Meddings drill single phase conversion

[the black box]

i don't think its been used for a while so everything is abit stiff greased and cleaned most of it just the main pillar to do which should make it loads easier.

Cheers I'm over the moon with it tbh I'm only young (early 20s) so have only ever used cheap crap its almost strange seeing a the chuck rotate and be exactly concentric and not wobble about everywhere plus I only paid 120 for it 3£ for new belt at an autojumble and about another £10 on switchgear so much cheaper than a new Chinese machine and nicer and more satisfying to use donkey saw to source next I think.

 

[phill d]

ive only had my progress 1 a couple of weeks and well happy with it. meddings are a very well known good drill and spares still available !!!
ive seen a few new ones for over 500 quid that are total rubbish compared to old ones, and I know I would break anything from axminster &
machine fart and all the imported ones sold under different brands.
they are not nearly as well made and just look like toys to proper old iron. plus cleaning one of these and getting working is a pleasure.

to clean my main pillar I used a scotchbrite pad with some methylated spirits, mine was worse than yours for ground in old oil and grease, its like varnish.
just a few minutes and it starts to shift then all of a sudden just wipes off leaving the pillar like new.
at first my little tool holder on the shaft took a while to drop on its own, now as soon as the lock is undone it falls down quickly.

the table is also a good place for the meths and scotchbrite, get a rough pad normally dark red, cleans off the rust and brings table up like new.

in this pic below you can easily see what half has been cleaned,
this took 10 minutes by hand to do.

phill

 

[Turbo]

I forgot to tell you to earth everything metal if you can. I drilled and tapped an extra earth point on the main casting as it originally relied on the switch mounting screws for an earth contact.

I use wd40 and a green scotch pad to clean up machined surfaces. I find solvents like meths evaporate too quickly.

A rise/fall table mechanism was available for these drills as an optional extra. Luckily mine came with one as that table is heavy. They do crop up sometimes on ebay but can fetch silly money.

As for spare parts from Meddings - some parts are available but at really silly prices.

 

[phill d]

I tried wd40 and its no where near as quick to clean with, the evaporation is good as it can be simply wiped up with damp cloth wet
with meths and leave the surface clean and ready for oil.

its whatever is handy at the time is best to use, but with a clean pillar the table can easily be raised and lowered, especially on
floor model as you can get closer to lift it.

how big is your table TURBO ? mine is 13x13 this one here looks like a 9.5 x 9.5

 

[Turbo]

The table on mine is 28 x 28 cm but when you add a machine vice and whatever you're drilling it gets quite heavy.

 

[phill d]

Now a vice I understand, but why would you want to put the workpiece on the vice on the table before you raise or lower the table ?
1/ make a collar for the lowest point with a plate at the back for a small bottle jack to sit on.
2/ make a simple semi-circular plate with a built in collar to go under the table collar so the front still clears of table.
then you have a swivelling table that you can raise and lower hydraulically.

here is a real crap drawing to show what I mean , you might get the idea, could be for full pillar drill or bench drill.
and being hydraulic could lift whatever you want to put on it

hope you get the idea

phill

 

[brightspark]

Now a vice I understand, but why would you want to put the workpiece on the vice on the table before you raise or lower the table ?
1/ make a collar for the lowest point with a plate at the back for a small bottle jack to sit on.
2/ make a simple semi-circular plate with a built in collar to go under the table collar so the front still clears of table.
then you have a swivelling table that you can raise and lower hydraulically.

here is a real crap drawing to show what I mean , you might get the idea, could be for full pillar drill or bench drill.
and being hydraulic could lift whatever you want to put on it


View attachment 60030hope you get the idea

phill

putting a jack under the back would make the table tilt and bind it would need to be under the table where the weight is , the reason u need the vice and workpiece fitted on the table is some jobs requite a pilot hole though 1st using a small drill table up high . then u need the larger drill fitted so u have to lower the table as the drills 2 long and wont fit in

 

[Maker]

The jack is a nice idea but I agree with Brightspark, it's gonna tilt, bind and possibly damage your column. It could probably be made to work but it would likely be a bit temperamental and require lots of swearing fiddling with to get it right.

 

[phill d]

no it would not tilt the table, this idea is not new its very old.
some machines had this back in the 1920's and were pretty big machines.
what is the difference between rack and pinion and a hydraulic jack in binding or causing table tilt.
some even had a large screw system to lift and lower the drill head and the table. these were not allways near the column.

your not going to lift it any other way other than use a jack of some sort under the table and it needs to be
as near the column as possible or it will break the collar.

 

[brightspark]

[QUOTE="phill d, post:
your not going to lift it any other way other than use a jack of some sort under the table and it needs to be
as near the column as possible or it will break the collar.[/QUOTE]thats because it will bind and as far as theres no other way look at post 17 again . its simple and works verry well

 

[Wendelspanswick]

I have a gear driven Pollard pillar drill, about 8 ft tall, and that has a 2 stage jacking screw that operates on the centre of the table and a massive counterweight that runs inside the hollow coloumn as well.
You definitely need the ability to move the table, vice and workpiece together, think about how you drill and countersink a hole? The countersink is about 6 times shorter than a standard drill plus you have to drop the table to knock the Morse Taper bits out!