Drill press dado

[dpb]

And you don't suppose Rockwell designed/picked the bearings to handle suggested uses of the machine?

Plus, they even give instructions on how to replace it.

Come on, now, get real.

[DerbyDad03]

Or, the marketing department stepped in after the machine was already designed.

Marketing team: "Hey, engineering department, can this machine be used a shaper?"

Engineering team: "Well, yes, but..."

Marketing team, running out of the room with their fingers in their ears: "Thanks! That's all we needed to hear."

[J. Clarke]

Did anybody tell the engineers the "suggested uses of the machine"?

[Joe Gwinn]

Yes. I have to add that the advice about not using a drill press as a mill came out of the metalworking industry - think steel.

There really is no reason why a woodworking drill press cannot have heavier bearings - metalworking precision is not required, so the bearings are not that expensive. Nor is the stress on the machine frame all that large.

I would pay attention to how the milling cutter and chuck are held in the machine. You don't want that to work itself loose.

Joe Gwinn

[krw]

No. The mounting is all wrong. No matter what, you're not only putting a side load but torque on the bearing.

It is real. You screw up your drill press. Others would rather not.

[krw]

It's not only about routing (not enough speed anyway) but shaping, sanding and who knows what. Drill presses are not designed to be used that way.

[DerbyDad03]

Other than price points. Writing up a manual that lists "shaper" as a feature costs virtually nothing compared to upgrading the bearings even a tiny bit. (no pun intended)

[Joe Gwinn]

Really? How does that work? How is it different from the loads imposed by drilling?

Joe Gwinn

[krw]

You're cutting/shaping/sanding sideways putting torque Against the side of the bearings. Drilling is a vertical operation and puts no stress on the side of the bearings/shaft as they were designed. Add to that the leverage of the length of the /bit/quill/shaft and a it's significant stress in a way the machinery wasn't designed to operate.

[Joe Gwinn]

You are assuming that the manufacturer did not design for these loads in a machine sold as being able to do just this. Ball bearings are very strong, and if only woodworking precision under woodworking loads is needed, quite cheap.

Hmm. I wonder what kind of bearings this Rockwell/Delta 11-280 drill press uses. Google. Seems to be a pair of ball bearings at top and bottom of the spindle, plus a radial needle thrust bearing at the bottom. So there is a pair of bearings next to the chuck, and the ball bearing will handle side loads, while the needle thrust bearing will handle axial (drilling) loads. So, use for making dados is quite plausible.

Knowing Delta, these will be comodity bearings, and easily replaced even today.

The replaceable bearing mentioned by others is for the cone pulley at the top of the drill press, and is unrelated to side loads on the drill chuck.

Joe

[krw]

No, I know physics. You're wrong in so many ways.

So what? So does every drill press. They are *NOT* designed to take a side load. A few mils of wear will ruin a drill press.

Good grief.