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Quick quill stop for Jet drill press?

10K views 26 replies 6 participants last post by  sonofSon 
#1 · (Edited)
The quill stop nuts on my Jet JDP-17MF drill press are frustratingly slow to adjust and I'm looking for a replacement part that can be run up and down the quill quickly but that can also grip the quill threads and be accurately adjusted in fine increments - and without spending a fortune. I define "fortune" to mean more than about $75 USD.

Grizzly offers one for about fifty bucks. See attached catalog ad. It looks like what I want although I haven't checked the threads on my Jet's quill to see if it's compatible. I do note several reviews of the part that say it didn't fit their press correctly out of the box and required modification. I don't own a mill or a lathe so that sounds ominous.

Does anybody have experience with this Grizzly part - or any competitive product they could recommend? I don't have much metal-working ability but would like to hear about any alternatives.

Thanks for reading and for any advice you can give,
Bill
 

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#2 · (Edited)
Since I wrote the initial post I've checked the thread of the Jet's quill and it is not even close to 1/2"-20 tpi. The Jet's quill has a metric thread of M16 - 2.0 and, so far as I can find, there are no aftermarket quick stops compatible with that thread.

There are several shop-built stops I've seen on the Web, all of which are of similar design: a partially split wood block drilled vertically to fit the quill and transversely with a knob-ended threaded bolt that fits a T-nut in the opposite face. The issue with these stops is they are made of wood and have to be made accordingly thick or high to withstand use without failing. This detracts from the factory drill depth of the press. (I'm not sure how big a deal that is - depends on what you use a drill press for. I may try one of these because all the pieces are on hand already.)

An alternate suggestion was made by somebody to use a Rockler or similar drill bit stop collar on the quill, although I'm not sure how well the quill threads would hold up to that sort of thing unless you were careful to always center the Allen screw of the collar on the flat side of the quill. The Jet's quill is 16mm, which is about 5/8", larger than the largest Rockler stop collar I have on hand. I'm sure somebody makes one that big.

Maybe the better thing to do is lay hands on some annealed steel bar stock, drill it for a sliding fit on the quill, through-drill it transversely on the end facing the press operator and tap it for a knob-ended threaded bolt of reasonable size to secure the stop against the flat side of the quill.
 
#3 · (Edited)
For my Jet, I cut a nut apart and had it welded to a spring clamp. For your idea, a modification would be to drill out a nut, then drill and tap a hole for a set screw, cheaper starting point! You could loctite a wingnut to an extended setscrew. Frankly, I like that better than my clamp!
 

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#4 · (Edited)
You have several choices ......

I can't recall the last time I used my Jet's depth stop, but that's me.

You say the thread on the Jet is a M16 X 2.0. Just get an all thread rod that matches that and several nuts as well. Cut one nut in half using a hack saw, leave the other one whole. Place the two halves in side a small length of bicycle inner tube or other elastic tubing. Spread it slightly apart enough to slide it up and down on the threaded rod as your adjustable stop. The spring clamp is a good idea also, and epoxy could be used on a plastic jaw type. Not much pressure is required to seat the nut on the threads. In fact, you could grind a flat on both sides of the rod such that a small clamp will grab it. OR drill out the nut so there are no treads left and tap it for a set screw, you don't actually need all the threads.

Another approach is to round the end of a 1/2" X 20 rod using a file or grinder just enough so it will fit inside the M16 X 2.0 hole on the Jet. Use a set screw in a tapped hole to secure it. A hole in the end that gets threaded for a small screw and when tightened it will "seat" firmly inside the hole. The Grizzly rod can be reduced in the same way so that it can then be used if you desire.

Any of these ideas can be done with simple hand tools and drilling the end of the rod for tapping can be done in this very same drill press. A 1/4" tap is cheap at any hardware store if you don't have one. Every woodworking shop would benefit from a small set of taps and dies for repairs and making jigs.

A digital version:
https://www.rockler.com/wixey-wr503...aEmOphUmNeuUXcpHBInmIx9UdxA7neARoCldAQAvD_BwE

Here's a nice workout for a drill press that had no previous depth stop. It has some parts made from plywood, but overall a nice job:


:vs_cool:
 
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#5 ·
Gentlemen, Thanks to you both for sharing your ideas. I never ceased to be amazed at how creative woodworkers can be. In fact, even from my limited experience, I can see serious woodworkers already are or soon become skilled in other materials, to the extent the name is an understatement of the craft.

Luckily for me, Dad was a highly skilled and versatile craftsman who left me all his tap and die sets, some of which look like they could be used to build a locomotive. Probably were because he was an old railroad man who was apprenticed on the ICRR in his youth.

To get on with my honeydew list, some of which Higher Authority is on the loud pedal about, I'll probably mill a small block of oak scrap and equip it with a threaded knob/T-nut to squeeze the quill. For the time being. When I get some breathing room, I"m going to get some mild steel bar stock and see what I can do.

Go well,
Bill
 
#7 ·
That is really slick! I just Googled "shaft collars" and it looks like Grainger, Zoro et al. can fill all my shaft collar needs, including some with set screws already installed.

One question about shaft collars: As I understand it, the decimal equivalent of 16mm is 0.6328125, the closest SAE equivalent being 5/8" (.625). Are shaft collars sized for a sliding fit on the nominal shaft? e.g. should I order a shaft set collar for a 16mm shaft or add a couple thousandths and‬ order up?
 
#9 ·
Some measurements from the Jet JDP-17

Before ordering a shaft collar, I thought I'd better take some measurements on the Jet drill press and here's what I came up with (see attached). The sheet makes more sense with these additional notes:

The factory quill is a 16mm steel shaft threaded M16-2.0; the case of the drill press head is pretty close to the quill; there's a nut on a bolt mounted in the case, behind the quill, that closes the distance even more.

The two existing nuts and washer that are Jet's way of providing a quill stop are only 23.78mm in diameter. The quick-release 16mm shaft collar in the Zoro's catalog has a published O.D. of 38mm. So there is a real question of clearance.

The critical measurement would seem to be the narrowest distance between the outside edge of the quill and any point on the nut. With that measurement in hand, and knowing the radius of the quill and the prospective collar, what I came up with is a clearance of 0.5mm - more than a blond hair but less than a brown hair, one might say. If it came down to it, I think I could dress an interfering corner of the nut a little bit with a file, enough to allow the collar to be threaded on and used.

At this point, it looks like the only thing to think about is whether the hinged arm of the collar is going to be more trouble than it's worth: an Allen set screw might be easier to deal with, particularly with a handled wrench. In order to get a tight grip on the shaft, the locking arm might be a tough customer to snap and unsnap repeatedly with arthritic fingers. I've already got some of those and a set of handled Allen wrenches. Not to mention the difference in price. Have to think about it.

If anyone sees a flaw in my measurements or has some experience with snap-locking shaft collars, sing out and loud, before I add something to my Zoro's cart!

Bill
 

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#10 ·
keep it simple .....

Just get the 16 mm shaft collar, no frills and levers, and if needed file a flat on the back side if there is an interference.

:vs_cool:
 
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#11 ·
Agree. I ordered the plain jane 16mm steel collar with set screw. I may have to use a slightly longer set screw because the Jet's quill has a big flat on it where they've pinned the vertical scale.
 
#12 · (Edited)
setting the depth stop collar ....




You will need to change the way you adjust the stop with a sliding collar VS a threaded one. There is no longer a "fine tuning adjustment" so, I would run the quill/drill down to the depth I want, place a small wood block so it just fits under it and lock the quill. Then drop your sliding collar so it rests on the base of the threaded rod and tighten the set screw. Now it's at the desired depth for drilling your hole(s).

If you use two identical but opposing direction wedges they can be adjusted to make very small incremental changes in height. This is a poor man's approach, but it will work.
https://www.grizzly.com/products/Gr...51bYXwOgI58sSEjHQO875lnytiWAEKDBoCO-oQAvD_BwE
An adjustable height milling jack is another choice, but you can make a poor man's version using a large heavy nut and a bolt. Thread the bolt far enough into the nut so it extends to the height you want but not so it comes through the bottom. Two nuts may work better OR a block of wood with a threaded/tapped hole.

:vs_cool:
 
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#13 ·
One thing to take into consideration when setting a stop is the backlash in the quill if you are working to close tolerances. Move the quill down to the depth required, find a block that fits between the table and tip of the bit, loosen the lock and bring the quill down to take up the slack and lock it in that position.

On my budget drill press there is a difference of about 1/16" due to the backlash,
 
#14 ·
No quill lock

This may be a repetitious post but the one I just submitted has disappeared. Thanks to both of you for suggesting a different technique when using a non-threaded quill stop. I've been thinking about it myself and setting to a block makes sense.

My Jet press doesn't have a quill lock so we'll have to see what works best in practice. As soon as Zoro delivers I'll report back on this thread.

Bill
 
#15 ·
No quill lock? ....!

This may be a repetitious post but the one I just submitted has disappeared. Thanks to both of you for suggesting a different technique when using a non-threaded quill stop. I've been thinking about it myself and setting to a block makes sense.

My Jet press doesn't have a quill lock so we'll have to see what works best in practice. As soon as Zoro delivers I'll report back on this thread.

Bill
I'd be looking at a way to lock the quill, myself. One of my drill presses also lacks a quill lock and there are times I wish very badly it had one.

In your case, what comes to mind is a "snubber" on the threaded rod. It would provide enough friction to keep it from sliding when screwed in. I would remove the threaded rod and drill a 7/32" hole in the casting that supports it and then tap the hole for 1/4" x 20 threads. Then use a nylon tipped set screw or nylon thumb screw to press against the rod when tightened enough to maintain it's position. You may not need it often, but with your shaft collar addition it would be quite helpful.
 
#18 ·
Just got word from Zoro that Big Brown should deliver the shaft collar this Friday. Don, thanks for the idea of a quill snubber. I'm already committed for at least the price of a shaft collar to stay with the factory 16mm quill, but I like the idea of immobilizing the point of the drill by clamping the quill in place, as opposed to what I thought Jet offered on some of its presses - a handle lock.

I ran across a Woodsmith plan for a quill stop that uses a second button-operated nut to freeze the quill in place. Of course it uses some wooden parts and an SAE threaded rod and other steel parts that make up an entirely new quill assembly. See attached. I'm not willing, at this point, to throw away the factory quill assembly and undertake that kind of project .... but the second nut gives me an idea of where I might put a locking collar or clamp to temporarily hold the quill steady.

Bill
 

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#19 ·
Want a really simple quill lock?

A hose clamp left loose on the quill won't interfere with drilling, but if you position the quill where it's down as far as needed, then tighten the hose clamp right under the quill the column, it can't go up any further. It can go down, but not up. This is quite different than a depth stop of course.

For a depth stop, use a smaller hose clamp like for fuel lines and clamp it to the existing depth stop rod where it's needed. So, now we've succeeded in limiting the upward and downward movement of the quill .... it it still a drill press? :wink:
 
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#21 · (Edited)
Seek and Ye shall Find ... what you were looking for to begin with

Big Brown advises my shaft collars will be delivered tomorrow (Thursday), so we'll see how those work out in actual shop practice. However, after posting (above) the Woodsmith quill stop and lock plan, I wondered where the designer had sourced those push-button nuts and under what name they might be catalogued somewhere? It occurred to me that, even though the Woodsmith design was based on a 1/2"-20 threaded rod, whoever made the quick-adjustable nuts might also offer them in metric. Sure enough, Googling "push-button nuts" brought up several online catalogs, all listing the manufacturer Morton Machine Works, and offering several different versions in both SAE and metric - including versions threaded M16-2.0, matching my Jet press's quill.

SO, it looks like a couple of these on either end of the quill could serve as a stop and a lock, respectively. The benefit of this hardware is I'd get quick, large adjustments of the stop with button pressed and threads released, and fine adjustments of the stop with threads engaged. The stop Could be engaged with one hand, too.

I think the lesson here may be, Google broadly using lots of synonyms. I didn't have sufficient faith in the American tool parts industry!

PS: After looking at Morton's catalog online, I decided to go ahead and order a couple of the "Button Thread Knurled" versions of its button-thread nut, the particular part being KN-716 with M16-2.0 threads. The price was $12.10 apiece, for what would have been a total order of $24.20 -- except Morton has an order minimum of twenty-five bucks. So I added in an HN-716, the hex version of the same thing because the width is only 35mm instead of 38mm. No sales tax and no shipping charge. MSC.com carries these in its catalog but wanted sixteen bucks each. I'm going to have some spare parts to play with but I think this will solve the original problem.
 

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#26 ·
Big Brown advises my shaft collars will be delivered tomorrow (Thursday), so we'll see how those work out in actual shop practice. However, after posting (above) the Woodsmith quill stop and lock plan, I wondered where the designer had sourced those push-button nuts and under what name they might be catalogued somewhere? It occurred to me that, even though the Woodsmith design was based on a 1/2"-20 threaded rod, whoever made the quick-adjustable nuts might also offer them in metric. Sure enough, Googling "push-button nuts" brought up several online catalogs, all listing the manufacturer Morton Machine Works, and offering several different versions in both SAE and metric - including versions threaded M16-2.0, matching my Jet press's quill.

SO, it looks like a couple of these on either end of the quill could serve as a stop and a lock, respectively. The benefit of this hardware is I'd get quick, large adjustments of the stop with button pressed and threads released, and fine adjustments of the stop with threads engaged. The stop Could be engaged with one hand, too.

I think the lesson here may be, Google broadly using lots of synonyms. I didn't have sufficient faith in the American tool parts industry!

PS: After looking at Morton's catalog online, I decided to go ahead and order a couple of the "Button Thread Knurled" versions of its button-thread nut, the particular part being KN-716 with M16-2.0 threads. The price was $12.10 apiece, for what would have been a total order of $24.20 -- except Morton has an order minimum of twenty-five bucks. So I added in an HN-716, the hex version of the same thing because the width is only 35mm instead of 38mm. No sales tax and no shipping charge. MSC.com carries these in its catalog but wanted sixteen bucks each. I'm going to have some spare parts to play with but I think this will solve the original problem.
I have been following your post with a great deal of interest as I have wanted to add something similar to use a a quill stop. Like you, I had no idea what to call these nuts. Thanks for including the part numbers. I'll check my depth stop gauge and see what it's threads are and place an order with Morton. My drill press uses a button nut as a depth gauge but it is roughly 1.5 inches thick, this one is slightly thinner.

I had been planning to cut a nut in half, file down the treads on one side and see if I could install a small spring and then epoxy the nut back together. This is one time that pre-manufactured would be much better.

You had concerns about this moving without the addition of the collar. Have you tried it without the collar? If so, how did it work?
 
#22 ·
shaft collars are here - some comments

Shaft collars were delivered and I've installed one as a quill stop, at least until the push-button nuts arrive, probably next week. I wasn't sure when I ordered these collars how much force would be required to operate the set screw so refrained from ordering thumb screws. Because the quill has a flat face for about 180 degrees of its circumference, the set screw takes a good bite fairly easily and I think a thumb screw with a decent handle would work fine.

I haven't had time to really try it out but in the absence of a quill lock, the fastest way to get a rough setting seems to be starting with the collar set lightly and fairly high. Run the bit down to where it needs to be on a block, hold the handle in the right hand to keep the bit in place, take up the Allen wrench in the left hand and loosen the collar to let it fall. Then tighten it enough to hold the quill temporarily. See if minor tuning is required. If so, reset the bit in place, loosen the set screw slightly, make the adjustment and re-tighten.

I'd originally planned on using the second collar as a stop, which requires removing the block through which the quill runs and installing the second collar. I may or may not try this since the push-button nuts are coming next week and it's pretty obvious that, just as gravity helps with setting the stop collar, it makes setting the lock collar single-handedly more difficult, at least without a thumb screw in place.
 

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#23 ·
Added second second collar as a quill stop

As a reward to myself for trying to un-stick a sprinkler system valve in 98F heat (and to get out of the heat), I went back into the garage this morning and installed the second collar.

These collars work very well as quill stops and locks but badly need thumb screws. Ordinary humans with only two hands and no prehensile tail have a tough time (a) picking up and fitting an Allen wrench into a 5mm socket while (b) holding the collar in place with one hand and (c) holding down the press handle in the other hand to keep the tip of the bit in place. Thumb screws should alleviate the problem.
 

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#24 ·
Finall version of stop and lock (almost)

The Morton push-button nuts arrived yesterday and their diameter of 38 mm is a hair too wide to be threaded onto the scale bolt without removing the bolt, which I did easily enough. On the Jet JDP-17MF the scale bolt is a two-diameter threaded shaft, the top portion having a 16mm-2 thread, with a flat face milled out of 180 degrees of the diameter. The short section at the bottom is turned and threaded for a 10mm nut, which secures the bolt to the seat. If anyone wanted to replace the existing metric scale bolt with a length of SAE threaded stock, he or she would need to turn down a couple inches of the bottom end of the stock to fit the existing through-hole in the seat, and re-thread it for a hex nut of choice.

Once I got the two Morton nuts installed on the scale bolt, above and below the seat, I discovered the upper nut -the one for a stop - was interfering with the edge of the hex nut that secures the "Quill set screw" to the case. For reference, the hex nut at issue if Part #55 on the Jet exploded diagram and the set screw if Part #54. I was about to take a file to the hex nut and then decided I'd look up what I was about to deface a little. I have two parts diagrams. The older one is part of the manual that came with my press and shows two 7/16" lock washers (parts #607) stacked onto the shaft of the #54 set screw and held against the drill press case by the #55 hex nut. The newer parts diagram is part of a newer edition of the manual, one I downloaded recently from Jet's Website. In that diagram, the two lock washers are completely absent.

I called the technical support guy at Jet/Powermatic and asked him exactly what the "Quill set screw" did - and he didn't know. Incidentally, what I've been calling the "quill" until today is what Jet calls the "scale bolt" - Part #613. The "quill" is actually the much larger part through which the spindle of the press is installed. Mea culpa and please excuse my ignorance. In any event, he agreed that later versions of the press were made without the two lock washers.

The reason I go so tediously at this business of lockwashers and no-lockwashers on the quill set screw, is this: when the lock washers are removed, the hex nut moves away from interference with the new Morton push button stop nut and gives 2-3 millimeters of clearance, which is plenty.

When the push button of the Morton nut is released, the threads of the nut re-engage with the threads of the scale bolt and can be finely adusted by rotating the nut. However, there is no internal provision on the Morton nut to lock it in place. It holds some degree of spring tension on the thread of the bolt but I'm not sure how it will respond to the normal vibration of the press in use. I may be overthinking this but an easy solution for me, since I already had two Ruland set screw shaft collars on hand, was to drop one of them onto the top of the Morton nut and let it ride there until I had need to set the stop. After setting the stop with the Morton, the shaft collar can be locked with its set screw to keep the Morton nut from increasing the depth of the hole, which would be the concern if the nut moved from vibration. A shallower hole can always be checked and corrected. I need and have ordered a thumb screw for the shaft collar. I'll post some pictures after supper.
 
#25 ·
photos for last post

Herewith..

The additional hardware mounted on the scale bolt reduces the maximum spindle stroke from 4 3/8" to about 3 1/2", which isn't significant for my work but might be for others.
 

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#27 ·
Elden, For some reason my reply to your question has disappeared and, I have to assume, never made it to this thread. Since then, I've gotten the thumb screw in from MSC and I'll attach a photo to this post to illustrate where things stand.

I haven't used the press enough to determine whether normal use will cause the Morton nut to change its position on the scale bolt enough to matter. The nut's internal spring applies a certain amount of pressure to the thread of the scale bolt but it is easy to run the nut up and down the bolt with one finger. My thinking so far - since I've already got the shaft collar and thumb screw in house and it doesn't take up a material amount of room on the bolt - is to leave the shaft collar in place on top of the Morton nut but not bother to lock it in place for non-repetitive drilling operations when matching exact depths from hole to hole is not important. However, for peace of mind I'd like to have a way to keep the depth gauge from creeping deeper before I could notice it. Shallower is fixable. Locking the shaft collar won't keep the nut from vibrating shallower but it will keep it from vibrating deeper. My thinking, anyway.

The most common use I have for the press is for building shop fixtures and other utility work, which I typically assemble with screws or bolts and nuts. Thus: drilling pilot holes for screws and through holes for bolts, and in the latter case also recessing the opposite face for the mating washers and nuts. I usually do the recessing with a Forstner bit for the sake of appearance. For finer work I'm a fan of dowel joints and don't use the press for that. I became a convert to DowelMax and gave up pocket screws thereafter.

So, all the above to say my drill press use comes in fits and starts and right now it is mostly setting there waiting to be used. I can answer the question we are both wondering about but it's going to be a bit. I will faithfully report what I find as soon as I can see enough results to have an opinion.

It occurs to me that, if you were prepared to do as much surgery on the factory nut, you might consider drilling and tapping for a small set screw above or below the threads in the Morton nut, and installing a thumb screw therein. THAT would lock the Morton nut beyond all question. You'd probably (I would) want to have the Morton nut in hand before sizing the set screw and its shaft length. I like the thumb screws I bought from MSC but I dont know they would be long enough to do the job on a Morton nut. I think both the hex and round versions have something like a 19mm radius. The published specs on the screws I bought said they were 25mm long but I don't think that's the thread length, it's the OAL and the head is 4mm thick. What I'm trying to say is you may have trouble sourcing a long enough thumb screw.
 

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