Drill press restoration - Zapins

The table isn't too badly damaged, however, if it really niggles, heating the table in a charcoal hearth and then arc welding with cast-iron rods in the holes, would be quick and easy. Return to the hearth for post-welding cooling.

Then you will have the challenge of getting the table flat again.

 

I have a kiln. What temperature do I need to preheat it to? Also what temperature for the cool down phase?

Does heating it warp the metal badly? Or do you mean the small welds will be tough to grind flat to the table?

 

Just before dull-red, no idea what the temperature is.

Put it back in the hearth cover it up with coals and turn the blower off. Leave it until it is cold to touch. Same deal with a kiln, without the mess.

No warping with cast-iron that I have ever noticed. I would machine it flat on the lathe if yours is big enough,

Cheers Charlie

 

I would use an oil stone on the surface just to make sure there are no ridges around the peck holes and then fill them with JB Weld or some other epoxy to make it cleanable and keep chips out.

Pete

 

I'll see if arc welding with preheat and post heat works well on the column (since I already stepped in that mess) if that works well I'll see about doing the same for table. If it doesn't work out well then I'll just suck it up for now and later build myself a new table out of regular steel. That way I can make a table without the annoying lip that most drill presses have so clamps can better hold items to the table.

Something like this:


How do they get the nice scratches in the surface of the table by the way?

 

My personal approach would be to use the table as is.

The pretty pictured table was Blanchard ground.

Denis

 

I reassembled the motor. Seems I somehow messed up the centrifugal switch somehow. Its slightly out of alignment. I'm attempting to carefully bend it back into place so the contact is engaged when the motor starts and disengaged when running.

Is there an easy way to calibrate the springy bit that I'm pointing to in this pic? Or just trial and error?

 

Never mind I trial and errored it back into shape so it works now.



Motor reassembled. Works nicely.

 

Finished painting the lid and reassembling the table holder.

 

I made a test piece turned it to around 12 mm (same as shaft) and took a few light passes with the fordom milling rig I made with a random small end mill I had on hand. It worked extremely well. Now I need to figure out how to index the chuck and I'll be able to make the splines. Ez pz

 

Denis

 

I bought some dividing heads. I plan to attach them to the back of the spindle. They arrive on Friday. I'll work on welding the column and fixing everything else up until then.

I'm going to see if I can put an led light into the drill press. Like the ones I used for the band saw.

 

Fixed the column. It still bubbled even with the new iron rods. I think my welding gas argon isn't the right stuff for iron. It acts dirty and sputters.

Anyway its functional. Color matched pretty close. I started reassembly.

Is the vertical climbing gear track supposed to be able to move and swivel? Or should it be bolted down hard and not be able to move at all? Seems like it is designed to move a bit but I'm unsure.

 

Huh! The vertical column is iron? That seems odd. Steel would be a seemingly better material and is what most drill presses use. How can you tell it is iron?

I use argon to tig cast iron using cast iron filler. Seems to work ok.

Denis

 

My 1983 vintage Taiwanese drill press has a 1/2" wall thickness cast iron column that appears to be centrifugally cast as the bore is super rough and nasty "as cast" finish. It may have been for mass and damping or it may have been a cost decision to move to thinner steel pipe.

 

I think the vertical rack should swivel to allow you to swing your table. It seems as though your rack is long enough to provide full vertical table motion on the column so it may not need to be able to go up and down the column. The matched bevel in the base and bottom end of the rack seem to indicate that it stays in that vertical position. My drill press has a similar looking rack setup on it, about the same length as yours, but mine is a floor model and allows for the entire rack mechanism to move up and down the column to adjust the table’s range of vertical motion.
Pete

 

Interesting. I guess they must have had more iron than cents.

Centrifugal casting would be a good choice for a pipe tube. But, if it was rough and nasty, I’m thinking they cast them with cores. Also makes sense since a core casting method would be much lower tech. A centrifugal cast pipe should be pretty smooth.

Denis

 

Yep cast. The flange is one piece with the column and the inside has rough sand still embedded in it from casting process. The weld sputters badly and blows metal out of the iron. It acts like a dirty weld on aluminum. Very unpleasant to attempt to braze

Good to know it should swivel. It seems to do that well.

I need to figure out the lighting position. Then I can paint the top part of the drill press and reassemble it.

Friday is when the dividing head arrives.

 

I'm going to guess it's not your gases fault. A lot of those cheap castings are made with crap metal. Lots of stuff in it. Tried once to braze a HF vise mounting plate almost set it on fire. Chucked it in the bin made a new one out of scrap steel. A few years late the mount was still holding and the cast nut crapped the bed. I think that guy finally tossed it.

 

Makes sense. The casting was a bit like Swiss cheese before I even hit it with flames. During preheat I saw straight oil (from the oil bonded sand stuck inside) leak its way through the machined steel to the surface. Maybe thats what was causing the sputtering.