Sorry, I Need To RANT

[Scrappile]

I want the the name of the "over educated idiot engineer" that came up with this depth stop for drill presses!!!!!!!  This is one of the absolutely dumbest things that a person has come up with on any tool out there.  My wife bought me a cheap, Harbor Freight drill press a year or two after we got married.  It had on the same handle, as you raise and lower the drill chuck with,  a little dial that you could turn to set your stop.  It was locked in place by a nice wing nut.  It was simple, accurate and a pleasure to use.  After thirty or so years of wood working, I got "uppity" and decided I deserved a better drill press.... So I bought a Jet, wood workers drill press.  Cost me around $800 so it had to be much better than the Mark II something Harbor Freight that cost about $150.  So on the new, cost four times, more rattles so bad at the high speed I am afraid to drill at that speed, Jet, I get, to top it off, this stupid screw the two nuts up and down this stupid column depth set thing that is common on a whole bunch of drill presses.  I want the name of the engineer.  I want to place his hand on my drill press table, set the dept and drill a 1/2" bit into his/her hand at a depth of my choosing.....  Sorry enough said,,,, I will retire for the night...;

 

 

 

[dgman]

I’m with you Paul. That’s the exact reason I won’t get a larger drill press. I have a Delta 12” bench top drill press with the mechanism you describe and love it! I would love to get a larger stationary drill press, but have not seen one with the depth adjuster like on my Delta.

[JimErn]

6 hours ago, Scrappile said:

I want the the name of the "over educated idiot engineer" that came up with this depth stop for drill presses!!!!!!! 

No you don't, what you want is the name of the CPA who said to find a cheaper alternative to the dial and wing nut

 

[Bill WIlson]

I'd have to check to be sure, but I think I've seen similar setups on some of the old drill presses in the machine shop, at work.  I'd bet some of those DP's are more than 60 years old.

So the "over educated idiot engineer" has probably already received his eternal reward for that design.  

[Sycamore67]

Almost every drill press out there has a similar arrangement.  Or you could use a Shopsmith or a drill press with an electronic depth stop.

Now that you have ranted, did you try out the depth stop before you bought it?

[RabidAlien]

I have a Lowes off-the-shelf Porter-Cable drill press, no idea if  it has a depth stop like that.  I usually put a piece of scrap wood (cut from the piece I'm drilling, if I can) or the project itself on the tiny drillpress table, unlock the table, lower the drill so that the bit sits along the side of the piece of wood (my usual depth is set so that the bit is a tad below the surface of the table in the little hole cut for it, to ensure it goes all the way through)....then with one hand holding the bit down, I'll raise/lower the table until the bottom of the bit is where I need it to be.  This requires three, sometimes four hands, foul language, at least one middle finger, divine intervention, and some bending of the universal laws of physics, but with sufficient coffee I can usually manage it without hollering for my wife (who hates to get dusty).

 

Remembering to lock the drillpress table after all of this, that's another story.

[jerry1939]

Scrappile,  Don't hold back like that.  Tell us how you REALLY feel.

jerry

 

[Scrappile]

I feel better today.... Helps to get things off you chest once and a while.  There are some quick release nuts I could get that you press a button and they slide when you release the button they are suppose to stay where they are put.  I've looked at them a couple times, but might be worth the investment.  How do I figure out the thread count on my press.  I have to know that.  measure an inch and count the threads?

[edward]

I have an old Delta, must be over 20 years old and still works great and the chuck holds the mini bits and no problem. Can't beat the old tools.

[Rockytime]

1 hour ago, Scrappile said:

I feel better today.... Helps to get things off you chest once and a while.  There are some quick release nuts I could get that you press a button and they slide when you release the button they are suppose to stay where they are put.  I've looked at them a couple times, but might be worth the investment.  How do I figure out the thread count on my press.  I have to know that.  measure an inch and count the threads?

I like your depth stop. I have the kind with the dial and tightening screw. It is very convenient but not that reliable. My Bridgeport mill had the two nuts. Made so because they are a very solid stop. I also had the little push button thing that worked very well. It is a standard gizmo in the machining industry. Check your threads with a cheap thread gauge. All of that, I'm sorry, will not get rid of the rattle. Sad.

[teachnlearn]

Being an engineer, I work industry and know designs can be better. Many design are driven by cost to make it cheaper or at X price point, or an overseas manufacture can crank out x units at this price point and use a stop setup that they already have in production.

When it comes to industrial design, that has to run 24 hours a day reliably and the production depends on the machine having to be repeatable. The price skyrockets and the designs become more elegant. Kills my ethics when I see engineering used to study materials that will fail in x uses or years for failure to sell to  more consumers. Planned obsolescent. There are engineers paid to plan failure, by using studies of materials. If you have a bankroll in your pocket, you can have a very expensive high capacity machine. RJF

[RabidAlien]

This is also why computer equipment is so expensive, doesn't last more than a few years, and seems to be obsolescent before you even get a chance to buy it.  There's no profit in making things to last anymore, the vast majority of consumers would rather pay less, even though it means a constant cycle of replacing/upgrading that costs more in the long run.  Also why leasing cars is soooo popular today.  All it does is lock you into a perpetual cycle of monthly payments.

[OCtoolguy]

I just experienced something like this yesterday. What I did was remove the two nuts completely and I have a spring clip that is used for clipping papers together. I just clip it to the threaded adjuster rod at the depth I want. It is a strong clip and doesn't move. I'm sure if I pulled really hard on the DP handle I could displace the clip but I just sort of keep an eye on it. 

 

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

I have a 16" Delta and a 12" Delta table top model and they both have the dial you describe on the HF and works great. They are older Deltas.  I am sure that setup is still available on some other model. 

[kmmcrafts]

I believe the cheaper models only come with the locking nut on the same handle as you use to drill with.. I've been keeping an eye out for a cheap press for a second one so one can be set up just with my forstner bit for drilling clocks.. I believe the Skil brand one has it.. and HF sells one with it.. I don't know how accurate either style is.. I rarely use it.. I have only a couple things that I use a depth stop for and I find it much faster to use specific sized blocks of wood and place them on the table and raise the table to meet the bit in the drill.. then I know it'll stop in the same spot for every clock I make.. My press has the lock nuts style lock.. I find it to be quite accurate.. I just don't like how cumbersome changing the set up all the time is..                          

[Sycamore67]

My drill press had the knob with a button on it.  It was easy to set the depth on the threaded rod.  However, occasionally it would slip.  I put two flanged nuts with a washer in between.  This is much more sturdy and does not move.