lifting and lowering drill press

[Alistair Hosie]

I have bought a drill press floor standing made by meddings top quality no problems with its performance however,for some reason Meddings which is a good company here in u k has decided not to fit it with a rack and handle with which to raise and lower it.
Ihave added a wooden table to it and I have a devil of a job raising and lowering it as it is so heavy this is not meant to be humerous I know I have a habit of joking howeverI don't look forward to adjusting it at all as it is really a two man job and I am on my own I was thinking of adding a pulley and weights as a counterbalance to help but don't want to add to the instability at the back making it liable to fall backwards perhaps this would be okay though don't know .
Any ideas out there please help me as I have been very annoyed with this problem since I got it didn't think when I bought it it would be so hard to lift dropping it is a piece of cake but I have to put down whatever I have at hand and try and turn rocking it from side to side till I'm almost there then grab quickly for the locking lever at the back of course my little health problem doesn.t help any suggestions would be most grateful Alistair

[John Foster]

About the instability. Don't know your set up but, I made an extension to go on the top of my drill press, added a screw and used it as a house jack to help hold up the ceiling where I store a lot of metal. This is now rock solid. With this set up, you could use all the counter weight you want, for the table and not worry about falling over.

[SGW]

If you can't bolt it to the floor, bolting it to the ceiling does seem like a reasonable option!

Your idea of pulley and counterweight has precedent, I think; I think I've seen pictures of old drill presses with that kind of setup.

Another option might be one (or more) of those gas springs used on vehicle tailgates, if you can find one with enough oomph. I like the counterweight idea for its simplicity though.



[This message has been edited by SGW (edited 09-07-2002).]

[Alistair Hosie]

never thought of the gas spring at the moment have it on a wheeled trolley so as i can move it but could reposition it if needed gas spring sound like a good idea SGW well thought of Alistair

[NAMPeters]

I lift the table of my home made 20ton press using a hand winch from a boat trailer. Just a suggestion.

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Neil Peters

[George Hodge]

I'm using a gas spring to assist raising the head on my Jet 16 Milldrill. It helps greatly! I've seen 'Vise Grip chain pliers'used on the column under the table of a drill press,to keep the table from dropping. I found a engine connecting rod,big end that almost fits the column of my drill press,with a strip of belting,small end holds a table for drills,mic's,etc. Handy to get to and is moveable.

[JimWolford]

I have a Sears floor model drill press and the table was just too much bother to move so-

I made a clamp and pully for the standard, used a length of sash chain and made a counterweight from a scrap of shafting, 2.75"dia by 21" long.
Now I can move the table with one hand- took about 2 hours to make and two years to get around to doing it.

Jim

[Stepside]

I use the jack that came with my pick-up truck. A lot of trucks have a nice small jack with a fairly large lifting range. Made a bracket that mounts on the column below the table. works like a dream I can raise the table on a 17" clausing with one hand. Use a scissor jack for the truck because it has a bigger footprint and would have been in the way under the drillpress.

[charlie coghill]

Alistair: Look at maybe using a jack that is used on the hitch of trailers. Some of then have a angle drive and maybe you could fasten the top of the jack to the taple some way and just crank the elevation up and down.

Just a thought. lots of luck.
Charlie.

[docsteve66]

This realy works- sounds hokey.

Use a "gas" Spring. Made several, years ago, from a section of pvc schedule 40 pipe. Cap one end, screw a schrader valve in to side of the cap. Use brake shoe rubber cups inside the pipe, either a wood dowell or a telescoping pipe inside (inside pipe capped off where it rests on the cup. Few drops of brake fluid for lubricant on the rubber. Fill with air to desired pressure (this depends on the load- figure the piston area in square inches times the air pressure in PSI. result is what the "spring will lift at maximum extention. Lift increases as the air is compressed. Made some of these years ago, one is still left unused, pressurized for past twenty years and still holding air with no loss so far as I can tell (cant measure with tire guage cause i would lose some air. The piston still moves freely. The spring is held together with some nylon cord, else the piston would make like an arrow.

This adjustable gas spring will put you in the area where you press down to movethe table to position. just be careful that you install it in such a manner that it will "fail safe". Using PVC to hold air in this case should not cause problems becausethere is no traveling shock wave.

Steve