Motorizing a Drill Press

[@jimh472]

Great video, Mr. Sullivan. For your next upgrade you might consider a inset waste disc. While routing circles and milling discs with precision are at the very boundary of my woodworking skills, it's truly a gratifying enhancement.

[@PMichaels]

Your stuff is so ingenious and well made, Patrick. I just love it. Thanks for sharing!

[@steven6068]

Hi, Great video. Good graphics and a breakdown of your explanation of what should have taken place and what did not. Keep the videos coming…

[@thomasalison6188]

Wow, this is just what I need for my drill press! I have the same situation, where the crank handle interferes with the table. This is the perfect solution! Thanks Patrick!

[@jasonsvendsen3917]

I was just thinking about doing this to my drill press, and I basically had the same design in my head. Thank you for confirming my design should work!

[@sklikizos]

I've been following your builds since I found your small cutting tool series which I followed to make a carving knife for an old friend. I really love the clarity with which you explain your process, both in word and image/video - not to mention the extremely high quality of both design and implementation of your builds. I have very little expendable income but I do have a solid collection of tools and it's growing thanks to the inspiration you have given me to make my own. So, thank you for sharing your work, I truly appreciate it.

[@MCsCreations]

Brilliant work, Patrick! 😃 The issue with different voltages is that the motor's torque also changes. But a better option would be to always use 40v, for example, and a PWM circuit. Then you can adjust the speed as necessary, without any issues. 😊 Anyway, stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

[@PatrickSullivan]

I actually bought a pulse width modulator, but then realized I would still have to provide a 40V power source, and decided to use the first power source instead. However, I may change over to the PWM at a later date.

[@MCsCreations]

@PatrickSullivan Oh, absolutely. You had the components already, you had to use them. 😊 But you won't regret putting the PWM later.

[@Fusion_Woodworking]

Very good result.

[@phooesnax]

Another one worthy of appearing on your channel. Always quality stuff!

[@durkee8713]

Nicely done. I have the same drill press and added my own “power feed” to the table. I used a motor out of an old 18v cordless drill and used the existing trigger and forward/reverse switch to control the table movement. My solution for mounting the motor was 2 holes drilled and tapped on the square portion of the collar with a bracket extending from there that the motor mounts to. A 3D printed enclosure to mount the switches and cover the motor/bracket/wiring to clean it all up. I played around with a single small gas shock mounted under the table to help with the added weight of a machine vise when running the table back up but found the motor had enough torque and it wasn’t needed. I will have to steal your idea for the rack retaining rings as I’ve just been pushing it back in place when it starts to move. You just provided me with the last piece of the puzzle. Glad this video popped up on my feed!

[@josephpate]

I added a motorcycle jack to my drill press table. you can use a drill/impact driver with a socket on it to actuate it up and down.

[@muttleydk]

I got a "big" floor standing model, with same type of handle as your's have. i just use a cheap 18v drill driver and a 14mm socket head with a set screw on the turn-thing "where the handle was" and since the drill driver has build in speed control in the trigger, i can move the table up and down as fast/slow as i want. even in first gear the drill is fast enough, and has tons of power, and i almost never recharge the battery, it last many months. Your work here, as always, looks very nice, but a drill driver is more then fine.. you could even mount the drill driver under the table and use a flex extender for it. The "Plum flexible shaft coupling" is very nice, seen them alot on things like 3D printers, but didnt know you could get bigger more heavy duty versions, thx for sharing! Nice video, Thx! have a nice day!

[@jrooyen]

Another outstanding contribution to humanity - well, the DIY part of it anyway. The plastic collar rings to prevent the worm gear from moving, alone, is worth the watch. Many thanks!

[@locusfocusphoto]

This is a great video. Eager to upgrade my own drill press table

[@justinahrens1868]

Hi - Thanks for your video and especially for the links. I have mine up and running - I just need to decide on the top layers. I made my own coupler out of brass on the metal lathe and just mounted the motor to the bottom of the table with a block that fits around the motor and bolts to the bottom plywood. I used over-sized holes to allow for adjust-ability. Thanks!

[@tom18410]

I want one! Useful information presented in a clear and understandable manner. Educational and enjoyable, what more could we want?! Thanks Patrick.

[@johnmichaels4330]

Very cool. I used a variable stepper motor so i can change the speed with the pot. Idk if it really matters. I always use the same speed and its about the same as yours.

[@BeaulieuTodd]

Interesting. I have all of the equipment for a lift. Been sitting in a pile for a year. Have a lovely new PM press now and this is motivating me.

[@CALDues]

Wow! Great video! The tips content and explanations are amazing! Thanks 👍👍

[@FabricaBenedicta]

I will be making a motorized Drill Press Table myself in an upcoming video on my own channel. Good work Patrick! As always your videos are well thought out and informative!

[@bradleytuckwell4881]

A lot of great solutions to a pain in the butt problem on the drill press I like your fence to I have an old gauge I might follow suit and see if it works for me. Thanks for posting

[@ljgault]

I want to do this. Thanks for the video.

[@twomgwu17]

Great video! Your clear progression through the steps makes this feel really accessible. I think I'll give it a go! Would you consider making your 3D print files available? Thank you for another wonderful build!

[@Erik_The_Viking]

Yay! A new video! That's a great solution - I've been looking for something similar. I tried a couple of ideas but they didn't work very well.

[@geofffrancis6791]

Thank you, another wonderful video, well done Patrick

[@joeobrien196]

Good to see new material from you sir.

[@wk7060]

Great idea!

[@MG-vo7is]

Wow. I had no idea I needed something like this. Thank you.

[@NanoTyrannus]

I very much enjoyed watching this. Thank you sir.

[@paulkramer4176]

Yeah, I've wanted that for a long time. Well done.

[@luisurbina5115]

Good job and great video, as usual! Thanks, Patrick

[@coreypacillo8204]

Awesome job! BTW, Dewalt should WANT to be your sponsor!

[@ironhead65]

Very little profanity was required! 😂 thanks for sharing. Very interesting way to go about this!

[@ironhead65]

Oh, great idea with the clamp! I’ll need to keep this in mind!!

[@toomars1301]

Always excellent! Thanks!

[@danielsolazzo7208]

Very nice build and great explanation in the video. Any chance you posted the files for the rack alignment rings somewhere?

[@grumblycurmudgeon]

Can you turn on the press and use the motor to lift the workpiece INTO the spinning bit? That'd be handy as hell in certain situations. Example: my radial press only has about 6" of vertical travel. I have a few 24" bits. If I need a hole 10" deep, I have to bore the 6, then crank the press up so the bit almost bottoms out, then restart the press and finish her off. THEN crank her back OFF again. I'd love to be able to just press a switch and raise it straight through. Even if I had to pause and jiggle the handle a bit to clear chips. I may build this one myself! Thanks for sharing!

[@ResinEssenceByCheri]

I replaced my crank with a bit I made that slips over the shaft. I embedded a bit in it so I just pop it into my drill and up and down she goes. I want a push button one now! ❤😂

[@InDaBarn]

Nice video. How about hanging something off the back with some weight to cancel out some of the bind. Also, I just subscribed.

[@Z-Ack]

I screwed up and didnt think about motor speed at all. Used a washing machine motor thinking itll be beefy for the table. Got it all bolted together, flipped the switch and sent the table through the roof at 3750 rpm.. took half a second to rip off the whole top of the press and tore the electric out of the wall and shut the main breaker to the house..

[@bretthays2674]

Great idea and great video. Any chance you would share the STL files for the retaining rings and switch box?

[@timothyvanderschultzen9640]

Nice! Thanks!

[@8BitLife69]

I'd love to see how you dealt with the hole for the center of the table. In the video, it appears as though you did nothing for a waste insert, or through holes.

[@aggieaquarist8470]

No more tilt for angled holes?

[@zihotki]

Are you going to make a video about vacuum attachment for the router? It looks very cool and handy. I hate the original one :(

[@davebashford3753]

If you don't lock the table, doesn't it float left & right? Is that an acceptable compromise?

[@jcr723]

I also want to do this. Thanks for making this video. The CAD you show looks familiar. By chance did you use Onshape for this?

[@PatrickSullivan]

Yes. I am brand new to Onshape, and struggling with animation. But for static shapes, it has been very rewarding.

[@louisvictor3473]

And then next video Patrick will add movement in the other two axis and turn the thing into a wood milling machine :O

[@ironhead65]

What software do you use to create your boxes / models for the 3D printer?

[@PatrickSullivan]

Onshape. Fast to learn and free.

[@dave_ecclectic]

Too expensive for me. I'll just use the hand crank. My brother did this with his floor model using a very long linear motor.

[@supplanterjim]

"Very little profanity required"?? Well, where's the fun in *_that?_* :).