I finally got the opertunity to work on my table I've had for 12 years now. I bought this from one of the machine shops I worked at. It was a Powermatic four head gang drill and the top is blanchard ground so it's precision flat 5' X 2', although since it's a 1969 model I'm sure there's wear in the working area after all those years, but it's more then flat enough for the work I'm ever going to do. Had four columb type drill heads mounted on it. I paid $75 bucks for it and all the heads worked. Only problem was it was three phase. When I first brought it home I gave one drill head to my neighbor for doing some wireing for me. I scraped one head and rebuilt one Morse taper spindle head and was going to rebuild a quill spindle head at a later date. My neighbor and I both bought new Baldor single phase motors for them.
I ended up a few years later scrapping both heads but kept the motors, the original motors ran too high RPM for drilling anything larger then a 3/8 drill. Lowest RPM was like 750 up to 4700 RPM. Crazy right? Anyways I always wanted to drill & tap 1/2-13 holes for Jig & fixture work or welding fixturing or whatever. Thought about having a shop do it but moving this beast once I got it home was out of the question. This table top weighs in the neighborhood of round 500 to 600 lbs. It's heavily ribbed underneath. I though about renting a mag drill and doing it myself, but just never looked into cost to rent a mag drill.
Well where I work now, we have a mag drill and I finally remembered that I wanted to do this and asked if I could borrow our mag drill. My lead said sure, just sign the tool check out log and take it home. We will know who to ask when we need it. He said people use stuff for home all the time. So I signed it out, brought it home and went to work. I'm laying out a 4" on center pattern and using a 100th scale scribing and staking the holes using a eye loop to stake as precision as possible. I could just use a tape measure for what I'm going to use it for but why not do a good precision job of it if I'm gonna do it, right.
The last row on the ends on each side will be three inches from the next row of holes, had no choice cause I would have been into the cast radius under the table and didn't want to do that. I love the coolent trough around the entire table, works great for putting tools in, out of the way of the work area and keeps things from rolling off. I've started the righ side and did 20 or so holes, need to move my D60 and compressor motor and do the rest of the table. Will take about three reasonable days total drilling & tapping to do the whole thing. In the past I've had to drill & tap a few random holes here and there, also there is the columb holes where the columbs used to be, no big deal.
Cool thing about the Mag drill is you can power tap with it since it has reverse. I have a center I put in the chuck, line up the center with the stake mark, drop the center into the stake mark with the mag chuck off and gently lift the mag base off the table just a little one or two times to let it settle in and find center, then with the center in the stake mark I turn on the mag chuck to lock it down. I drill it, have the stop set for the counter sink so they all are the same chamfer depth, then power tap it, done. One hole at a time. I think it's going to be more then precision enough.
I'm going to build a new table base for the top. The one it's on is a little weak in my openion. The new one will be a welded frame with casters so I can roll it around. I have not moved this thing in 12 years and have wanted to forever. I hate where it sits but it's just too heavy to drag around. In several locations I might drill and ream 1/2 thru holes for dowel pin locating holes and stops for locationg material against for repeatability. Anyways, here it is.
I ended up a few years later scrapping both heads but kept the motors, the original motors ran too high RPM for drilling anything larger then a 3/8 drill. Lowest RPM was like 750 up to 4700 RPM. Crazy right? Anyways I always wanted to drill & tap 1/2-13 holes for Jig & fixture work or welding fixturing or whatever. Thought about having a shop do it but moving this beast once I got it home was out of the question. This table top weighs in the neighborhood of round 500 to 600 lbs. It's heavily ribbed underneath. I though about renting a mag drill and doing it myself, but just never looked into cost to rent a mag drill.
Well where I work now, we have a mag drill and I finally remembered that I wanted to do this and asked if I could borrow our mag drill. My lead said sure, just sign the tool check out log and take it home. We will know who to ask when we need it. He said people use stuff for home all the time. So I signed it out, brought it home and went to work. I'm laying out a 4" on center pattern and using a 100th scale scribing and staking the holes using a eye loop to stake as precision as possible. I could just use a tape measure for what I'm going to use it for but why not do a good precision job of it if I'm gonna do it, right.
The last row on the ends on each side will be three inches from the next row of holes, had no choice cause I would have been into the cast radius under the table and didn't want to do that. I love the coolent trough around the entire table, works great for putting tools in, out of the way of the work area and keeps things from rolling off. I've started the righ side and did 20 or so holes, need to move my D60 and compressor motor and do the rest of the table. Will take about three reasonable days total drilling & tapping to do the whole thing. In the past I've had to drill & tap a few random holes here and there, also there is the columb holes where the columbs used to be, no big deal.
Cool thing about the Mag drill is you can power tap with it since it has reverse. I have a center I put in the chuck, line up the center with the stake mark, drop the center into the stake mark with the mag chuck off and gently lift the mag base off the table just a little one or two times to let it settle in and find center, then with the center in the stake mark I turn on the mag chuck to lock it down. I drill it, have the stop set for the counter sink so they all are the same chamfer depth, then power tap it, done. One hole at a time. I think it's going to be more then precision enough.
I'm going to build a new table base for the top. The one it's on is a little weak in my openion. The new one will be a welded frame with casters so I can roll it around. I have not moved this thing in 12 years and have wanted to forever. I hate where it sits but it's just too heavy to drag around. In several locations I might drill and ream 1/2 thru holes for dowel pin locating holes and stops for locationg material against for repeatability. Anyways, here it is.
, love the 60 just sitting haphazardly in the shop too!
