Delta Continuously variable speed drill press

[Pat]

Gary, Having heard the horror stories from some ROTC guys and regular army retirees as well, I have been careful and have not got hit...yet.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[GaryM]

After your post about Garand Thumb, I did a search to refresh my memory. If the bolt is pulled back all the way, there are no problems. But if you open the bolt only far enough that it catches the magazine follower, it will try and close on your thumb when you depress said follower. Then you might be depressed yourself! My thumb won't fit into the chamber. Must be the wrong size! [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[CJDave]

[img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] Now Gary, I have to tell you that I have never personally OWNED a Garand, but it was always my understanding that the rifle bolt stayed open after the last round was fired, and the enbloc clip had systematically popped out of the gun with a definite S-P-R-i-N-G-G-G.....letting everyone within earshot know that you were holding an empty weapon. [img]/forums/images/icons/frown.gif[/img] THEN you inserted a fresh clip and as you pressed it into place it unlatched the bolt and the bolt went forward....taking the top cartridge off the clip and catching your thumb too if you weren't careful. I have seen photo after photo of Marines cramming a fresh clip into an M-1 and they always have their thumb and fingers parallel, with the thumb pressing the clip down and the stiffened fingers blocking the forward movement of the bolt ear. [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] It also helps to have a cigarette hanging out of one corner of your mouth and a sort of a half-grin, half-sneer; kind of expression; about what you'd have if you had just popped a pesky sniper out of a palm tree on Tarawa. [img]/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img]

[Pat]

Gary, Whatever it is or however caused, I have managed to not have it GET me so far. Luckily I bought this Garand in new unfired condition so the action is not worn and prone to releasing the bolt as some "high mileage" units can do. I can recall the "range" guns we had in the USAF for our frequent small arms quals (Think SAC and Curtis "Nuke 'Em" LeMay.)

Typically when down range patching targets with all weapons on the firing line supposedly with magazines removed and actions locked open... you'd hear the distinctive sound of a bolt slamming home as if some turkey just loaded a round. This made several of the cognoscenti (down range) a bit nervous. Of course it was always just one of the well worn units releasing the locked back bolt on its own recognizance. Change of temp due to sunlight, an ant sneezed, misdirected psychic energy or ... STUFF happens.

The offending weapons were the .30 cal semi-automatic, gas operated M1 carbine, AKA pop gun, a wonderful alternative to hand to hand combat when functioning and a pretty good club when not. I am extrapolating from that experience and assuming a similar situation with well worn mechanisms in the Garand.

For all you carbine lovers out there, I'm not really being too harsh and with good controlled expansion bullets this makes a great "brush gun" for going after porkers.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[Pat]

Dave, In the European theater where Garands were typical (a lot of marines in the Pacific had carbines, including Tarawa) some vets I talked to said they developed a "trick" using the common knowledge the enemy had of the clip being ejected quite a ways up. They'd pop off a few rounds and toss an empty clip up into the air and then tried to suprise anyone sticking their head up to exploit the empty Garand advantage.

I wasn't there but do you suppose you could here the clip ejected above the sounds of battle?

P.S. The drill press is still working very well.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[CJDave]

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] A long-time friend of ours who was a marine in the PTO told me about the day when they had a bunch of replacements come up to their position, and each guy had two M-1 Garands; one to shoot and one to give away. They had their gun training right there on the line, and soon parked their '03-A3 Springfields in favor of the increased firepower of the Garands. They had been hacking it out with the same enemy force for about two days so it was a big surprise to the enemy when they still had three rounds left after the enemy had counted 1-2-3-4-5 and stuck his head up. [img]/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img] RE: Drill Presses...... The import that I bought a year ago at an auction and reworked has been a pleasure to use. It was one of the early imports that was reasonably OK, but had some design flaws in the drive system and also needed a reverse real bad. Pat, does your continuously-variable speed drill press use a vari-speed motor? [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] OOPS! I just looked back at the thread and I can see that the drive is apparently a vee belt with squeezable pulleys to effect the different drive-driven ratios.

[Pat]

Dave, The Garand was and is one fine piece. The only improvements I would like are a better way to mount a scope and a removable magazine.

The speed adjuster is a mechanical arrangement. There is a rotary adjustment on the front of the press that resembles the handles that lower the quill but is scalled down. This rotates a cam that forces two pulley halves closer together which makes the V belt run in a wider diameter at the quill end of the system. As the belt does not stretch to accomodate the change the pulley at the other (motor) end is spring loaded to maximum diameter and is forced to let the pulley run closer to the center by pulley belt tension. When you turn the speed adjuster one way you force the belt to change the motor's pulley diameter. Turn the speed control the other way and the motor pulley's spring does the reverse. It is a pretty straight forward CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) arrangement such as has been used in various ways for quite a while.

With the re-engineered parts installed it seems to work fine and is so very much more convenient than my 16 speed Harbor Freight floor model which requires fussing with two belts and an idler pulley to effect speed changes. I am much more likely to use the right speed when it is easy to get.

I don't really NEED two drill presses like I don't really NEED multiple cordless drills but it sure is handy to be able to have a couple diferent bits installed so you don't have to be constantly changing bits in certain operations. Yeah yeah... I know, if you plan ahead you don't have to do that. HOGWASH When you are not in "PRODUCTION MODE" and are prototyping or similar you NEED to go back and forth a lot.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[egon]

Gary, That's how Pat gets to stay in shape. Just one walk end to end of his shop and it's time sit down for a rest. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
NEED to go back and forth a lot.

[/ QUOTE ]

Egon [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[Pat]

Egon, Sorry but you have made two unwarranted and incorrect assumptions: 1. Pat is in shape and 2. that the drill presses are well separated. They are sitting side by side (so far.)

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[egon]

Well, you did say go back and forth Pat.

Never would I question your contioning after the months of house building you have been engaged in; but , surely it will require a travel plan just to get across your shop. I was thinking of mine where I can only stand in one spot to reach all. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Egon