Mortise Press use as a Drill Press
Does anyone use their Mortise press as a drill press? I am thinking of buying an arbor and having a custom shaft machined so the arbor extend to the normal chisel location. I was going to have the shaft made out of the largest round stock that will fit throught the chiesel holder (holder comes out) so it is stiff and does not deflect under load. The ends would be machined to fit the arbor and be chucked up into the press head. Without the arbor extension all the long bits would cost a fortune. To me the mortise press seems like the worlds best drill press given the stiffness of the frame and depths it can provide. Plus mine has a sliding table that would be very handy. Just looking for ideas before having a piece milled at a machine shop.
Thks
Replies
You may find that the speed is excessive for a lot of materials
thats a good point, glad i asked. the press I purchased yrs ago is way too small and I have run out of space now for one on a stand. I dont use the press very much because I find whenever I need it, it is too small for the task. Today I only had a couple of bad ideas, maybe tomorrow I will have less.
Thks
You are not alone ,when I bought my portable multico for on site use some years ago I bought the drill chuck option as well.It now resides with other boat anchors, OEM saw guards, non lock edge shaper collars to name other infuriating and dangerous purchases
"I dont use the press very much because I find whenever I need it, it is too small for the task." What size is your current drill press? Benchtop presses aren't terribly expensive, and it sounds like your usage is such that you could get by with a decent BT drill press.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
My current one is just a little 10" bought years ago and I know the small ones are inexpensive. I figure to complete the projects I want I would need an 18" floor model.
Holy smokes. Just from curiousity, what type of project precipitates needing an 18" DP?? I still use mine for diddly stuff.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Once the reno is done I want to build a timber frame shop using mortise and tenon joints. Seems the only way to get 4" depth is with a large press. I understand why and it seems most manuf use the same or similar specs for both their wood and metal machines even though the materials are fundamentally different. I have been learning as I buy machines that the best bet is always to buy the ones seen in the shops of the pros. There are always reasons behind their selections.
Most of these machines are single speed. I know that Multico do a dual speed three phase machine, but still the speeds are on the fast side.
See the picture of my Multico-this has a slip in arbor assembly with taper to accept a 5/8ths chuck, to enable use for a narrow range of drilling. Not really a great idea from the machine makers, I think.
Now if the motor had electronic variable speed it would be more useful.
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