Official Luthiers Forum!

Well, I finally got a new drill press. This is the first Delta tool I have ever owned and I must say I am impressed. The unit arrived perfect in the shipping crate and was a breeze to assemble and setup. It runs super smooth and quiet, and has virtually no runout with the quill extended past 4.5". The 3/4 hp motor is plenty strong, and the one feature that I was sold on is the ability to micro-adjust the quill while held in the down position. This makes it a snap to use the Safe-t planer. This specific model Delta is the ONLY drill press I could find in this price range with this feature.

The new drill press really breathed life back into my Safe-t planer. I had all but given up on it because I could never get good results. I just tested it on an EIRW side and it is a 200% improvement. Now the table sits dead flat with no wiggle like my other cheap piece of junk had, and with the micro-adjustment on the quill, I can take very small amounts of material off accurately without burning the wood. Long story short, if you're having trouble with your Safe-t planer, take a look at your drill press. Now all I need is to build a good table for it. Does anybody have any good table ideas other than bolting on a flat piece of heavy wood?








Cheers!

John

Wow!! What a monster!   

_________________
Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

What Delta model is that?

It's the Delta 17-965. Delta makes several 16.5" drill presses, but this is the only one that has both the 3/4 hp motor and the quill lock. The more common model you find at Lowes is usually the 1/2 hp model and comes with an attached light but not the quill lock. The best price I could find is from ToolMax, and they had free shipping. This same model is in the OLF toolshed, but is also about $200 more through Amazon.

John

John, my table for the STP is made from two, pieces of Birch ply, glued togeteher to give 1" thickness, and to even out any dishing of the ply. The table is 36"x18" and is held onto the drill table using battens and neck inserts/bolts, though it stays on the drill all of the time. It's important to fit a fence with a cut-out for the planer and optionally a hold-down. The centre of the fence has a vent so that dust extraction can be placed behind it.

A couple of pictures of mine. Mine is a 16 gear press running at 4000rpm top speed. Take plent of time in getting the table level , and check it for level before doing any major job, especially on expensive B&S sets!





Colin

_________________
I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

John, very N I C E



Look at the shaft on that floor model, massive.

Colin, yours is NICE too.

I have an old floor model Craftsman about this size... love a good drill press.

I put in eight brass threaded inserts into two bass necks just today with mine. I didn't even blow the dust off of it. Come to think of it, I haven't cleaned shop in a month.... Bruce Dickey39094.7533333333

_________________
http://www.dickeyguitars.com

Is this like your drill is bigger than my drill?

_________________
Greg
http://garibaldiinstruments.com/

I'm not braggin' just glad I have one...

_________________
http://www.dickeyguitars.com

Thanks guys, I now suffer from D.P.E..   

_________________
"It's a Tone Faerie thing"
"Da goal is to sharpen ur wit as well as ye Sgian Dubh"
"Sippin Loch Dhu @Black lake" ,Kirby O...

Hi Colin,

That's one great looking setup you have for your safe-t planer. I think I'm going to try and build something very similar. Do you have any supports for the table other than the the steel drill press table it's bolted to? I want a nice large table like yours--do you have any issues trying to keep the edges of your table flat where they overhang the support table?

What type of hood do you use for dust collection? I have a fence very similar to yours, but I like the recess you have cut away for the dust collection. Very good ideas, thank you!

John

John, I have had no problem with the extended table staying flat around it's edges. As I said I took two half inch sheets of birch ply and glued them together to make the top. Not even Birch ply is dead flat but by laminating together any out of true was cancelled out.



This is how I fix mine to the Drill table.

For dust collection I use a swan neck pipe and funnel that goes between the fence and the column, my table saw sits next to the drill and they share the swan neck. The recess really makes an enormous difference, it stops the waste building up against the fence and helps keep the working surface clear.

Colin

_________________
I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

[QUOTE=John Elshaw] The best price I could find is from ToolMax[/QUOTE]
ToolMax? I searched for it but all results were in the Netherlands and England.