Delta 17" Gang Drill Press

crzypete · Post by **crzypete** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 9:56 am

No just my sanity.

P

crzypete · Post by **crzypete** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 7:55 pm

I've been playing on this project again. Some pics from today

Way too much time was spent masking

And more time here....

But it is so necessary when painting looks like this

I couldn't help but strip the masking off of one cover, it was worth it!

nektai · Post by **nektai** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 8:27 am

Is the green tape better than the blue painters tape I have used? Green is new to me.

Nice progress!

crzypete · Post by **crzypete** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 8:53 am

Yes/supposedly/I'll tell you after I demask this morning.

How's that for an answer. I bought it at NAPA in the painting section- supposedly intended for masking auto painting. It seemed to wrk very well on the cover I stripped yesterday.

Pete

crzypete · Post by **crzypete** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 8:41 pm

I demasked today-it actually got tedious- just so many parts to strip. The green tape worked like a charm. If I had to venture a guess to the difference between the blue and green I would say the green is formulated to deal with the higher solvents present in industrial finishes, while the blue is mainly intended for water based latexes. This of course is total speculation- could be way off base. Results were excellent- no bleed and no peeled paint from the adhesive. OK, enough words- here's a pic.

crzypete · Post by **crzypete** » Tue Sep 17, 2013 8:16 pm

Well it has been a 7 years in the making. But I finally have completed not only the gang drill press, but I have also reassembled my three other delta 17"ers. This was definitely a moment to line them up for some serious mug shots.

Now that I have used the gang drill press for many years, I have to say it is invaluable for my work. Definitely a daily driver for me. I can't imagine trying to drill holes in long pieces of wood on a lesser machine. The third head normally has a tapping head on it, but I removed it so that I could lower it to be in line with all of the heads for the photo.

Pete

chathamworkshop · Post by **chathamworkshop** » Tue Sep 24, 2013 6:22 pm

Wow, Pete. Looks like soldiers in full uniform at parade rest. Do you use the three gang drills very often? Wall shop space can be a premium.
The table for these must be what you were thinking of flattening with a Blanchard grinder?

Bill

chathamworkshop · Post by **chathamworkshop** » Tue Sep 24, 2013 6:22 pm

Wow, Pete. Looks like soldiers in full uniform at parade rest. Do you use the three gang drills very often? Wall shop space can be a premium.
The table for these must be what you were thinking of flattening with a Blanchard grinder?

Bill

crzypete · Post by **crzypete** » Tue Sep 24, 2013 10:04 pm

Bill, My work has a lot of holes in it! I mean hundreds per piece at times, So yes, this is actually one of my primary machines for building my pieces. It even has a prime position perpendicular to my work bench in my main work area. The two lista cabinets below it have all of my measuring tools, chisels, handplanes etc.

The three heads are mostly overkill, except that occasionally I find moments where having multiple heads running at the same time saves some serious work. This is especially true when I am using the third head as a tapper. Often the middle head is set with the fence to precision drill a hole and then the third head taps it while it is still in the vise.

Most of all I love the giant table for supporting long pieces. As you surmised, the table is what I am interested in having ground. When I last checked it many years ago, it had a sag in the center. I assume from age, although it is supremely ribbed. Given my daily use of the press and the precision of much of the countersinking that gets done on it, it would be sure nice to have it ground.

Pete