# Drill Press quill travel too short



## blodal (Apr 14, 2006)

My drill press is a Delta bench top. The quill travel is 2 3/8 in. The first blank I tried to drill is 2 3/8 in long. I cannot drill completely through it.

What is the best way to handle this? I moved the blank up in my jig and reclamped it with the bit in place, then started the drill and finished the hole. Are most blanks this long, and will I continue to have this problem?

Looking forward to your answers.

Thanks,


----------



## Dario (Apr 14, 2006)

I bought the same DP knowing full well about this issue...but we have to deal with what we can afford.  Budget is a real issue for some [].

At any rate, I do the same...after drilling to the quill's max capacity, I raise the blank a bit and finish it off.

Only solution to avoid this issue is to upgrade DP.


----------



## alamocdc (Apr 14, 2006)

Bill, some are even longer so it becomes even more of a problem. I had the same issue with my Ryobi, so I bought a floor model with a 3 1/4" stroke. I'm much happier now.


----------



## JimGo (Apr 14, 2006)

Other options are to insert something under the vise to raise it a bit, and loosen the bit and allow it to drop some.


----------



## terrymiller (Apr 14, 2006)

The few times that I have encountered this I turned the drill press off at the bottom of the stroke loosen the clamp holding the wood blank.  Then I let the drill press raise up about an inch or so then hold it in that position and 
re-clamp the wood and continue drilling.  I found that with this method the drill bit grips the wood and ensures that the hole is perfectly straight and no wandering.


----------



## DCBluesman (Apr 14, 2006)

For the first time in my life I can say I'm proud to have 3-1/4". []


----------



## alamocdc (Apr 14, 2006)

Lou, I thought we were talking about drill presses! [}][]


----------



## gerryr (Apr 14, 2006)

That reminds me of a joke about a male singer in a bar who's approached by one of the female patrons who asks. "Are you a tenor?"  To which he replied..................[}]


----------



## Charles (Apr 15, 2006)

I agree with Dario, I had this same problem until changing DP's.


----------



## Randy_ (Apr 15, 2006)

The easiest thing to do is to have a small piece of 3/4" plywood available and when you reach the end of the quill travel, turn the DP off and put the piece of wood under your jig.  Depending on your setup, loosening the drill bit or moving the blank in the jig risk losing registration and getting a hole that is not straight or round.


----------



## Jim Boyd (Apr 15, 2006)

Or just drill the blank on the lathe.


----------



## redfishsc (Apr 15, 2006)

I may get ostracized for saying this but this is where the Shopsmith shines-- in drill press mode it can drill out any pen blank I've encountered! Not that it's worth buying a $1000 used machine, but if you happen to find a cheapie or already got one...


----------



## hazegry (Apr 15, 2006)

I dont know if you want to upgrade or not but the rikon 34-140 radial drill press is one heck of a machine for 159 bucks and it has 3and1/8 inches of travel. you can get by with what you have and upgrade later but if you do decide to upgrade shop around and definetly look at the rikon.


----------



## jthompson1995 (Apr 15, 2006)

I used to have a shopsmith and the long quill travel was nice, but it would not drill a straight hole for all that I tried.  I just got a shopfox benchtop oscillating drill press that has 3 1/4" travel and love it., straight every time and it converts to an oscillating drum sander.  I did see an article in a recent wood magazine that showed a simple jig that allowed for easily raising the blank to drill all the way through.

Jason Thompson
Parkville, MD


----------

