Todays Project - What did you do today?

[Pete O]

I know a lot of people who could keep using that mower and not notice anything wrong.

[EdK]

I finished up the block for the test fixture for work. I need to drill a couple of holes in the arm that mates to this block and then it'll be done.

Ed

   

[DaveH]

Looks good Ed

DaveH

[dallen]

worked on a new butt stock that I'm making for a Winchester model 1890 pump 22, the one on it is damn near split in half.

this is what I'm putting on it.
   

[Roadracer_Al]

Handsome!

[Hawkeye]

I picked up a 'new' drill press from a friend this summer. Bigger than my other ones, but it didn't have a quill (depth) stop. Most factory stops use a threaded rod with a nut or pair of nuts that you have to spin down to set the depth. Time consuming, so I tend not to use them. I found a posting by Gadgetbuilder that made more sense. He used a smooth rod with a pinch-type block for the adjustment. Much quicker to set.

I started with a big piece of 5/8" aluminum for the quill arm. Just needed to cut the 'arm' off one end. It takes a while to cut through a 10" wide slab of metal.
   

I set it up on my 7 1/2" rotary table and used a 2 3/8" hole saw to rough out the big hole, followed by bringing to finish size with a boring head.
   

Here we have the finished installation, including the aluminum quill arm, stop bracket, rod and stop clamp. The screw on the clamp will be recognized as an old appliance foot with a 1/4"-20 screw. If it seems too clumsy, I'll eventually replace it with a custom-made knurled screw.
   

[TomG]

Nice job Mike!

[pepi]

That sure does make more sense than a threaded rod, so many ways.

greg

[wawoodman]

I like it. Much better than those dang jam nuts.

[Highpower]

Q: What is the thread size of the depth stop on a Bridgeport mill? My drill press has similar flat sided rod on it that makes it a pain to adjust the stop nuts. Because of the interrupted threads the nuts won't spin freely and there is no quick way to move them up and down the rod.



I'm thinking replacing the rod with a full diameter threaded rod and using a Bridgeport "quick adjust" clamp would make things a whole lot easier?