Arbor press adaptation

[peter havriluk]

I just bought a 1-ton HF arbor press that I intend to use with my StewMac fret press cauls. The press's post needs to be bored to accept the shank of the fret press tool and cross-drilled for a setscrew.

I'd appreciate any suggestions. I have access to a metal lathe, but I've never tried to bore a hole in something as long as the arbor post, everything I had I could chuck into the lathe and feed the drill in from the tailstock. I'd be very happy to have the hole square to the post, so's the fret press pushes straight down.

I used my drill press to set the frets on one fretboard, and I got the feeling that it was not an appropriate use of the drill press, I felt as if I was trying to put too much downforce through the tool.

Thanks very much.

[dave d]

Hi Peter,
There is a photo tutorial for this sort of thing at http://www.tdpri.com/forum/diy-tool-she ... -caul.html

The key task is, as you've noted, to drill the hole straight. The above link could do a better job of ensuring that the metal post is vertical. On my drill press the table can rotate to be vertically oriented, so I might find a way to clamp the post to that.

[Dave Bagwill]

And yet another approach:
http://www.woodworkersjournal.com/verti ... press-jig/


The use of a vee-block will make the job easier.

[peter havriluk]

Dave_d, thanks very much. Not much left unsaid in that link. Thanks very much. Just about everything I need to know on making the HF press work. And the press can still work as a regular press, too, by flipping the pillar end for end.

[peter havriluk]

Dave Bagwell, thanks for the heads-up on the drilling jig. I can make up one of these, too. Looks like the higher I can make the uprights, the likelier I will have a true jig. Got all the stuff to go make it, too.

Much obliged.

[Daniel P]

I'm about to do the same to an old 1/2 ton arbor press I found. I'll try to remember to take photos as I do it, to share here.

The other thing I;d like to do it add a spring return, similar to the Stew Mac - a cleaner approach than I've seen on some.

Anyone have a Stew Mac press that could share details of the spring return mechanism?

[peter havriluk]

I looked at the picture in StewMac's instruction sheet on the press, and it looks like there's some sort of clock spring mechanism on the retaining collar side of the geared shaft that drives the arbor.