So, I have been trying to make round holes on the mark. Clamping a work piece to the drill press table can be a hassle.  A cross slide vise looked like a way to speed up drilling multiple holes without having to clamp and re-clamp.  There are a number of these vises on the market.  I bought a Harbor Freight 6 inch with a coupon for about the same delivered price on eBay.

The vise slipping at the start of a hole has been frustrating.  I found that the collars did not pull the screw shaft tight against the plate.  Even after tightening the collar the hole in the plates had enough slop to allow sliding during a drill.

Removing the handles, collars and plates is easy enough.  This allowed me to make some measurements of the parts.  The screw shafts are 12mm.  I found KFL001 flange bearings on eBay - 2 for $7.70 delivered.  The Longitudinal Slide needs a carrier plate and the Transversal Slide needs to have the flange housing milled about a 1/84" on each side for socket cap screws to fit in the original holes.  Following are layouts for each.

 Here are before and after photos of the slide adjustments.

Transversal Slide

Longitudinal Slide

Here is a photo of the plates showing wear after a few months of lite duty.

So far the results look promising.  No more wiggle waggle as the slides move from end to end.  My intention by using a bearing was to eliminate the slop in the plate hole and by using the inner race set screws and the collars there would be less backlash.  However the bearing also made adjustments smoother.  I am not sure how well the zinc flanges will hold up.  Maybe there is a simular bearing with a cast iron flange.

Milling - there are as many opinions about using a cross slide vise and drill press as people who have this set up.  Here is mine.  With practice and patients small tasks can be completed with reasonable results.  I have worked ABS plastic project boxes, softer grades of aluminum, and even A36 steel..  A ER20 tool holder with a Morse Taper 2 works much better than a drill chuck.  I have a set of 2 and 4 flute end mills all with 3/8 in shanks.  The wider the cut requires more passes to get depth.  On a A36 flat bar I cut a 0.050" grove with a 1/4" end mill in 6 passes.  It is sort of OK, there are visible chatter marks on the side walls.  For a garden tool fix it will work, for standard shop work, not so much.

Disclaimer – Determining suitability of the modifications described here or skill levels needed to make these modifications is solely the responsibility of anyone choosing to replicate the modifications.  There is no intent to criticize the Harbor Freight products described here.  Please be advised, the suggested modifications have not under gone any safety review or risk assessment.  Proceed at your own risk.  These modifications are not approved by Harbor Freight.  Moreover, Changes to the Harbor Freight items would probably void any warranty by Harbor Freight. 

Drill Press – Machine Levelers

Drill Press – Machine Levelers

By way of introduction, I have a nearly ten-year-old Craftsman Benchtop Drill Press.  The specs put it in the mid-range of this category.  The stand was built not long after the drill press was purchased.  At that time, I did not include levelers in the design.  So, the levelers here are add-ons.

I knew the chuck was bad.  Replaced it with new and a new Morse Taper #2 arbor.  Snugged up the quill slide adjustment.  Static TIR at the chuck is 0.004”.  Spinning TIR is about 0.007” (reading between the bounces).  Sweeping the table from the chuck, left to right was 0.030”, back to front was 0.061” I needed some way to level the drill press.

I tried using scissor jacks and found these to be too loose and not repeatable.  A bump to the drill press would make it wobble and it would not return to the same level reading.  Before I went further, I needed to understand the relation of a 0.1 degree reading and linear measurements.

The table here shows the values as slope to degrees.  0.1 degree equates to 0.21 in/ft.  Drilling through a ½” piece of material would result in a 0.001” error from entry to exit.  I need to relate the base, column, table and drill head to get an accurate sense of the drill press.  Levelers.

I would not expect anybody to have an exact duplicate of my drill stand.  So, for people pursuing levelers they will need modify the brackets for their application.  The scanned copies of my sketches are rough but should provide enough information to construct your own version.

The tools I used are:

Dewalt Chop Saw

Bosch Rt Angle Grinder

Craftsman Drill Press

Lincoln 175 HD wire welder

Husky and Craftsman Digital Levels

¾”-10 tap and die for thread clean up.

The holes for the threaded rod to pass through the bracket were cut with a 7/8” bimetal hole saw, and a lot of WD-40.  The holes for the ½” mounting bolts were made with a pilot drill and followed with a step drill to ½”.

Design considerations are: The threaded rod is 18” or half a three-foot section of rod.  The length is primarily to reduce bending over while I am adjusting the levels.  The acorn nut at the bottom are used to reduce friction while adjusting.  The down side is that these concentrate pressure on the floor surface and can cause damage.  I have started with furniture pads and may switch to blocks of wood.  The threaded coupler just above the acorn nut is to stop travel of the rod when it clears the wheel.  The small wing nut tightens up the play in the coupling nut on the bracket.  This does not take much torque.  Finger tight is enough.  Up from there is a plain nut as a stop for the larger wing nut.  Even on the first leveling, I noticed turning the large wing nut 1-2” is about 0.1 degrees.  As it should, ¾”-10tpi rod will move 0.100in per revolution.  Thinking of the large wing nut as a degree selector, ¼ turn equals 0.025”.  So, 1-2” swing should be close to 0.1 degrees.  I found that tightening the small wing nut will throw off the level reading.  Go a little further that you would expect and then tighten the small wing nut.  The acorn nut on top is a finish.  It also can accept a 1-1/8” socket for powered up/down movement.

Assembly note:  I drilled and pinned the bottom coupler and top stop nut.  If you do this, spin on the coupler and acorn nut until the acorn nut bottoms out.  Back off the acorn nut a turn.  Then advance the coupler to the nut.  Now drill the pin.  This will give the acorn nut some thread to tighten against the coupler.  Do the same for the top stop nut, just add in the large wing nut.

Sourcing the parts:  ¾”-10 threaded rod, plain nuts and threaded coupling nuts are available at the big box hardware stores.  The ¾”-10 acorn nuts, wing nuts, and large wing nuts can be found at Zoro.com. Also, BoltDepot.com has all the fastener parts except the large wing nuts.  That well maybe I just didn’t ask.  The ¼ by 3-inch square angle steel and 3/16 by 2-inch angle steel can be found at a structural steel supply house or a scrap yard.  Onlinemetals.com can supply short pieces of both sizes if you don’t need/want a 20-foot section.

Leveling is easy with this set up.  Now, I want to see how long it holds.  Also, now I can dig further into the drill press.

Americana - Sugar Chests

While searching for a wedding chest idea, I came across a bit of Americana.  For early Americans, sugar and coffee were expensive and hard to come by commodities. As such required a special place for storage.  Used primarily in the middle southern states from 1790 to 1860, these chests often had a prominent position in the parlor.  After about 1850 sugar processing became much less expensive and the sugar chest was no longer needed.

To prevent insect and rodent invasion these chest were made of solid planks of wood and elevated off the floor with legs.  In terms of the wood source, the planks needed to be cut from a fairly large tree to get a 18-20" wide board without the center rings.  With the unique place and relatively short life the sugar chest had in American history, the prices for antiques in good shape are fetching.  Moreover, the wood to make these chests properly is difficult if not impossible to find today.  Remember, plywood did not exist back then.

I wanted to build a sugar chest as a wedding gift for a neighbor's son and new daughter-in law.  I choose Aspen because it is a bright wood and should not darken much as it ages.  The construction is far from period perfect.  I used blind dove tails to join the boxes.  Also, the bottom panel is light weighted with a panel inserts made of plywood.  Overall the chest is about 32"w x 18"d x 20"h.

The chest is basically composed of two boxes.  The upper is for sugar and the lower a drawer frame for spices.  To keep the top box clean, the bottom of the top box is screwed from the underside.  Then the drawer frame was attached with pocket screws. Finally the bottom was screwed from the underside.

The bottom is shy so the photo is out of focus.  Laughs.  This picture shows the lightweight bottom and screws attaching it to the drawer frame.The feet are attached with center mount leg plates and hanger bolts screwed into the foot.  A decorative moulding was added around the bottom panel to balance the chest and hide the edges and foot attachment.

 The top is attached with double hinges.  I like hinges.

 Cross braces were added to the top for structural support and aging.

Note the interior of the upper box is free of cleats.

Some how, I did not get photos of the drawers.  Sorry.   The drawer boxes are made with dove tails and a 1/4' dato for the drawer panel.

Here are some photos of the finished chest.  All the materials are available at one of the big box hardware stores.  Have fun.

Central Machinery - Sheet Metal Brake Up Grades

Tool, tools, tools...it seems like I spend a lot of time trying to figure a way around doing a particular task.  For example, a drum sander would be handy at times.  But unless making a lot of cabinet door panels on a daily basis, hard to justify.  Like wise, a sheet metal brake is not something I would use every day.  So, I have been looking around.  Something can be cobbled up with a couple of angle iron pieces to make simple bends.  However the results are not always very pleasing.  I'm not sure there is an end to the other side of the spectrum,  prices can escalate fairly quickly.  Harbor Freight has a range of benders.  The one I selected is in the middle of the price range.

 After reading many reviews on Harbor Freight tools having poor hole alignment and missing parts that made assembly difficult, I was pleasantly surprised by the Central Machinery # 91012 brake.   The brake comes in two boxes.  One for the completely assembled head and a second box for the legs and feet.  I think it took longer to cut down the boxes for disposal.  I was up and bending material.

The brake is not perfect, I found that the upper press plate would slide back as a sheet was being bent.  Not good.  I found that the locking bolt sits on the bolster of the press plate brackets.   In my opinion the the locator pins for the press plate bracket should be moved about 1/2" forward.  Not impossible to do, but an easier approach is to cut down the shoulder.  The drawings in Project 3 show the details.  Maybe Harbor Freight can ultimately address this issue.

I also found that adjusting the upper press plate for various thicknesses of material was awkward.  Finger tighten the bolts and tapping with a rubber mallet was not going to work.  So, in Project 3 I use a half of a pair of pipe clamps to make the adjustment a screw motion.  As a side note, I used 3/4" pipe clamps because this is what I had on hand.  1/2" clamps would work just the same at a lower overall cost.

The brake is over 100 pounds and I don't have the space to bolt it to the floor.  Projects 1 and 2 add wheels for mobility and cross bracing to prevent the feet from shuffling laterally.  Obviously if you plan to bolt the brake to the floor, wheels are not needed.  I used 4 bolt plate mount wheels that required I cut off the existing plate and welded on a new one.  The supplied lower plate is just attached with a couple of spot welds.  So, I am not sure this will work directly.  I did look at using center stud wheels mounted through the floor bolt hole.  Some additional reinforcement may be needed.

Project 4 came about because I had the sliding ends of the pipe clamps left over.  The drawings show a simple build up for a depth stop.  Current minimum is 4".  I plan to make an extension plate that will reduce the stop depth to 1/2-3/4"

I am always trying to clean out the closet.  So, I used what I had on hand first.  However, all the materials for these up grades are available at a big box hardware store.  You may get your exercise for the week, since the parts are in electrical, plumbing, tools, fasteners, and miscellaneous hardware.  I used a drill press, wire welder, heavy duty 1/2" hand drill, and right angle grinder to make these up grades.

Following are the drawing and details of the project.  I had some other ideas as well, but there a number of things needing bending first.  Have fun.

Disclaimer – Determining suitability of the modifications described here or skill levels needed to make these modifications is solely the responsibility of anyone choosing to replicate the modifications.  There is no intent to criticize the Harbor Freight products described here.  Please be advised, the suggested modifications have not under gone any safety review or risk assessment.  Proceed at your own risk.  These modifications are not approved by Harbor Freight.  Moreover, Changes to the Harbor Freight items would probably void any warranty by Harbor Freight.  

American - Jadong Wedding Chest

As I researched wedding chests I found that Tibet and Jadong had similar characteristics.  Both had the pole holes on each end and the styles were more like western versions. Boxy. From one recount of the Jadong chest, I understand that the groom makes the chest for his new bride to start their home.

 Here is an example of these chests. In the north of Asia a wood commonly used is Elm.  Where as Indonesia the woods are tropical, such as Teak.

In my Americanized version, I used American Oak, a little Pine, and Aromatic Cedar.  No plywood or MDF was harmed in this project.  Overall dimension are about 18"w x 32"l x 24"h.

The construction of this chest has it's roots in American factory furniture.  As a means to reduce weight for shipping and wood usage cost, the factories would design furniture with panels.  The sides of this chest are made up of panels with a 1/4" groove on the edges of the thicker pieces where the scant sheets are inserted.

The sides have tongues cut at each end.  The corner posts have matching grooves. The panels are then cross screwed at the top and bottom of each panel.  There are decorative button plugs covering the screw heads.  The box is squared with corner blocks at the bottom as shown in the picture below.  Also note the cleat material for the chest bottom.

All the materials for this chest can be purchased from a big box hardware store, with the exception of the top.  This came from a wood workers supply house being sold as a glue up table top.

The picture above shows the moulding used to support the top when closed and railing for a slide tray.  Also, there are cross braces added to the top to reduce the chances of splitting as the chest ages.  Note the plug used to cover the screw heads.

Here is a picture of the finished chest with the Aromatic Cedar bottoms and slide tray.

 

Following are a few more photos of the wedding chest.  This one was given to a neighbor's daughter and new son-in law.

American-Chinese Wedding Chest

A number of years ago I was perusing the listings on one of my favorite antique Chinese furniture stores on eBay.  One of his items was a wedding chest.  I became intrigued and did a little research.  The short version is that when a couple would marry, the bride and groom would place wedding gifts into a chest.  The chests are fitted with a pole hole.  So at the end of the ceremony, the couple would insert a pole and carry the gifts off to make their new home.

The price my favorite seller was offering the antique wedding chest was a little salty, $600 as I recall.  So, I decided to make an Americanized version to give to the son and new daughter-in law of neighbors as a wedding gift.

I made a project plan - that now is lost in deep archives.  If someone is interested in making a similar chest, I have photos of the parts.  Overall the chest is made of pine with a little fir and aspen.  All the wood is standard dimension.  The turned balusters are for stair railing.

The boxes are made with a continuous tenon joint.  Nothing fancy.  On the inside bottom of the boxes is a cleat to support the pine bottom.  On the removeable boxes and the top, the cleat extends 1/2" below the bottom for nesting.

   The balusters and bottom box form the foundation of the chest.  The rail style feet are screwed from the bottom up.  The yoke is screwed into the balusters.

The top is just another thin box with arched ends to give a roll top.  Beadboard is used for the top and box bottoms.  The tricky part of the project is making the boxes close to the same size.  The joinery is simple. Most of the work was done on a tablesaw.  I used standard finishing products.  All the materials are available from local big box hardware stores.

Here are a few more photos of the finished chest.  Have fun.