Drill press table lock knob

pop-pop

Man with many vises
Corporate Member
I bought a new drill press recently and found that the table lock lever was a bit hard for me to tighten securely.
0F215CA3-6EFB-4A63-845A-52C8CCAD3DD6.jpeg


My first thought was to add a wooden extension the existing lever but since there was plenty of room, I made a wooden knob instead.
4FBB1057-912E-4DA9-AAB6-555BC4D899C7.jpeg


The thick thrust washer was made from a piece of an HDPE kitchen cutting board.
FACAC4ED-805C-4CDE-A0B3-E422D19A0BDB.jpeg


The knob was made in two parts using a 12-1.75mm bolt. The wooden knob is a butcher-block glueup made out of mahogany scraps. These two parts were epoxied together.
0ED9EF05-0776-4499-B836-9D810332306D.jpeg


With limited use to date, I am pleased with this improvement.
 

Oka

Casey
Corporate Member
Totally like it ! THe drill press adjustment hardware on most drill presses is pretty lame. This is a good fix for this one.
 

pop-pop

Man with many vises
Corporate Member
Totally like it ! THe drill press adjustment hardware on most drill presses is pretty lame. This is a good fix for this one.
All other drill presses that I remember have had table lock levers on the right as one faces the table. This one is on the left and I am right-handed so that added to the inconvenience.
 

Gotcha6

Dennis
Staff member
Corporate Member
I didn't realize that the press had an elevator crank too. I was thinking the only problem was the column clamp you made the knob for being on the wrong side, and not the one you have circled in the illustration above or the crank itself. You're probably better off as it is, as I would hate to have to crank the table up and down with my non dominant arm.
 

pop-pop

Man with many vises
Corporate Member
Whoops. I chose the wrong pic in the manual and that was their red circle.
I replaced part #4 “Clamp lock handle”.
34EDAEF6-35BC-4280-97B6-0749AAAA5968.jpeg

N
 

Gotcha6

Dennis
Staff member
Corporate Member
Another option to solve your problem might be to drill out the column bracket (#11) and tap the left side to a larger size bolt to get it to a favored side. I'd hope the thread would be of a similar or finer pitch than the present one, allowing for better clamping action. I've also seen illustrations where people would make shaft extensions for the crank to get it out from behind the table. A good idea if you plan to make a table topper that is wider and deeper than the present one.
 

tvrgeek

Scott
Corporate Member
If I were designing a drill press, I would have the rack and pinion setup so the elevation crank and lock was accessible from the front.
 

pop-pop

Man with many vises
Corporate Member
The three-flute knob was not optimum. I decided to try and design a knob from an ergonomic perspective.

Standing in front of the DP, if I reach for the elevation lock knob, my hand is like this which suggests that a fluted knob would be appropriate.
1E622B1A-315B-4047-8346-FA3EC5F50046.jpeg


Seemed that 3/8” radius flutes with a 1” pitch would work and next was a cardboard test piece.
D7934139-A4A5-4009-8076-33EE7D75A10B.jpeg


After gluing up a blank, drilling 3/4” holes to form the flutes.
18AA4D1B-D405-4F72-9E35-995D5696D7BC.jpeg


After removing waste on the bandsaw, next was truing and a roundover on the lathe. BTW, I won that chuck in the raffle two years ago so buy your tickets soon.
31C4B940-04CD-4AD6-9CC4-10529DBFA148.jpeg


After spindle sanding, the completed is knob installed.
62058C56-7EE6-48D3-A587-97DD14F08807.jpeg


Now, my aging hand gets a good grip and easily tightens/loosens the lock knob.
8DCF3C8E-949B-432B-8C42-904898B4AB1E.jpeg
 
Last edited:

Premier Sponsor

Our Sponsors

LATEST FOR SALE LISTINGS

Top