Free Standing SS Drill press

[robinson46176]

This was my solution... Its been a few years now and I am happy with the concept. It has a caster set under it now but not many other changes. I do still have some other ideas. There was some concern with stability early on but I find it quite stable.
Here is link to the discussion as it came into being:
http://www.shopsmith.com/ss_forum/viewtopic.php?t=5135

Shopsmith push me pull me.JPG (60.92 KiB) Viewed 6385 times

[tomsalwasser]

This was my solution... Its been a few years now and I am happy with the concept. It has a caster set under it now but not many other changes. I do still have some other ideas. There was some concern with stability early on but I find it quite stable.

An awesome conversion Francis!

[tomsalwasser]

The bench tubes are 18" long. They are the left over pieces from when I made my shorty. The bases castings are slid on the tubes as far as they will go (one end has a stop but the other end does not).

Can I just use a hack saw to cut the bench tubes?

[JPG]

The bench tubes are 18" long. They are the left over pieces from when I made my shorty. The bases castings are slid on the tubes as far as they will go (one end has a stop but the other end does not).

Can I just use a hack saw to cut the bench tubes?

Sure!

Have plenty of blades.

Eat a hearty breakfast!

I have tried a pipe cutter.(2 tubes)

Next time it will be an abrasive cutoff wheel.

[BuckeyeDennis]

The bench tubes are 18" long. They are the left over pieces from when I made my shorty. The bases castings are slid on the tubes as far as they will go (one end has a stop but the other end does not).

Can I just use a hack saw to cut the bench tubes?

A diamond-grit reciprocating saw blade should do the trick, if you don't need the ends perfectly square. I've used them to cut heavy machine castings. My local Lowes stocks them.

image.jpeg (21.58 KiB) Viewed 6331 times

But since I have the hardware (including a speed reducer and a steady-rest) to chuck up a tube in lathe mode for polishing, I'd probably do that, and use an angle grinder with a cutoff wheel to make the cut. That should give a nice clean edge.

[damagi]

The bench tubes are 18" long. They are the left over pieces from when I made my shorty. The bases castings are slid on the tubes as far as they will go (one end has a stop but the other end does not).

Can I just use a hack saw to cut the bench tubes?

Sure!

Have plenty of blades.

Eat a hearty breakfast!

I have tried a pipe cutter.(2 tubes)

Next time it will be an abrasive cutoff wheel.

Metal cutoff saw would certainly be best...I took one set of tubes to a transmission repair place and they cut them for free.

I have gotten decent results using a sawzall with a standard metal cutting blade. I imagine using a diy miter guide would help the cuts, but following the line worked well enough.

[tomsalwasser]

[I took one set of tubes to a transmission repair place and they cut them for free.

Great idea! I know the Muffler Doctor down the street will be glad to help me even if he charges for it. Maybe even free you never know.

[ERLover]

When I cut my greenie tubes it was done on a metal cutting horizontal band saw. It took less then 30 seconds per tube. Nice to have a friend that works in a machine shop.

[tomsalwasser]

When I cut my greenie tubes it was done on a metal cutting horizontal band saw. It took less then 30 seconds per tube. Nice to have a friend that works in a machine shop.

Nice!

Showing my ignorance here. Just a crazy thought. Can a Mark V headstock and table be mounted on 10ER tubes and carriage? I think the combination might make a nice, easy wall mounted permanent drill press if it all fits. I know the 10ER is a very good drill press in it's own right.

[JPG]

When I cut my greenie tubes it was done on a metal cutting horizontal band saw. It took less then 30 seconds per tube. Nice to have a friend that works in a machine shop.

Nice!

Showing my ignorance here. Just a crazy thought. Can a Mark V headstock and table be mounted on 10ER tubes and carriage? I think the combination might make a nice, easy wall mounted permanent drill press if it all fits. I know the 10ER is a very good drill press in it's own right.

Way tube spacing is different.