It is a very good tool for something like this, cost is a little over $100. I use mine every 5-6 weeks for something. One thing to note is most keyless drills won’t fit the wizard clamp. I have my old 1989 keyed Craftsman drill in mine.
    When working I had more money than time. In retirement I have more time than money. Love the time, miss the money.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    Peoria, IL
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    4,443

  5. #5
    You could make a hexagon, the same diameter as your cylinders, screw or hot melt glue to the cylinder and do it on the drill press with the depth stop.

    robo hippy

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    San Diego, Ca
    Posts
    1,647
    I took a 1" cylinder of steel and drilled a hole through it on a drill press (to make sure that the hole was perpendicular to the cylinder and properly centered). Then I stuck it into my banjo and adjusted the height of the hole to the centerline of the spindle. Easy peezy. Then it was just a matter of using the lathe's indexing function. So, I would index to the proper position and drill a hole, index again. etc.

    The hole through the 1" diameter steel cylinder ensured that the drill bit entered the wood with the correct alignment.

    In my case I was only drilling about 15 or 18 holes, so I wasn't concerned about the drill bit enlarging the hole in the steel cylinder. If that happened, all I would need to do is to drill a new hole through the cylinder.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Inver Grove Heights, MN
    Posts
    798
    You have received some good ideas especially if you are going to do a lot of this work. I just wanted to stick a few colored pencil stubs in the rim of a bowl. I clamped a piece of hardwood to my tool rest and drilled through it lined up with where I wanted the holes. It worked ok. For more stability and to avoid wearing it out you could add a piece of steel or brass tube to the hole.

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