A 19th Century Machine Shop Diorama

[J.L.]

Yes, clamping will be the key.

Here's the setup for just drilling the hole in the bottom of the frame...

[crueby]

Yes, clamping will be the key.

Here's the setup for just drilling the hole in the bottom of the frame...

Thats clever. I had not thought of using the blocks like that.

[BAH]

This article has some ideas about holding this part of the drill press:
http://www.deansphotographica.com/machining/jobs/PMRdrillpress/pmrdrill.html

[J.L.]

Yes, BAH, I will be referring to that article very soon. There is one idea photographed there that will be just the ticket when it comes time to machine the table support.

Using the 1-2-3 blocks as clamps has allowed me to mount the upper frame of the drill press in a vertical  position without having to move it about several times. The upper bearings and the spindle bearings are proud of the blocks. They can all be machined in one go.

[J.L.]

 

[J.L.]

Now the trick will be to get the horizontal bearing holes through the arms of the frame...

[b.lindsey]

Nice set up John. Dean is a member here but doesn't frequent the forum often. I wish he would. Over on the other forum, I picked up lots of hints from him.

Bill

[Steamer5]

HiJohn,
 Like Chris said that's a clever use of the 1-2-3 blocks!

 You must have more than 2 hands! I know if / when I try this I an see quite a lot of time spent getting the part to stay put, especially if it's odd thicknesses like yours, then try & nip the bolts up just enough then square it up!

Keep up the outstanding work!

Cheers Kerrin

[J.L.]

Thanks for that information Bill. I have had Dean's thread on my computer for a very long time. One of his helpful ideas will come into play soon.

Hi Kerrin,
Thank you for the kind words. You are right. Snugging up the blocks with the differing shim thicknesses was a bit tricky. After I had drilled and milled all I could with the blocks in their vertical position, I was hesitant to take everything apart. The holes for the top driveshaft still had to be drilled. Rather than take everything apart and start again, why not just remove the bolts holding the assembly to the t-nuts in the bed and lay the assembly on its back?

That's what you see here. Note that there is one shim on each side of the top arm and two shims on each side of the bottom arm. You were right. The arms are of different thicknesses.

I hope the drill can go through one bearing and then through over an inch of air and hit the other bearing below in the centre. You can't see the bottom bearing in the second photo. It's sandwiched between the lower shims.

We'll see. 

[J.L.]

Success!

[J.L.]

While the frame is still in the blocks, one more operation is possible. The bottom spindle hole has to be enlarged to 1/4" and broached for a gear rack. This is the time to do it.

With the shims rearranged, it was possible to flip the blocks one more time - upside down (photo 1). The top bearings that stand proud of the blocks (photo 2) fitted down into the milling machine's table slot (photo 3).

I didn't have any clamps large enough to reach the tops of the blocks, so I ran two threaded rods through the blocks and clamped them down to the table (photo 4)

[J.L.]

Dean Williams, a member of this forum has written and illustrated a wonderful thread outlining the making of this PMR drill press. Dean, if you are watching this thread, I wish to thank you for showing how you used a 1-2-3 block to support the base of the upper frame.

In this setup, the top and bottom edges of the spindle bearings, the mounting lug for the hand wheel cover and its threaded hole can be machined as well as the drilling and counterboring of the spindle feed hole. A lot of operations for just one setup.

Thanks Dean.

John

[derekwarner]

Excellent usage of the 1-2-3 blocks JL.......

But even more so with the addition of varying thicknesses of brass packing shim .........

[in the memory bank now]..........Derek

[Dave Otto]

Great progress John!

Dave

[zeeprogrammer]

Dean's a good guy and has an interesting site.
Some of you will recall his thread on spring making. Good stuff.