Drill Press Stops

[Hawkeye]

I watched a video by Joe Pie a while ago on the topic of drill press safety. He suggested making a pair of hooks for the drill press vise that would both prevent the work from spinning out of your grip and prevent it from jumping up the bit as it breaks through the bottom of the hole. Either action could do nasty things to your fingers. I made a pair of them.
   

I have often attached a bolt through the slots in the drill press table to prevent the work from rotating, but I got to thinking that it would be a good idea to also prevent the work from jumping up at breakthrough. I designed these to fit both my big floor press and the smaller benchtop press.
   

The lower section is only 1/8" thick to handle the common thin stock. The narrower portion of the upper part is the same diameter as the lower section. The wide flange can be screwed down to hold the work down to the table - not so much a clamp as a stop. For work less than 3/8" thick, the top part can be flipped over (good down to 1/8") or a shim can be used under the flange.
   

[Dr Stan]

Either the work piece or the vice should be held so that it is up against the drill press post to keep it from turning if the drill bit grabs.  A shipmate on the Coral Sea learned this lesson the hard way as he had to have several stitches in his left hand from the work piece spinning around and hitting his hand.

Th hold downs are a good idea, but there should be another piece of material of equal thickness used to keep them parallel with the work.  As shown only a small portion of the hold down is applying any pressure to the work.

[Highpower]

I watched that video too and thought it was a good idea as well. I think the main idea is to prevent the part from spinning if the drill grabs it, with the "overhang" of the blocks acting as a secondary function to keep the part from corkscrewing up the flutes of the drill. I would consider them more as stops than hold downs.

Although there is nothing to say that a large drill bit can't still grab the part and spin the entire drill press vise if it isn't secured to the table. I had mine do a 180° bat turn on me once. My drill press is 20" and I only have a smallish drill press vise for it so it isn't long enough to reach the column to stop it. That has always been a problem when working on smaller / shorter pieces of work.

I really should get a larger vise for it.

[Hawkeye]

Good points, guys. I should have mentioned clamping the vise down, but I was only showing those vise stops as a background for the table stops. I did mention that they weren't clamps, so back shims could be considered optional. If you have a heavy hand on the quill, I'd say they should be mandatory.

[pepi]

Another take, parts power steering pump pulley, round stock, carriage bolt. Sets up quickly, repositions quickly. For me the key to boring boles without material being grabbed.


Sharp bit, proper down force, with a splash of tap magic. Toughest material to drill sheet metal ...


   

   

[Hawkeye]

I like that. I can visualize giving the handwheel (pulley) a spin to tighten it quickly. Nice.

[pepi]

(06-17-2019, 10:19 PM)Hawkeye Wrote: I can visualize giving the handwheel (pulley) a spin to tighten it quickly. Nice.

  ^ Was the motivation for building it, good catch

Pep

[Dr Stan]

Make one with left hand threads.  That would help confuse anyone wanting to use/borrow any tools/equipment.