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8" drill press converted to 12" on the cheap.
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Author:  guitarjtb [ Mon Mar 18, 2013 5:34 pm ]
Post subject:  8" drill press converted to 12" on the cheap.
I recently bought a used LMI rosette cutter. I wanted to dedicate a drill press to the cutter so that I could leave it set up. My choice was to convert my 8" drill press, so that it would reach the center of a dread sound hole, or buy a 12" or larger drill press to use for that. The 8" one was not getting much use, so I decided to convert it. I took it to the welding shop and had a piece of 1 1/2" I.D. pipe turned to match the 1 7/8" O.D. of the column assembly. A 5 1/2" piece was welded to the top side of the original column, and bingo, it was done in a flash. You can see the before and after test I cut in the table top. The reach is now sufficient for a dread.



Attachment:
P1010881.jpg
Author:  B. Howard [ Tue Mar 19, 2013 4:29 am ]
Post subject:  Re: 8" drill press converted to 12" on the cheap.
Yankee ingenuity at its best, I like it.
Author:  Clinchriver [ Tue Mar 19, 2013 4:54 am ]
Post subject:  Re: 8" drill press converted to 12" on the cheap.
Nice! How does that cutter work?
Author:  grumpy [ Tue Mar 19, 2013 5:37 am ]
Post subject:  Re: 8" drill press converted to 12" on the cheap.
Nice thinking, but you should have added another section of pipe so that you could also do 12 fret guitars.
Author:  ChuckB [ Tue Mar 19, 2013 6:02 am ]
Post subject:  Re: 8" drill press converted to 12" on the cheap.
I like it too, looks like something I would do!

Chuck
Author:  guitarjtb [ Tue Mar 19, 2013 9:51 am ]
Post subject:  Re: 8" drill press converted to 12" on the cheap.
grumpy wrote:
Nice thinking, but you should have added another section of pipe so that you could also do 12 fret guitars.



We talked about that, but I was afraid it would be "front heavy". My B.I.L. did the work, and he still has a piece of the pipe, in case I want to extend it again. It is only a 10 minute job if you have the extra pipe.

James
Author:  guitarjtb [ Tue Mar 19, 2013 9:55 am ]
Post subject:  Re: 8" drill press converted to 12" on the cheap.
Clinchriver wrote:
Nice! How does that cutter work?


It does a perfect job, with no tear out. Works better than I had imagined. Of course, the key is keeping the cutters sharp. I have always used a router for my channels but I like this a lot better.

James
Author:  guitarjtb [ Tue Mar 19, 2013 11:05 am ]
Post subject:  Re: 8" drill press converted to 12" on the cheap.
B. Howard wrote:
Yankee ingenuity at its best, I like it.



Thanks, from a south Alabama country boy.
Author:  ChuckB [ Tue Mar 19, 2013 11:34 am ]
Post subject:  Re: 8" drill press converted to 12" on the cheap.
You should be able to do a 12 fret top by turning it so the waist is tucked into the column.

Chuck
Author:  guitarjtb [ Tue Mar 19, 2013 11:54 am ]
Post subject:  Re: 8" drill press converted to 12" on the cheap.
ChuckB wrote:
You should be able to do a 12 fret top by turning it so the waist is tucked into the column.

Chuck



I just came in from the shop to post that exact thing. I got out my 12-fretter and measured from the waist to the center of the sound hole, and I can reach it fine from the waist.

Thanks,
James
Author:  grumpy [ Tue Mar 19, 2013 11:58 am ]
Post subject:  Re: 8" drill press converted to 12" on the cheap.
Not a 12 fret dread, I'm afraid....

Yeah, I'd have been concerned with it becoming front-heavy, also, but extending the foot, or bolting it solidly to a bench should rectify that.

Nice setup!
Author:  Pmaj7 [ Tue Mar 19, 2013 1:05 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: 8" drill press converted to 12" on the cheap.
Awesome. Way to think outside of the box. You just expanded my mind! :)

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
Author:  guitarjtb [ Tue Mar 19, 2013 3:20 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: 8" drill press converted to 12" on the cheap.
grumpy wrote:
Not a 12 fret dread, I'm afraid....

Yeah, I'd have been concerned with it becoming front-heavy, also, but extending the foot, or bolting it solidly to a bench should rectify that.

Nice setup!



I'm not sure if it will work with a Martin style dread, but I checked my plans for a 12-fret Smeck. It is 7" from the top side to the center of the sound hole, and It is 5 1/4" from the waist to the center of the sound hole. So it will work on a Gibson style slope D. The 12-fretter that I will build next will be in the style of a 1930 L-1, Kel Kroydon, or L-0. I have just rebuilt 3 of those and made all the measurements and drawings for doing a replica.

Extending the foot, or bolting it down, are simple and inexpensive solutions, if I do decide to extend it more.

Thanks,

James
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