hi all,
does anyone have any ideas or experience with bases for drill presses?
just over a month ago, i bought a delta 16 1/2″ floor standing drill press, which seems to be pretty stable standing up, but (obviously) not rock solid, with lots of weight up top (in the motor). since my shop is my garage, i don’t want to drill into the concrete floor to anchor it. but i live in california (i.e., earthquake country), so i’d like to prevent a topple. this leads me to think i should build (or buy) a base for it. because my shop is space-limited, i’d prefer for the base to be mobile. i was thinking about getting the woodcraft mobile base hardware, and then using a dense wood (read: heavy) to build the base, but i wonder if engaging the wheels to roll the drill press around will tip the thing over.
thanks in advance for your help,
–bert
Replies
Hi,
I just did the exact same thing, same Drill Press and made the same mobile base except that I used Doug Fir for the rails. I'm not to happy with the way it turned out.First I mounted the DP on a piece of 3/4" plywood and then put it in the mobile base.Those metal brackets are kind of twisty making the whole thing twisted. It rolls ok but I haven't used it very much yet. I live in CA too.
Dick38
The problem with drill presses is a high center of gravity. The solution is to lower the center of gravity of the whole assembly, drill press plus rolling platform. First, you must bolt the drill press very securely to the rolling base. This makes the pair of items into one body for purposes of determining the center of gravity. The base material should also be very stiff to resist any bending action, at least 3/4 inch plywood.Then just pile as much weight as seems reasonable on to the platform. I would suggest at least half the weight of the drill press but see what works. The weights should be fairly secure so that they won't shift around when you are moving the drill press. It also is necessary to make the base dimensions greater than the dimensions of the top part of the drill press, motor and quill assembly, in any possible position. For example, on my drill press the whole assembly is mounted on the vertical column in a horizontal bushing that lets me slide the whole assembly back and forth and thus vary the clearance between the vertical column and the quill.
Hi DrChops,
I have several floor model drill presses on rolling platforms and have had them this way for many many years with no adverse problems. I simply use a piece of 3/4" plywood or the equivalent and place 4 castors rated to carry the weight, usually 3" diameter. I have never felt the need to place ballast or weight on the base , but it sounds like a reasonable idea. BTW I have never had a problem of tipping over. I cut the platform a few inches larger than the base of the press.
good luck dusty
hi dick38, johne, and dusty,
many thanks for your ideas and epxeriences. i'll have a go and report back with how it comes out.
cheers,
bert
if it's worth doing at all, then it's worth doing well.
Dr. Chops,
I used the HTC HTC2000 Universal Mobile Base and lined the base with two sheets of 3/4 plywood. The base is bolted to the plywood and base. I am not 100% please with this configuration because the two static wheels (non-pivoting) make it hard to maneuver. I would try pivoting castors on all four corners of a plywood mount as one of your other responders did. Since I am replying late, you may already have done this.
Regards,
Andy
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