MetalworkingFun Forum

My trusty old Craftsman drill press never had the crank to raise and lower the table.  It wasn't available when dad bought the thing in the 1970's.  Searches for one have proved fruitless, and my back has seen better days.  So, when all else fails, reinvent the wheel!

I used a cheap-o Chinese (redundant, I know) power supply and linear actuator found on the web.  Walmart, I believe.  Switch boxes and switch were leftovers I had from Radio shack (man, I miss that place) combined with Home Depot wiring and connectors.  Power is wired through the integral lamp in the head, so power supply isn't on except when using the thing.  Button is momentary in both directions, and linear actuator has integral stop/limit switches.  

Pictures of the setup.  Please excuse the mess.

Botton mount:
[attachment=17525]

Top mount (underside of table):
[attachment=17526]

Power supply, mounted on table where original crank was supposed to go:
[attachment=17527]

Finally, the switch, mounted to the back of the head casting:
[attachment=17528]


It's not the quickest way to get the table up and down, but it works quite well, and saves me from trying to lift the damn thing by hand.

Nice job. I have a couple of linear actuators looking for something to actuate, this is now on the list of possibilities. Are you still able to rotate the table left / right?

Nice addition.  
My Craftsman press has the hand crank on it but it is sloppy as hell. Came that way when new. I've been telling myself to fix it for a couple of decades now.  

Pete asked the same question I have as well. You never have a need to swing the table?

Now I finally know what I can do with the actuator I took off an old treadmill. Should be a fun project. I'll set it up so I can swing the table. 4" actuator, so maybe a scissor lift moving a sliding collar.

(01-16-2022, 04:54 PM)Pete O Wrote: [ -> ]Nice job. I have a couple of linear actuators looking for something to actuate, this is now on the list of possibilities. Are you still able to rotate the table left / right?

Yes, there is enough slop in the mounting points that I can swing it about 30 degrees either way. But, to be honest, I rarely do that.

As long as it suits your needs it's perfectly fine. I found it quite handy on occasion to swing the table completely out of the way to set up something large/heavy/tall on the base plate. I wasn't too keen on putting an engine block up on the table and expecting it to survive. Luckily those days are over for me now.

Still need to make some bushings for that crank handle though. Every time I use it I'm afraid the pinion is going to slip and the table is going to hit the floor.

(01-17-2022, 09:34 AM)rleete Wrote: [ -> ]

(01-16-2022, 04:54 PM)Pete O Wrote: [ -> ]Nice job. I have a couple of linear actuators looking for something to actuate, this is now on the list of possibilities. Are you still able to rotate the table left / right?

Yes, there is enough slop in the mounting points that I can swing it about 30 degrees either way.  But, to be honest, I rarely do that.

For the guys needing to swing the table, a column clamp would be the way to go so you can swing it around

The bottom mount has a cross pin though the actuator, secured with a cotter pin. See first pic. If I need to swing the table out of the way, I just pull the pin and disconnect the actuator. The table still has the column clamp, so it can be held in any position.