Drill presses - the sequel

[Deadeye]

Thanks for all the input on the earlier thread.
You influenced how the future unfolded! - I bought a secondhand Meddings (£80 for a clean machine; seemed reasonable please don't tell me I was had!).

Two questions:
1. Folk spoke a lot about need to fettle drills. Runout is good (almost better than my dial meter - but that's another story). Anything else I should be checking?
2. Allied to the above, it's a Drilltru 1/2" MkII. I have the sales flyer but not a manual or parts diagram. Anyone have one they can scan please?

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Jammy barsteward. :lol:

 

[OscarG]

Got any pictures?!

 

[Lons]

That's dirt cheap! =D>

 

[Bm101]

Deadeye,
That's an amazing price. Less than a modern battery handheld name brand.
There's some links in my clean up thread of M4 Mk2. new-meddings-owner-if-i-ve-learnt-one-single-thing-t106700-15.html I can send you pdfs but only to your personal email. I can't see how to do it on here as they have safety measures (quite rightly). PM me if you want the original pdfs. Not a problem but to be honest, phone Meddings up and quote the code on your plate and they will email you the diagrams but not the manual. You can buy manuals on Lathes.com but they are not cheap and really all you need is an exploded parts diagram and a sense of adventure. [-o< The girls on the desk are used to it and more than that they are brilliant to the point that we were on holiday down there and I was trying to convince my Mrs we should pop in briefly to see them. She gave me a funny look. We didn't go to the drill factory and had to go to the beach instead. Straight up! Some people eh? :roll:
Take some pics. 'Cos we want to see it. We deserve to see it.
Just looking at my old thread and thinking I never did post the finished pics. Bit rude.
Will try and sort that.
Cheers
Chris

 

[Trevanion]

Lovely bit of kit, Hopefully it serves you a couple of lifetimes

 

[shed9]

In terms of fettling;

This will be obvious if the drill doesn't perform as it should.
Check the run out with the quill seated and at full extension to check the quill tube. Most drills will have some means to adjust this via grub screws set on the side. Take out the chuck and check for any play by grabbing the bottom of the quill and move it laterally. Check over the bearings for the belt drive path and check the belts for cracks. Check the table can be positioned true to the plane of the drill - static and at load. I would check the fuse to check if it is suitably rated for the motor wattage. Sometimes when people have issues with drill presses they throw in a higher rated fuse to fix 'other' problems. Assuming this is a single phase, visually check the capacitor for any damage (this would be obvious). When you have the chuck out, clean the taper dry . Don't put any oil on it - you would be surprised how many people I have met who do this. Do however check all lubrication points / grease nipples.

The above will take minutes however with a Meddings I suspect you will be all good. Superb price and well worth the outlay.

Sorry if I'm teaching you to suck eggs, I'm guessing you know your stuff, my comments are general.

 

[Deadeye]

In terms of fettling;



Sorry if I'm teaching you to suck eggs, I'm guessing you know your stuff, my comments are general.

Not at all! I'm a self taught beginner and keen to learn everything I can. This site is great - an amazing depth of knowledge and an even more amazing willingness to share. Thank you for the info.

Thanks for the advice. I'll measure the runout again at full extension. I'm a bit nervous of taking it apart - I take it the chuck comes out readily? Will check belts too.

The table is true (or at least as true as my square, which is a similar story to my dial indicator...)

 

[Deadeye]

Deadeye,
That's an amazing price. Less than a modern battery handheld name brand.
There's some links in my clean up thread of M4 Mk2. new-meddings-owner-if-i-ve-learnt-one-single-thing-t106700-15.html I can send you pdfs but only to your personal email. I can't see how to do it on here as they have safety measures (quite rightly). PM me if you want the original pdfs. Not a problem but to be honest, phone Meddings up and quote the code on your plate and they will email you the diagrams but not the manual. You can buy manuals on Lathes.com but they are not cheap and really all you need is an exploded parts diagram and a sense of adventure. [-o< The girls on the desk are used to it and more than that they are brilliant to the point that we were on holiday down there and I was trying to convince my Mrs we should pop in briefly to see them. She gave me a funny look. We didn't go to the drill factory and had to go to the beach instead. Straight up! Some people eh? :roll:
Take some pics. 'Cos we want to see it. We deserve to see it.
Just looking at my old thread and thinking I never did post the finished pics. Bit rude.
Will try and sort that.
Cheers
Chris

Thanks for this - really helpful.
Mine is an older model, the second one down on this page - http://www.lathes.co.uk/meddingsdrills1960/ - are they all more or less the same inside?
I'll get some pictures up tomorrow afternoon or at the weekend!

 

[shed9]

I take it the chuck comes out readily?

You won't have any problems. Do a search on youtube on how to remove and reseat, check a few before proceeding to make sure you are getting the right advice if that makes sense.

If you don't have the taper release metal part, they are easy to make with a piece of scrap.

 

[Deadeye]

I take it the chuck comes out readily?

You won't have any problems. Do a search on youtube on how to remove and reseat, check a few before proceeding to make sure you are getting the right advice if that makes.

If you don't have the taper release metal part, they are easy to make with a piece of scrap.

Thanks! I think you might be overestimating my ability though. I tapped my first ever thread last week.

 

[Bm101]

I take it the chuck comes out readily?

You won't have any problems. Do a search on youtube on how to remove and reseat, check a few before proceeding to make sure you are getting the right advice if that makes.

If you don't have the taper release metal part, they are easy to make with a piece of scrap.

Thanks! I think you might be overestimating my ability though. I tapped my first ever thread last week.

cutting-threads-on-new-arms-for-meddings-imp-metric-info-t107292.html
You think you have problems Deadeye?!?
Get on with it.

 

[Deadeye]

Take some pics. 'Cos we want to see it. We deserve to see it.
Just looking at my old thread and thinking I never did post the finished pics. Bit rude.
Will try and sort that.
Cheers
Chris[/quote]
OK. I took some pics. Turns out I'm an (even) worse photographer than I am a woodworker.
The logo has gone sadly, but the base and table are clean and square to the drill. Came with some spare pulleys, belts and a couple of vices.
Has anyone got a diagram that shows me where to put grease in? It says to do the bearings every three months by taking the spindle out!
M12 bolts to fix it down are on their way!

 

[Trevanion]

Very clean machine! Especially with no smiley teeth in the table so massive bonus!

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Mine was sold by Buck and Hickman as well. Mine has a plate saying Property of Bush Radio - which dates it to 1961 at the latest as as a single entity they ceased to exist then. If you have any trouble with the switch you can cut a rectangular hole out of the switch plate and fit one of this type -
http://www.amazon.co.uk/KJD17-Release-S ... olt+switch
If you lift the body clear of the column for any reason be sure you don't pinch the flex between it and the column when you slide it back down.
And no arc of shame!

 

[Deadeye]

Thanks Phil
Switch works ok for me at the moment. I thought there'd be a chorus of people telling me to strip it all down and repaint...
I put one of my Fisch bits in and it made lovely holes. Could have drilled them all afternoon!

Do you have a parts diagram/manual for yours?

Thanks

 

[Phil Pascoe]

No, I haven't. I should really do some maintenance on mine.

 

[Lons]

That's an older machine than mine so possible even more solid, you really did steal it at that price =D>

Nice to see photos, thanks for posting and enjoy, it's a pleasure to use quality machines!

cheers
Bob