I bought an restored an old Elliot Progress Junior no12. Its a very simple drill press and just like yours, it has no lifting mechanism but its very rigid and solid. This is a very good idea because the just the table unit is quite heavy. So me being quite young it hasnt cause any problems yet by lifting it up and down manually, but i could see that it could easily crush a finger or two if it dropped accidentally. Thank you for this idea
I rebuild a lot of vintage drill presses and spend a fair amount of money on "factory" table elevators for them. Your solution is simple, easy to do and most of all, functional. thank you!
Thanks! Now that I've been using it for a while, I plan on one small mod. The jack has a long stroke on the crank for leverage to lift a heavy trailer. I don't need a lot of leverage to raise or lower the table top, so I'll be shortening the stroke on the handle.
Oh my gosh, I have been looking at my Craftsman Drill press and cussing out the height adjustment each time and had stopped using it due to the many skinned knuckles. I was looking at yourtube and this is a godsend. Thank you, Sir !!!!
I"m glad you found the video and it was helpful. A couple months after I put out the video I made one more mod. I cut and rewelded the crank to shorten the stroke on the handle. That made it a little easier use. You don't really need a lot of leverage to raise or lower a drill press table.
You're welcome. One additional mod after I built the lift was to shorten the throw on the crank. I cut it, shortened it and welded it back together. Turns out you don't need a lot of leverage to raise or lower a drill press table, so no need for a long crank.
I'm glad it is helpful to you. It's been working flawlessly for me. The only thing I changed after putting out the video was to shorten the stroke on the crank, since you don't need much leverage to lift the table.
Nice! I'm going to fab mine up shortly. I think I'll shorten the crank handle slightly and also position the jack behind the press. I'm pretty carefull with setups and clamping work down but if something spins around I don't want it smacking into the jack. Thanks for the video and idea.
I shortened the handle a few months after I put out that video. The long crank just got in the way and you don't need that much leverage to raise or lower a drill press table. I hope it works out well for you.
Izzy swan is a woodworking genius. He makes a drill press table elevating device from a scissor jack with a hand crank. Should check out his other videos to.
Neat use of an existing mechanism. And I love the fact that you took some time at the beginning of the video to explain what you were going to do. Most internet videos just show you a series of parts being made and then, only at the very end, do you know what they do. GOOD video technique! Others should take notice.
Kinda takes the mystery out of a project video, but I prefer how-to videos where I have an idea of how things will go together. Thanks for the positive feedback.
Thanks. I made one small change after the video. I shortened the length of the crank handle by cutting out a couple inches and welding it back together. The shorter stroke works better since you don't need much leverage to raise and lower the table.
I have a rack and pinion, and it's aggravating sometimes that I can't swivel my table instead of repositioning my vise, so I was thinking about removing mine. My table is kind of heavy, so guess I better not!
I have the same type drill press and intend to use your ingenious idea. I do plan to incorporate something I found for my cargo trailer jack stand that has done very well. I use an old wood spade bit, attach it in my cordless drill and insert it in the crank end that comes up out of the jack stand itself. I can raise and lower the trailer effortlessly and probably ten times as quickly. The drawback on this method is the “flopping” handle as it goes round and round. I am thinking I can do something very similar with your plans as the foundation and maybe removing the crank handle or welding or attaching a drill extension directly to the stand. . Thank you so much.
I'm glad the video inspired you make the mod and take it a step beyond. It's been working great since I put it on and the only post video mod was to shorten the throw on the crank since I don't need a lot of leverage to raise or lower the table. I'd like to see your finished product in action.
I would fab a up A stop bracket for the table spin so you know your tables is centered below the press when you want the table but still Have the option to swing the table out of the way.
Thanks! Glad you liked it. Maybe you could do something with some u-bolts to accomplish the same thing. I'm thinking a u-bolt around the jack shaft, then a plate and nuts to secure it, then some washers for spacers another plate, then the drill press shaft and finally one more plate and nuts to secure it. Might be worth a shot.
I wonder if a farm jack might also work? Mine had a rack but I bought it broken. Its a twian made drill press and that company no longer makes tools. So I have an option to buy a rack from grizzly tools and hope it works or buy all the rack, table parts and hope it fits the shaft. Other option is what you did. But I dont like where you put the handle looks like it get in the way for a add on table fence system.
Cool idea. I would like to see the farm jack variant. Your right about the crank location. It just clears my small table, but it works for me. If I expanded the table or added a fence, I would probably cut the handle down and reweld it so it would run under the table. The trailer jack was designed with a taller crank to provide good leverage for lifting a heavy trailer tongue. Running a drill press table up and down wouldn't require anywhere near as much leverage so a shorter crank would still do the job nicely.
@@bobbg9041 I like where you're going with that idea. It would be a cool addition. A guy could probably rig a corded variable speed reversible drill motor up with a well placed switch mechanism. You could use the same power source as the drill press.
I'd do it, but considering the Craftsman would be different from my Delta, I wouldn't want to attempt it without the drill press on site. You might consider getting all the parts prepped and bringing it to a welding shop to finish.
Clever! I considered a trailer jack to lift/lower my craftsman press. But didn’t see how it would work. You did a great job.
Thanks. It's been working great for me. In fact I used it today.
I bought an restored an old Elliot Progress Junior no12. Its a very simple drill press and just like yours, it has no lifting mechanism but its very rigid and solid. This is a very good idea because the just the table unit is quite heavy. So me being quite young it hasnt cause any problems yet by lifting it up and down manually, but i could see that it could easily crush a finger or two if it dropped accidentally. Thank you for this idea
I rebuild a lot of vintage drill presses and spend a fair amount of money on "factory" table elevators for them. Your solution is simple, easy to do and most of all, functional. thank you!
Thanks! Now that I've been using it for a while, I plan on one small mod. The jack has a long stroke on the crank for leverage to lift a heavy trailer. I don't need a lot of leverage to raise or lower the table top, so I'll be shortening the stroke on the handle.
Oh my gosh, I have been looking at my Craftsman Drill press and cussing out the height adjustment each time and had stopped using it due to the many skinned knuckles. I was looking at yourtube and this is a godsend. Thank you, Sir !!!!
I"m glad you found the video and it was helpful. A couple months after I put out the video I made one more mod. I cut and rewelded the crank to shorten the stroke on the handle. That made it a little easier use. You don't really need a lot of leverage to raise or lower a drill press table.
I just ran across this video and have an old Rockwell similar to yours. Going to try to make it for mine. Thanks much for the detailed video.
You're welcome. One additional mod after I built the lift was to shorten the throw on the crank. I cut it, shortened it and welded it back together. Turns out you don't need a lot of leverage to raise or lower a drill press table, so no need for a long crank.
Slick idea!! Gonna try this on my Craftsman drill press.
Go for it! Mine is still working great. Thanks!
Thanks for sharing this with us.have been looking for a way to put a lift on my old century machinery drill press I bought.
I'm glad it is helpful to you. It's been working flawlessly for me. The only thing I changed after putting out the video was to shorten the stroke on the crank, since you don't need much leverage to lift the table.
Nice! I'm going to fab mine up shortly. I think I'll shorten the crank handle slightly and also position the jack behind the press. I'm pretty carefull with setups and clamping work down but if something spins around I don't want it smacking into the jack. Thanks for the video and idea.
I shortened the handle a few months after I put out that video. The long crank just got in the way and you don't need that much leverage to raise or lower a drill press table. I hope it works out well for you.
Looks like "U" bolts will work to hold it all together on there.
That looks like a fabulous design!!! 😀😃
Izzy swan is a woodworking genius.
He makes a drill press table elevating device from a scissor jack with a hand crank.
Should check out his other videos to.
I've been a subscriber to Izzy's channel for a long time. The guy does some amazing work.
Neat use of an existing mechanism.
And I love the fact that you took some time at the beginning of the video to explain what you were going to do. Most internet videos just show you a series of parts being made and then, only at the very end, do you know what they do. GOOD video technique! Others should take notice.
Kinda takes the mystery out of a project video, but I prefer how-to videos where I have an idea of how things will go together. Thanks for the positive feedback.
love it, ergonomically perfect.
Thanks. I made one small change after the video. I shortened the length of the crank handle by cutting out a couple inches and welding it back together. The shorter stroke works better since you don't need much leverage to raise and lower the table.
I have a rack and pinion, and it's aggravating sometimes that I can't swivel my table instead of repositioning my vise, so I was thinking about removing mine. My table is kind of heavy, so guess I better not!
I have the same type drill press and intend to use your ingenious idea. I do plan to incorporate something I found for my cargo trailer jack stand that has done very well. I use an old wood spade bit, attach it in my cordless drill and insert it in the crank end that comes up out of the jack stand itself. I can raise and lower the trailer effortlessly and probably ten times as quickly. The drawback on this method is the “flopping” handle as it goes round and round. I am thinking I can do something very similar with your plans as the foundation and maybe removing the crank handle or welding or attaching a drill extension directly to the stand. . Thank you so much.
I'm glad the video inspired you make the mod and take it a step beyond. It's been working great since I put it on and the only post video mod was to shorten the throw on the crank since I don't need a lot of leverage to raise or lower the table. I'd like to see your finished product in action.
Great idea. Thanks
thanks great mod!
Nice job I’ve been searching for a way of lowering my table as well you solved my problem as well 👍🏻
I would fab a up
A stop bracket for the table spin so you know your tables is centered below the press when you want the table but still
Have the option to swing the table out of the way.
Nice one!
Now to figure out how to do that without welding.
Thanks! Glad you liked it. Maybe you could do something with some u-bolts to accomplish the same thing. I'm thinking a u-bolt around the jack shaft, then a plate and nuts to secure it, then some washers for spacers another plate, then the drill press shaft and finally one more plate and nuts to secure it. Might be worth a shot.
Great idea!
Thanks!
Could you cut off handle and use a drill to power the up, down handle
Beautiful
Thanks!
MR PETE TUBLECANE shows a set up of cable, pulley at top and a counter weight. this is my plan to make moving the table easyer
I looked at some pulley based systems, but opted for a crank making it easier to do depth adjustments more precisely.
I wonder if a farm jack might also work?
Mine had a rack but I bought it broken. Its a twian made drill press and that company no longer makes tools.
So I have an option to buy a rack from grizzly tools and hope it works or buy all the rack, table parts and hope it fits the shaft. Other option is what you did.
But I dont like where you put the handle looks like it get in the way for a add on table fence system.
Cool idea. I would like to see the farm jack variant. Your right about the crank location. It just clears my small table, but it works for me. If I expanded the table or added a fence, I would probably cut the handle down and reweld it so it would run under the table. The trailer jack was designed with a taller crank to provide good leverage for lifting a heavy trailer tongue. Running a drill press table up and down wouldn't require anywhere near as much leverage so a shorter crank would still do the job nicely.
@@TheToolmanTim you could almost use a power drill to do it electronically. Ive seen it done with other lift systems.
@@bobbg9041 I like where you're going with that idea. It would be a cool addition. A guy could probably rig a corded variable speed reversible drill motor up with a well placed switch mechanism. You could use the same power source as the drill press.
Great Idea. I'd love to have one for my Craftsman Drill press. Could I hire you to make me one?
I'd do it, but considering the Craftsman would be different from my Delta, I wouldn't want to attempt it without the drill press on site. You might consider getting all the parts prepped and bringing it to a welding shop to finish.
@@TheToolmanTim My craftsman looks Idential to yours and wouldn't be surprised if they were made by the same manufacturer.
How much travel do you have in the table ?
8 inches.
This, my friends, is how we won the Second World War...
Great job! I had something similar planned using a bottle jack but I gotta say I like your solution better!