Drill reassembly
To get the router jig finished I need to drill and tap some holes. So it was about time I got the pillar drill re-assembled. I got the parts out of the packing box and they looked like the survived the trip ok with nothing going missing.
I gave the parts a bit of a clean, paying particular attention to the parts that would be bolted together and hence harder to clean later. The pillar and base went together easily and was bolted down with a socket set.
Next, I placed the motor/gearbox/spindle onto the top of the shaft and tightened that up with grub screws. The spindle didn’t look so clean so I used a piece of 600 grit sandpaper with some water to clean that whilst it was running. I also gave the inside of the chuck a clean. The two were then placed together and tapped into place with a rubber mallet.
There does seem to be a bit of vibration in the chuck which I’ve been told could be that the belt is not tight enough. I’m also going to get my dial gauge onto the spindle and then the chuck to see if the issue is that it’s not running true.
I’ve already setup this bench with the drills and vices readily to hand in tubs just below the drill press so I am happy with the layout so far. Having one less box means that the main part of the workshop also has more working space.
One job which is a bit overdue is the repair for the drill guard. This also incorporates the depth stop which was also quite handy to have. I’ve a few pieces of polycarbonate so plan to make something a bit bigger that does not fowl with the mechanism and hence won’t break in the same way as the stock one did.
I’ve just been looking at some old posts and there is a link to Metal Model Bau which has some great tips for building a new depth stop so that might be my first point of call for building my own.
Metal sculpture in brass, mounted on an 1800s French Coin
