- Joined
- Dec 6, 2015
- Messages
- 806
My wife headed out of town. I really needed a distraction, so I thought I'd try my hand at getting the drill press aligned. About a month ago, I threw together a trammel tool (1"x1"x12" aluminum chunk). I had picked up about 24" long of 1/2" drill rod specifically for the trammel, and I don't have an actual milling machine, so I knew that making something look pretty was not likely. However, just because it's not beautiful doesn't mean it's not functional. The first try a month ago wasn't accurate (the dials were too far out, and wouldn't stay on the drill press table" gave me about a +/- 0.2" off on the sides, but pretty solid front-to-back on the table. That simply told me the tilt was off.
Whelp, today I drilled new holes to shift the dials 0.25" inward, extended the bandsaw cuts, and re-installed the dials. Then I threw it into the chuck and measured +/- 0.25" off on each side of the table. I loosened the table tilt nut just enough, grabbed my 3 pound shop hammer, and gave it a few light taps (I didn't dare use light whacks). I got the table in to +/- 0.0005", so I am satisfied with that.
Next, since I had some of that drill rod left over, I cut off a 12" length, then faced off each end on the lathe and center drilled it. I then shoved it between centers, threw on my dial indicator on the tool post, and measured about 0.020" offset on the tailstock.
I brought it inline to about 0.002", and will further adjust when I have a little more time, but it's been a good day (aside from my wife off visiting family for a few weeks - something must be wrong with me because it's been 5 hours and I miss her terribly).