Floor-standing pillar drill column

UKworkshop.co.uk

Help Support UKworkshop.co.uk:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Not sure what machine you have, should you be able to title your post a bit better for a catch.
I see Sealey has one for sale...77 pounds though!
You might possibly find someone on ebay who sells components, plenty of near clones about.
Alternatively, not that I've ever thought about it...
Someone else was looking to do the opposite not so long ago with an Elliot machine,
should someone be looking to do the same, worth mentioning.
Not sure if that was the same thread or another which was looking for a rack for theirs,
just some more possible leads, or things to consider, as guessing that maybe harder found than the bit of likely standard width tubing.

Another idea might be seeing if one could do something about the post going into the bench,
not sure how possible or handy that might be though.
If it is a typical clone like the Korean variety then there's some complete teardowns of these machines on youtube which might inspire one to make or modify.

Sorry cant be of more help.
Tom
 
This got my attention as I’ve been thinking about doing the same to convert my diy workbench drill press into a much higher/longer model.
Up to now I haven’t done anything more than think about it but, and unless I’ve completely missed something, I was planning on ringing a mate of mine (fabricator/welder) who will ‘simply’ order me whatever length of steel tubing I want…..I can make it any height I want.

My point is that surely you don’t need to purchase anything special from any specific manufacturer……just look to a metal stockist or, as in my case, have a chat to your local welder. 👍

??
 
This got my attention as I’ve been thinking about doing the same to convert my diy workbench drill press into a much higher/longer model.
Up to now I haven’t done anything more than think about it but, and unless I’ve completely missed something, I was planning on ringing a mate of mine (fabricator/welder) who will ‘simply’ order me whatever length of steel tubing I want…..I can make it any height I want.

My point is that surely you don’t need to purchase anything special from any specific manufacturer……just look to a metal stockist or, as in my case, have a chat to your local welder. 👍

You're absolutely right, and I think I now have a solution which combines the two. I've bought a length of pipe from The Metal Store which happens to be the right diameter and surprisingly inexpensive -- they'll also do custom lengths for no extra charge.

It looks like the Sealey rack will fit my existing pinion gears -- they have a helpful technician who is checking the dimensions for me -- but if not, then I'll take my existing rack to the nearest fabricator and ask for 'one of these but longer'.

To be fair to Axminster, they responded to me quickly and the spare parts I need are almost as cheap as making/sourcing them myself, and if it wasn't for the fact that it's a special order from the far-east with an indeterminate lead time I would have just bought them.
 
Does anyone know where I can get a 60mm diameter column for a floor-standing pillar drill?
You just need to seek out a metal merchant. When I pulled apart my pre WW1 Startrite pillar drill some 30+ years ago I needed to replace the rusted out pillar. I was living in Essex at the time and had no problem sourcing a length of seamless thick walled steel tube from Industrial Metal Supplies in Shoeburyness, just outside Southend-on-sea.

Colin
 
I’m not sure I understand this idea of increasing the capacity of a pillar drill by simply inserting a longer column. Isn’t the main limiting factor on a pillar drill the travel distance of the chuck? I can see that you will be able to get ‘deeper’ ‘higher’ pieces under the chuck, but will that make possible increased drilling depth? If I am completely wrong about this, can someone explain?
D.
 
No, what you've said is largely correct. Drilling depth is determined by length of drill bit and chuck travel distance.

Pillar drills generally come in two types: floor-standing and bench mounted. The only difference between the two is the length of the column between the base and head. I simply want to convert my bench mounted drill into a floor standing one.
 
You're absolutely right, and I think I now have a solution which combines the two. I've bought a length of pipe from The Metal Store which happens to be the right diameter and surprisingly inexpensive -- they'll also do custom lengths for no extra charge.

It looks like the Sealey rack will fit my existing pinion gears -- they have a helpful technician who is checking the dimensions for me -- but if not, then I'll take my existing rack to the nearest fabricator and ask for 'one of these but longer'.

To be fair to Axminster, they responded to me quickly and the spare parts I need are almost as cheap as making/sourcing them myself, and if it wasn't for the fact that it's a special order from the far-east with an indeterminate lead time I would have just bought them.
That’s really good to hear as I’m a b*gger for thinking and not doing 👍.

I’m not sure I understand this idea of increasing the capacity of a pillar drill by simply inserting a longer column. Isn’t the main limiting factor on a pillar drill the travel distance of the chuck? I can see that you will be able to get ‘deeper’ ‘higher’ pieces under the chuck, but will that make possible increased drilling depth? If I am completely wrong about this, can someone explain?
D.
Yes, you are correct but there’s been a few instances where I’ve needed to drill down into something that was far longer than the depth from drill point to workbench.
Plus, as someone else has mentioned, I can save a fair bit of space by having it floor mounted (secured to the wall) in my workshop.
 
That’s really good to hear as I’m a b*gger for thinking and not doing 👍.
Yes, well, it turns out that I'm a b*gger for getting within yards of the finish line and falling flat on my face. The pipe I bought is just fractionally too large in diameter, so now I need to find someone with a lathe to turn it down. :(
 
Back
Top