Not CNC precision, But I did locate them with the DRO on the bridgeport and the were measured cumulatively, so the error should be very minimal. Of course there really is no need for precision with those holes. As long as there is overlap from one stop to the next, the holes serve their purpose.
I should have said DRO- my error. I was thinking about mounting fixtures to the fence if you ever need special jigs. I think you did it perfectly for any future needs.
Hello, I hope you don't mind a stupid question. But Pete did you drill the holes in the table to attach the knobs and braces? Or did you use existing holes? It looks too uniform without drilling the holes. If you drilled the holes, did you have to remove the table on your press (that looks to be a project), did you drill the holes while the table was off during your restoration (fantastic job by the way on your gang drill press), or just use a hand drill?
I apologize if this is really obvious and not worthy of answering.
Hey Chance, definitely not a stupid question. I did a combination of your thoughts.
Firstly, the drill press was originally a four headed beast- the fourth head was missing when I bought it, which was fine by me I wanted more space between them anyway. I tapped four new holes in the center of the table to attach the middle head- this left me with the holes from what would have bee the 2nd and 3rd heads still in the table. I put setscrews in these except for two which became the spacing I used for my fence.
I wanted to have the option to use the fence on either the left or right head as well and I drilled and tapped holes with the same spacing there.
Drilling Cast Iron isn't too hard. I used a corded hand drill with a screw-machine length 135º split point drill. I think I used a block to help me stay vertical. For metal working, the right drillbits are essential.
An even better way to dill holes in a table that large would have been a magnetic base drill- unfortunately I do not own one..... Yet.
Thanks for the information Pete. Would have never thought of spacing out the drill heads. Going to try something similar on a drill press I've got; right now its just a couple of clamps and a 2x4.
Nice job on the fence, and thanks again for the information. Good luck on getting that magnetic base drill.
I hindsight, I think I would prefer a T-slot to the 20,000 tapped 1/4"-20 hole down the top of the fence. They sometimes get crap in them and you need to unscrew the thumbscrew completely every time you want to move a stop. I think this may be a retrofit that I attempt, especially given the new machine that will be making its way to my shop next week- details on the way, but not here or now.......
