Replacing My Harbor Freight Bench Top Drill Press With A Grizzly G7943 Drill Press

I have a harbor freight bench top drill press that I have used for several years for small bits. It is almost too small and required some fiddling to get the holes drilled in the right place. Not having a crank to raise and lower the table was a real pain. It had a keyless chuck that I found difficult to use and often would get a bit installed crooked.

Harbor Freight - Central Machinery - Bench Top Drill Press

I had already decided to get something different, and through a process of elimination, I chose the  Grizzly G7943 as the best solution.

Grizzly G7943 Drill Press

A few weeks later a used one popped up on Craig's list. Mit must have been fate. I have kept a search running for Grizzly tools on crags list for several years. Hits are rare and most things I don't want, high prices, or poor condition. This is the first drill press I have seen.  I had to buy it.


According to the seller, it is about ten years old. Not a big deal since they have changed very little and it wasn't in a commercial shop. It did need some TLC.
The user mounted light was a mess. The head was about to fall off. I repaired the light and wired it directly into the drill.  I had to remove the top of the drill press to get at the wiring.  Getting the spindle pully off turned into an all-day job.  It's amazing how many different ways they have come up with to mount a spindle pulley.

The built-in light would not work with LED bulbs. After the tom was removed and I could get the light socket out I discovered there was a 1/8-inch lip on the light socket that was keeping the bulb from seating. I was on my way to Home Depot light socket in hand to see if I could find an LED bulb to fit.  At the door I thought, I can get a new one from Grizzly if I screw this up, I'm going to remove the lip. Belt sander to the rescue. My Shopsmith belt sander took the rim off in a few seconds. The LED fit perfectly. With these two lights, I now have 1500 lumens on the drill press table.

The lights I use are GE Lighting LED Bright Stiks Daylight LEDs. I highly recommend these LED bulbs.

The pulley nut has left handed threads. I had to rig up something hold the spindle in place while I turned the nut. I didn't get the drift key with the drill press. In fact, I didn't know what a drift key was until I got deep into this project. I have a large drill press I bought several years ago that came with one. I think I threw it away because I never figured out what it was.

Grizzly G9378 - Forged Drift Key Set - 4 pc. Set

 

The idea of having two drill presses id to have one for the larger bits and heavy work and one for the small stuff. The big drill press will take up to a 3/4-inch shank bit, but it will not go much lower than 1/4-inch. Scrollsaw work requires a lot of precisely drilled holes 90 degrees to the surface. Some toys also need small holes, and I don't want to be changing chucks every time I drill a hole.
The arbor on the drill was scored. It looked like the chuck had been installed with debris on the arbor or chuck and it had slipped. Arbors don't cost much so, I ordered a new one.

South Bend SB1454 - Drill Chuck Arbor MT2/JT33

The chuck was metric and far too large for my purposes so I ordered a new one that will take bits down to 1/32-inch. There are some chucks go down to zero but, all of them were keyless, which I don't like on a drill press,  and the reviews did not leave me with a warm fuzzy feeling. The companies were all in China and if I got one that I didn't like I would have thrown my money away. I bought mine from Grizzly. I have past experience with their customer service and I know that if there is a problem they will make it right.

South Bend SB1370  DRILL CHUCK 1/32"-1/2" JT33

I also ordered new knobs.  Some of the existing knobs were broken and improperly glued back. You can't glue plastic and vinyl to steel with polyurethane glue.

There is a little rust on it that needs to be cleaned up. Mostly on the table where the previous owner had mounted a larger table bare wood against cast iron is asking for rust.

Is it worth it? I'll have to wait and see. I haven't drilled a hole with it yet, and I already have a good feeling about this drill press. If it saves me as much time and effort as I expect it too, it will be.

Bad Bob's Custom Motors - Handmade Wooden Toy Car Bodies Completed

Bad Bob's Custom Motors - Handmade Wooden Car Bodies - Coupe & Sedan

Most of the sanding was done with belt sanders. Delta Model 31-340 1x48-inch Belt Sander and my Shopsmith 6x48-inch belt sander. I consider belt sanders essential to a toy makers shop.


Before sanding, I rounded over the corners with a clean, sharp 1/8-inch radius round over bit paying very close attention to grain direction to prevent as much tear out as I can. It's ok to back route when doing this because the cut is so small. You can do the round over by hand with sandpaper but the router is more consistent and faster.


The rest of the sanding was done by hand using various sanding tools I have made and fingernail file scraps.

Delta Model 31-340 1x48 inch belt & 8 Inch Disk Sander

Shopsmith - 6x48" Belt Sander

Sanding Fenders Is Done

If it were not for my power tools, I would still be sanding these fenders. I used my Shopsmith belt sander for the front and back of the fenders. One slip with small parts and it's all over for that one. Very light and very careful is the name of the game here.

Next, I used the 1 inch Delta belt sander for the outside curves. The belt is flat, but with a little practice, you can easily sand outside curves. There isn't much chance of breaking the piece, but even with a 240 grit belt, it can be very aggressive. If you go to fast, slip, or push too hard, it's easy to ruin a part.

I sanded the inside curves with a spindle sander.  ASgaina light touch is required. Approach the spindle at the wrong angle or get a little too aggressive and it will take the part away from you and throw it across the room. Slow and gentle is the name of the game here.

There are a few places that require hand sanding. The spots where the machines can't reach.  I have an assortment of shop made tools for this. Mostly pieces of wood in various sizes and shapes with sandpaper stuck to them and fingernail file scraps.

Handmade Wooden Car Fenders - Just Sanded

What is the best primer sealer for MDF?

Zinsser B-I-N White Shellac-Based Interior/Spot Exterior Primer and Sealer Is what I find works best.

I originally purchased this to use for a white base to make the color pop. Previously I use white acrylic paint on top of shellac. It worked pretty good but using the shellac based primer I get a white base and sealer in one step.

Shellac is compatible with just about any finish. It will seal pine knots. This primer is used for a sealer when repairing smoke damage after a fire.

I just did a test on an MDF Play Pal minivan. One coat was all it took.

I get it at Home Depot in the paint department.

 

Using Double Sided Tape For Sandiing Duplicate Wooden Toy Car Parts

Using Double Sided Tape to Hold Wooden Toy Car Fenders Together for Sanding

I use double sided carpet tape to hold these fenders together for sanding so they will be as close to identical as I can make them. I use a 1x42 inch belt sander and a delicate touch for the outside curves and a spindle sander for the inside curves.  The rest of the edges are done by hand using files and sandpaper.

I'm not making any attempt to color match the wood. It's going to be sealed and painted, so the color doesn't matter.  The little bit of purple paint will get sanded off.

Because these are made from pine construction lumber, they are very easy to break while sanding. If I break a fender, it gets tossed into the kindling bucket, and I need to make another pair. Once the fenders get glued on, they are quite strong.

Below is a completed toy car.

Handmade Wooden Toy Car -  Bad Bob Custom Motors Coupe - Green and Yellow

Sanding The Last Car Body

Handmade Wooden Car Body - Final Hand Sanding

I started this batch of cars almost a year ago and got sidetracked by other things.

I originally started this as a project for my grandson after he asked me to make one he saw in a photo. John Leman at ToyMalingPlans.com made a set of plans for me.

Here is the original Bad Bob's Custom Motors Coupe.

Hand Made Wooden Toy Car - Bad Bob's Custom Motors Coupe - Green and Yellow

Etsy shop:
http://odinstoyfactory.etsy.com

#odinstoyfactoy #Tallahassee #Florida #handmade #handcrafted #woodentoys

Do you use acrylic primer?

Brush Painted Wooden Toy Car - Hot Rod Freaky Ford - 32 Deuce Coupe - MDF - Blue - Black - Gold

I tried an acrylic primer once. It was such a pain to sand that I never did it again. I've tried all sorts of methods for painting wood and MDF including using automotive primer filler I had left over. As far as I can tell it doesn't make any difference.  If I want to seal the material, I use shellac for the base coat. If I'm using a color that doesn't cover well I use white for the first coat or two.

No matter what finish I use, I apply at least two layers of finish sanding between each layer.  The first seals and makes the fuzzies stiff so the sandpaper can smooth the surface. If I get an acceptable finish, I stop at the second coat. If not, I continue to paint and sand until I am satisfied with the result.

I have tried just about every method I can find for applying finishes to my toys. The best I have used so far is spraying with an airbrush. I don't have a spray booth and need to spray outdoors. Painting outdoors is very dependent on weather conditions. Therefore, I use a brush to paint most of my toys. This one is brush painted with Behr acrylic house paint. Oops paint I purchased from Home Depot for $0.50 with no primer coat.

Painted With An Ait Brush - 20181003-202131 482476086 Wooden Toy Car Hot Rod Deuce Coupe From the Hot Rod Freaky Ford Series Pink