From the "Why didn't I think of this a long time ago?" department comes this speedy depth-stop modification for an old threaded-rod-style drill press depth-stop.Pictured above is the depth-stop on my venerable Beaver drill press as the factory supplied it. It works fine, but it's a tedious thing to use. It takes a lot of knurled nut twirling to set and reset it.
The other day I needed to use it and I asked myself, "What's the diameter of that threaded rod that's so conveniently flattened on two opposite sides." It turns out it's 1/2"; just the sort of diameter that I'd be likely to have a shaft collar for in my 1/2" diameter stuff bin.
Sure enough, I had a 1/2" shaft collar, and a nice 5/16"-18 x 1 1/2" hex socket head screw to use for an extended-reach setscrew. I spun off the two knurled nuts, installed the shaft collar and now I have a quick-set depth stop, like so:
I wonder what's the sum total of time I've spent over the years twirling those two knurled nuts. It's probably just as well that I have no way of knowing that.
For more on depth stops check out:MACHINE SHOP TIPS #161 How to Make a Drill Press Depth Stop on Youtube. I think you'll like the guy who does them.
ReplyDeleteI'm enjoying your blog!
Thanks for writing.
DeleteThat MACHINE SHOP TIPS #161 depth stop is sweet. Here's the link directly to it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xT5SrJO4TgM
You can check https://drillpressreview.com/milescraft-5342-drill-stop-set-6-piece/
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