Cushioned Depth Stop for Drill Press

Most drill presses have a depth stop that uses two jam nuts on a threaded rod. This works fine, but it requires two wrenches to make adjustments.

An easier and faster way to make and keep these adjustments is to make a soft washer by cutting a 1⁄8-in. ring from a piece of vinyl tubing and mounting it on the stop rod between the jam nuts. Now finger-tighten the nuts together, and the compressed vinyl will act like a lock washer, keeping the nuts securely where you want them. Loosen it the same way—no tools required.

Use a tubing diameter that slides easily over the rod, but fits closely. In my case, a piece of 3⁄8-in. inside-diameter tubing fits nicely over a 10mm stop rod. If your drillpress stop rod is 5⁄8 in. diameter, you can use a common hose washer.

John Cusimano, Landsdale, PA

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