Any way to lengthen a drill press?

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gatornut

gatornut

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Joined
Mar 11, 2008
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Marietta, GA, USA.
Hello all,

I'm fairly new to the forums with a few prior posts. I have a 12" Ryobi variable speed bench top drill press that I like. I bought a Rockler pen blank drilling vise that I also like. The problem is that when the vise is mounted to the table it sits up so high that I cannot lower the table enough to get a 3" long pen blank under the drill bit. If I could lengthen the pipe that connects the drill head to the drill base by about 3" everything would work fine. Does anyone know if I can get a longer pipe for the drill press or do I have to buy a floor model drill press instead of the bench top one? I have googled "drill press extension" etc. and have not been able to locate any such thing. I have included a couple of pictures so you can see what I'm talking about. Any help or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Dan
 

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Yea, you can just buy new pipe that matches the same OD as your drill press. All the parts on that Ryobi will just attach to the tube with set screws. Take it apart and bring it to a steel dealer and have them find a match for it.
 
Are you sure that the only problem is that the tip of the bit and the top of the blank are too close together? What about the quill? That refers to the distance that the bit travels from all the way up to all the way down. Some, maybe most, 12 inch bench top drill presses only travel about 1 3/4 inches from top to bottom. Pen blanks are usually 2 1/4 or more from end to end.

There are bench top drill presses (I have one) that have more clearance between base and chuck, and they also come with more than 3 inches of quill travel.

To address your problem without buying a new press, you might look into swinging the entire upper part of the drill around 90 degree, I don't know if it is possible on that press. If you can swing the head around, prop up the base if necessary and mount the vise directly on the bench. That won't solve a short quill travel problem, but it will give you more clearance.
 
The arbor travel for the drill press is 3 1/4" so that is not the problem. I was using a home made blank vise and had no problems. I bought the Rockler vise because I have started making segmented pens and need to be able to drill exactly down the center and straight. I like the way this vise open so that I can get my fingers in to remove ansd set up blanks. I tried a different vise friom Woodcraft and couldn't get the blanks in and out without unclamping and moving the vise each time. This one I can set up on center and put any size blank from 1/2" to a 2" bottle stopper or even a round blank in and it stays centered. As you can see in the pics I have the table all the way down and the 7mm drill bit is only 3" from the "bottom" of the vise. When I go to a larger bit that is even longer I have less than 3" of clearance between the tip of the bit and the bottom of the vise. I need to be able to lower the table to get more clearance.
 
I think you can get a drill stretcher at Harbor Freight. If they don't have one, I have an extra for sale I can send you once your paypal clears :)

Sincerely,
P.T. Barnum
 
I have the same DP at home, and I am familiar with steel sizes. I will check when I get home and see if I can make a recomendation. Thanks
Jim
 
Hi Larry,

I went to the Harbor Frieght web site and searched drill stretcher, drill press and just drill but couldn't find anything that looks like it lengthens a press. How much does it lengthen the press? Can you send me a link or a picture of the one you have? I live in the Atlanta atrea and we do have HF's in the area but I don't know what I'm looking for.

Thanks, Dan
 
Instead of trying to lengthen the press, just swing the table out of the way and mount the vise directly on the base. if the vise is then too low make a small platform for it.
 
Hayseed evidently stole my nickname!

Drill stretcher! Sounded kinda like americanized chinese lingo to me. Now if you had said Rockler or Craftsman instead of Harbor Freight it might not have shot right over my head. Does this mean I have to change my handle to "Dane Bramage"? Hayseed you should consider adding "resident comedian" to your signatures.
 
Well the pipe is 2 9/16" or 65mm so I may have trouble getting a pipe that size. It does come off at both ends via set screw. Was afraid it might have been threaded at the bottom as that part came assembled. Of course because it is held by set screws a new pipe will have to be exactly 65mm to ensure a tight fit. I guess I'll get on the phone tomorrow and see if anyone in Atlanta sell metric pipe sizes. Thanks for the suggestions.

Dan
 
Poor Dan .... here he is, only 8 posts to his name, and he gets his chain jerked by Hayseedboy. Even though Dan's a Gator fan I have to feel a little sorry for him. By the way, Dan? The PT Barnum should have been a clue, right?

Tell ya what I'm going to do ... just to get even. I'm sending my friend Hayseedboy a five pound can of Elbow Grease!
 
Dan as others have suggested you can build a small platform to the side of your table and turn the drill head 90 degrees and use that platform for drilling longer pieces.:cool:
 
Dales suggestion is the only practical one. Like you, I made the mistake of buying a bench top drill press. At the time, the floor model was only $20.00 more but I thought I would save space. Wrong. Both have same footprint. Now, it would take about $100.00 in parts to convert. Do like Dale says or use your lathe. Or buy a new drill press.
 
Dan,
I have one of those little Harbor Freight simulated drill press on my work bench... I've followed Dale's suggestion ever since I got it... I keep a small stack of 2x6's and 1x6's, cut to the width of the base, stacked behind it to use as a platform for when I need to swing the table away.

One of my next purchases when and if I ever become affluent enough is to buy a real live grownup drill press.
 
I have to admit it, I like the idea of building the base on the bottom of the drill. Make it bolt to a plate of wood that will center the jig exactly where it was before and you can remove the jig and use the drill as normal.
 
Well I found a place in Ohio that sells metric pipe. 65mm OD x 30" Packed and shipped to me roughly $120.00. Don't think so. There is a guy on Craig's List selling a Hitachi 15" floor model B16RM new in the box for $200.00. Doesn't have the variable speed lever like the Ryobi but has all the other features. Does anyone own or know anything about the Hitachi? Of course, if the Hitachi is also mounted on a 65mm pipe I could switch out the head and table with the Ryobi. Then sell the Hitachi as a beefed up bench model (their bench model is a 10").
 
DocStram said:
Poor Dan .... here he is, only 8 posts to his name, and he gets his chain jerked by Hayseedboy. Even though Dan's a Gator fan I have to feel a little sorry for him. By the way, Dan? The PT Barnum should have been a clue, right?

Tell ya what I'm going to do ... just to get even. I'm sending my friend Hayseedboy a five pound can of Elbow Grease!
Click to expand...

That's awesome Doc! Will it come USPS or UPS? Do I apply it with Bounty paper towels?

lr
 
I ain't touching this "drill stretcher" thingie at all. No way! BTW, do they come in different sizes and maybe various colors?

Check to see if you can swing the table out of the way ... most swivel on the post.

If it does then problem solved ... drill stretcher or no drill stretcher!
 
You might want to give Ryobi a call. Maybe one of their smaller floor models uses the same diameter post as your bench model and you could buy one as a replacement part if it is not unreasonably expensive.

If you do go that route, you will want to cut the post off at a length that is satisfactory for your purposes. You will not just want to convert your bench model to a floor model as the floor models also have larger, heavier bases to keep the machines from tipping over.
 
Remove the post from the base and rotate the post and head 180 degrees to base, so that the base is facing toward the back. Reattach the base and clamp/bolt it to your workbench good, as it will not stand up on its own. If you still need more clearance add wood under the base and use clamps. It's a temporary solution until you can get a DP with more capacity.
 
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Sure is a lot of "help" for the new guy. Doesn't sound like you want to pivot the head around on the drill press. Can you use a cut off wheel and shorten the shank of the drill? Looks like you have a lot hanging out of the chuck. You could also have a spacer made to insert between the base and the flange of the the post. For drilling pen blanks, you could use a couple of pieces of 3/4" plywood for the spacers and it would be accurate enough.
 
I have an Hitachi Planer that I like a lot and an Hitachi Router stationed in my Bosch Router table. Both are very nice quality and reasonably-priced pieces of equipment. I've seen their new line of benchtop stuff and it looks impressive as well so you probably can't go wrong with the floor model either.
And, by the way, those drill press stretchers are right between the left-handed monkey wrenches and the lawnmower muffler bearings at Harbor Freight.
 
i agree with what Dale and Chasper said. Just swing your table around or remove it from the drill press. You can then build a second table/platform that attaches directly to the base of the drill press. Make this new platform/table the correct height so that your pen vise will mount correctly for the height you need to clear your drill bits and allow the necessary quill travel.

I had a friend that made a platform base that attached directly to the base of the drill press. He had holes drilled for large daimeter (around 3/4") in this base. He made a series of different size platforms with the matching dowels under the platforms to fit in the holes of his base. He had a top platform made with dowels that had his vise mounted to it. This way, if he needed more height for a small drill bit, he just pulled off the top platform with the vise, removed the second platform, added the correct size platform he needed to get his height, and reinstalled the top platform with the vise and and was ready for buisness.

His series of platforms was made in 1/2" increments so if he needed to raise everythng 2" he added the 2" platform. He was precise in his hole layout so the same basic holes worked for each and every platform.

Think of LEGO blocks, and you get the idea, I hope. :wink:
 
I have a thirteen inch Rikon Drill Press and I can drill all size blanks and things of greater depth. Maybe you should look around for another drill press on Craig's list and use your smaller one for other things. There actually is a drill extender, but where it joins to the drill bit end it is too large to drill through a blank.
 
gatornut said:
Hi Larry,

I went to the Harbor Frieght web site and searched drill stretcher, drill press and just drill but couldn't find anything that looks like it lengthens a press. How much does it lengthen the press? Can you send me a link or a picture of the one you have? I live in the Atlanta atrea and we do have HF's in the area but I don't know what I'm looking for.

Thanks, Dan
Click to expand...


They're on the same page as the skyhooks and the nail stretchers. :biggrin:
 
My favorite is sending the new Air Force person to the supply for a 100 yards of Flight line, which for those of you have never been there is what the rest of us call a runway.
 
ozmandus said:
Dan,
I have one of those little Harbor Freight simulated drill press on my work bench... I've followed Dale's suggestion ever since I got it... I keep a small stack of 2x6's and 1x6's, cut to the width of the base, stacked behind it to use as a platform for when I need to swing the table away.

One of my next purchases when and if I ever become affluent enough is to buy a real live grownup drill press.
Click to expand...
Dan,
Ran into the same issues as you. I sold my bench drill press and purchased a floor standing model and have been very satisfied with my choice.
 
Drillpress Table

Another option is to make a new drillpress table , I also have a Ryobi Tabletop DP and the Rockler drilling vise and had the same problem so I took a piece of Baltic Birch plywood and this is what I did

1_drillpresstable.jpg
1_drillpresstable2.jpg


I used a Fostner bit to make the recess to fit the mounting plate for the original table then just bolted the new table in place with the original bolt .
It holds the rockler vise much lower then the original table and is still adjustable so I can change the table height as needed with different drill bits .
Total cost for upgrade was about $7 for the plywood
 
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