Replies

1. 
   Jkatzowitz | Feb 28, 2022 05:20pm | #1

   I don't know anything about that drill press but Happy Birthday Lataxe!!!

   I just hit 20 & a half a century 3 days ago.

2. 
   john_c2 | Feb 28, 2022 05:30pm | #2

   Happy birthday!

   I have the Nova Voyager, and love it. It's got a longer quill stroke and deeper throat than my old drill press, and it's heavier and just better made. I love the electronic variable speed, without changing belts. You can set the speed according to type and size of bit, and preset the cutting depth electronically.

   I use it for sanding the inside and outside of oval boxes using a sanding mop. I find it extremely useful for that.

   In all, I'm very happy with the upgrade.

1. 
   lat_axe | Mar 01, 2022 04:01am | #4

   John,

   A sanding mop sounds a good addition. It's now on the list of "drill press fangles to obtain". I imagine that such mops can conform to irregular surfaces in a way that a drum sander can't. Even swapping various drum sander diameters in and out often leaves some parts one can't get at.

   I'm also wondering if it would be possible to use the Nova (with it's high power & very low run-out) as a sort of mini vertical lathe, to make things like small wooden knobs a la Christian Beckvoort. Presumably a lower part on the drill press to emulate the pointy bit of a lathe tailstock would help?

   I have made a couple of knobs on my current drill-in-a-stand but the speed is too low (the drill is made for very high torque with only one low speed) and there's too much flex of the rotating part from the sideways pressure of a rasp or file, so my results have been only "serviceable".

   Perhaps I should peruse the various drill press accessories one comes across from time to time in on-line stores? Even if they're US-only (novel inventions are far less common in the UK) I might be able to make my own fangle somehow .....

   Lataxe

1. 
   john_c2 | Mar 01, 2022 05:46am | #5

   I've never tried to use a drill press as a lathe, but I've seen it done. I had a lathe for many years before I ever got a drill press. The same with mortifying attachments. My mortiser is basically a drill press. But the part that spins the bit is least important. I'm just not sure that retrofitting a drill press can work.

3. 
   dstevick | Feb 28, 2022 08:01pm | #3

   Hi Lataxe,

   I purchased the Nova Voyager about a year and a half ago. My main requirements were no belt changes and variable speed. Powermatic has recently come out with a version with electronic variable speed and a lot of nice features. It’s more expensive than the Nova but if you’re still looking it may be worth checking out.

   I’m not sure if you can attach a mortising jig to the Nova. It might be possible but you would need to investigate. My old drill press supported this but from my experience they are fussy to setup and difficult to make accurate mortises with. I ended up purchasing a dedicated mortising machine instead.

   The Nova does have some great features. The reversing mode came in handy when drilling large holes with a hole saw to get things started with no tear out. The variable speed is wonderful, just turn the dial and the digital readout shows the speed. It also has a menu driven speed selection that comes in handy when you’re not sure what speed to use for the drill and material you are using.

   I built a custom table top with swappable inserts for various sizes of drum sanders and for just replacing when they wear out. One nice feature of the Nova is that the table has a 2 in (approx) diameter hole that goes all the way through the support that I use for dust collection. I just added a corresponding hole in my table top that lines up with this and made an adapter for the shop vac.

   Other than that it’s a great drill press and worth the expense IMO.

   Good luck with your purchase.

4. 
   elmaduro | Mar 01, 2022 12:49pm | #6

   The Nova (which translates to: "won't go" in Spanish) is on my upgrade list once my junky benchtop Delta DP350 gives out.

   While I plan on building a new fully-featured drill press table, I'd pass on the mortising attachment. I had one long ago and it was more fuss than it was worth. Now I either use the router table or the drill press and chisels to cut mortises. Seems to go much faster and yield a more consistent results. I also had many less bloodletting incidents once I quit handling the mortising chisels.

   Also, check out the Stew-Mac Safe-T-Planer for the drill press. I've never used one, but it seems like a good addition to one's bag 0' tricks.

   Enjoy your new present !

   https://www.stewmac.com/luthier-tools-and-supplies/types-of-tools/planes/stewmac-safe-t-planer/

   
1. 
   john_c2 | Mar 01, 2022 02:03pm | #8

   They still make those!!!!!?

   When I started woodworking, all I had was a Craftsman radial arm saw, a beltsander, and a big pile of discarded church pews. I had one of those planer attachments that screwed onto the arbor of my radial arm saw. I used it to plane all of the pews to rough thickness, and cleaned them up with the belt sander.

   The good old days weren't so good.

5. 
   lat_axe | Mar 01, 2022 01:27pm | #7

   In truth I've never felt the need for a mortising machine as I can manage a decent handcut mortise (if it isn't too big & deep) or I can use the Festool Domino; or a big router and a spiral bit or ...... But having a fine proper drill press tempts one to explore its capabilities.

   I would like to use the Voyager as a vertical mini-lathe for turning out knobs and such. I did have a good lathe but had to sell it when we moved as there was no room in the new shed. I wonder if there's a tailstock item that could somehow be mounted in the Voyager drill press table so that both ends of a rotating workpiece are supported, as one applies the rasp, file or other shaping tool?

   I will attach a dust extractor hose end to the table when sanding; and perhaps when using the forstner bits, which generate enormous amounts of wooden swarf. I have a Veritas magnetic "mouth" used on their router table, mounted agin' the fence and connected to a dust extractor hose. I feel this will attach easily and effectively to the Voyager table.

   Lataxe

1. 
   john_c2 | Mar 01, 2022 02:05pm | #9

   I'm sure you can fashion a tailstock pretty easily. A block of wood with a nail in it might suffice for some knows.

   Chris Becksvoort has an article on FWW about turning knobs on a lathe.

1. 
   lat_axe | Mar 10, 2022 02:35pm | #10

   The Voyager has arrived and been installed. Wot a fine machine it is! But having played with all it's various functions, put in some hold-downs and a small vise, etcetera, I'm now wondering if it can be successfully used as a milling machine - perhaps to mill some wooden items (instead of using a router) but also a few metal things.

   For example, I'd like some T-nuts to fit the Voyager table. I'm not finding, anywhere I've looked so far, that are big enough. The slot width is circa 20mm but most of the commonly-found T-nuts, although they sort of fit, seem to have insufficient width in the wider "wings" that butt against the underside of the slots. So .... could I mill my own with a cross-slide vise and an end mill bit in the chuck, followed by use of the Voyager's tapping facility to make M8 threads through the resultant T-nuts?

   Has anyone used the Voyager (or any other decent quality drill press) to mill metal? I believe that metal milling is usually done with a dedicated drill having either a 3D chuck movement or a 3-axis table-vise affair ......?

   Lataxe

1. 
   john_c2 | Mar 10, 2022 04:34pm | #11

   The issue with using a drill press as a milling machine is the sideways force on the chuck and quill. It's just not nearly as strong as a really milling machine.

   But for wood, and light duty metal work, it can fill in. Find a x_y axis vise.

   It's a great machine.