Today's Shop Time

[Big Barn]

I thought it might be a safety issue too.

Add me to the list of that being a BAD idea.

Picture this. You’re holding down a piece of flat bar and the drill press belts slip or the drill stalls when the bit breaks through.

You let go of the workpiece in order to reach for the switch. The drill then continues to turn spinning the workpiece like a propeller.

Mount the switch on the machine. I added paddle switches on mine. They’re cheap on Amazon.

 

[Xfaxman]

My drill press was modified long before I got it. They mounted a momentary push button floor mount starter switch (like the ones used in cars back in the 1940's) in the left slot of the floor plate. Very safe, the motor only runs while I am pressing down the switch with my left foot.

 

[Big Barn]

My drill press was modified long before I got it. They mounted a momentary push button floor mount starter switch (like the ones used in cars back in the 1940's) in the left slot of the floor plate. Very safe, the motor only runs while I am pressing down the switch with my left foot.

View attachment 599042

I added a momentary on foot switch to the bandsaw I use for aluminum. I’m actually contemplating going back to using a machine mounted paddle switch.

I think now that both feet planted squarely on the floor in a comfortable position would be safer when guiding the cut.

 

[Mace Canute]

My drill press was modified long before I got it. They mounted a momentary push button floor mount starter switch (like the ones used in cars back in the 1940's) in the left slot of the floor plate. Very safe, the motor only runs while I am pressing down the switch with my left foot.

View attachment 599042

A couple of years back a friend brought home a foot switch from his workplace after a safety audit deemed it was unsafe. The guard over the foot plate had been broken off sometime in the past and it looked like somebody had just cleaned it up with an angle grinder. It ended up looking something like this. I used a 3' extension cord cut in halves to made "in" and "out" cables and I also made a nylon connector to thread into the unit where the original cable went and managed to drill two holes in it that I could JUST get the extension cords through with the use of lube. I don't think I could remove them from it now if I tried!

Anyways, my friend uses it on his drill press and really likes it. Being able to use both hands to control whatever he's drilling into when it won't fit in his drill press vise and turn the press on and off with his foot does indeed make it much safer than just using a toggle switch.

 

[Big Barn]

I added handles to my foot switches for easier relocation. Bending over gets old when....you’re old.









And I thought I was being clever mounting this bandsaw footswitch but in reality it doesn’t enable a stable working stance IMO. I will prob relocate or remove it.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Thanks for the ideas. I was thinking of just mounting a paddle switch on the front of the belt cover, but the foot switch looks like a better idea. Plus, it would make it easier to switch the belt to a different sheave.