Thanks. As I was making my version of this tool I was following another build that was far more automated than mine. It used pneumatics to engage the socket on the hex of the drawbar and electrically operated pneumatic valves. It was a lovely piece of engineering and I felt that my version was a bit basic. However it does work well and although it is a bit of an inconvenience to have to latch it down, I soon got used to it and I don't think about it much. Maybe I will revisit it one day. Regards, Mark

I have been using the PDB for over a year now and I rarely even think about it any more. It just works. Regards, Mark

Glad you enjoyed it Matty. Regards, Mark

Raymond, I wasn't going to let it beat me. The birds are quite vocal at the moment. Regards, Mark

Thanks. It's good to have you on board. I haven't had any issues with the power drawbar since I installed it but I have added an in line oiler. It should extend the life of the impact wrench. Regards, Mark

Have fun! That's what it's all about. Regards, Mark

Thanks. I get used to the idea of being able to make very quick tool changes on my mill. If I had to go back to the old way of doing it with a spanner and the spindle lock, I think it would drive me crazy. Regards, Mark

I haven't found any real issues with the one fitted to my Bridgeport. I did add an inline oiler to the air motor since you sort of forget about it once it's installed. One a few occasions a tool or collet will get stuck but a quick tap with a plastic mallet will free it up. However the whole unit needs to be removed or at least swung to one side if I want to use my 90 degree angle drive. The quill needs to be extended quite a lot to attach it and you need a long socket to get to the drawbar and tighten it. Regards, Mark

Nick, I am a big fan boy for powder coating. I bought the kit from Eastwood years ago and it's the best money I ever spent. The finishes you can get are almost unlimited and it's hard and durable and there's almost no cleanup at the end. You will see in my next video a very nice red lollypop finish which is super hard to replicate in paint. With powder coat it's one application and 15 minutes baking time and it's done. Regards, Mark

Wow, thank you! Regards, Mark

Yeah, got there in the end! Regards, Mark

The rise and fall mechanism is exactly how the plunge router works. If you could find a scrapped router it would be fairly easily adapted. Regards, Mark

That's right. If it ain't broke, it doesn't have enough features yet! Regards, Mark

Yes, there's so many processes and tools that it would be lovely to own. My own personal "want" is a CNC router but I too have run out of room. I did buy a 20' shipping container and installed it at the rear of the shed. It was supposed to be a sort of annexe for tools and equipment that didn't get used every day. At almost exactly the same time the concrete footings set, my son decided to move to New Zealand and my Mother in Law moved in with us. Within days the container was full of other peoples stuff. 😭 Regards, Mark

Harald, Ich bin froh, dass dir die Build-Serie gefallen hat. Grüße, Mark

Thanks. I now have a large 10" rotary table that was given to me by a friend. It has never been used and I have it sitting on top of a steel mobile trolley that holds my rotary phase converter. The top of the frame is more or less level with the mill table so I can slide the rotary table on and off fairly easily but as you say, it's a lot of work to set it up for one job. I guess there are some things that it's really good for but I haven't needed it yet. Nice to have though! The drawbar is still going strong. I don't give it a second thought any more. It just works and I can't imagine not having it there. Regards, Mark

At the same time I was working on this build, a guy I follow on Instagram (@sgsengineering) was building a similar design. He went way further than I did and his version is fully pneumatic and works very well indeed. Mine was sort of a pneumatic "lite" version but it is still working quite well or at least way better than having to reach way up to the top of the spindle with a spanner. Regards, Mark

Oh, OK. Thanks for letting me know. Another viewer said he was having problems. I can rest easy now. Regards, Mark

Oh, now you're making my brain hurt! Like most of my projects, once I get it working I lose interest and move on to other things! Regards, Mark

David, sadly, no. There's no interlock. If the idiot operator forgets to unlock the impact wrench it will just free wheel. I guess you could fit a ratchet and a clicker to it to alert said idiot operator. The version that Steve Smith built does have an electrical lockout function but his brain is much bigger than mine. Regards, Preso

Nanny state measures, sometimes they really need to be in place. I have worked with some clueless people, I'm sure others have thought the same of me too! LOL I used to be young and dumb, I'm not young anymore..

One idea would be to connect a latching mechanism to the first handle, in such a way that it only latches when it activates the unthreading of the drawbar.... i.e when the leaver is turned to one side... I think it could be done with a simple linkage... or even sompler... extend the leaver up to the crossbar, and make it catch under the bar when it is tilted to operate the pneumatics, and release when in neutral, it will then keep the machine pushed against the bar during unthreading and then be released when the tool drops down... then it could be one hand operated and spring back when not unthreading... and thereby be somewhat idiot proof.. great vids btw... greetings from Sweden.

It's the next best thing to having a honking great rotary table! I wish it were my idea. Regards, Mark

@@Preso58 I like your method too. I've always done it the "unsafe" way by clamping a bolt/pin in the vise and swiveling the part into the cutter by hand, always with a very high pucker factor! Of course, you can only do that if the part is long enough to have a built-in handle. I don't as yet have a rotary table, so I'll start using your method for now on!

I have seen quite a few otherwise good machinists marking out with a digital caliper and I can see the reasoning but I hate seeing it done with an expensive set of Mitutoyo's. I bought one of those cheap Chinese vernier marking gauges which can give you a resolution of about .05mm which is good enough for most applications. Regards, Mark

I lost a lot of sleep over this one! Regards, Mark

Scott, I too wondered if that was going to be an issue. Just about every other version of this tool starts the drawbar into the threaded hole under power. However, you don't really press down too hard when tightening the tool in the spindle. It sort of spins under light pressure until the start of the thread engages. It's also held in pretty accurate alignment so it's unlikely to get cross threaded. That usually happens when you get the axial alignment wrong. If the collet and the drawbar are co-axial it has to start correctly. Regards, Mark

Glenn, you are not the first viewer who has suggested that I live in a jungle! Interestingly, I am old enough to recall watching Jungle Jim (the TV series starring Johnny Wiesmuller) The producers would include the sounds of Kookaburras for some background atmosphere but they are exclusively Australian birds and absolutely not native to Africa. Having said that, Kookaburras have made it to Tasmania and New Zealand. Regards, Mark

@@Preso58 Ha! Cultural appropriation of native bird sounds by Hollywood! I was taken in by it.

Gennady, my overall design brief was to keep the tool as simple as possible with as few parts as possible. I thought I had it right the first time but came undone when some of the tools stuck in the taper. The MKII version was easily adapted from the original but there are probably refinements that can be made. With regard to the electrical interlock, it really isn't necessary. If the impact wrench were accidently left engaged on the drawbar it would just free wheel. Probably it would lead to some increased wear and tear but it wouldn't break anything. Regards, Mark

Peter, just do me a favour and withstand the temptation to use your nice digital caliper to scratch marks on some crusty old steel. Every time I see someone do that on KZfaq I want to scream. I'm glad you got the same tool that I use - all thanks to Myfordboy! Regards, Mark

Just search on Ebay for "Caliper, 0-200mm Marking Vernier Caliper with Carbide Scriber." Regards, Mark

I guess that would work. It does remind me of something an engineer told me once. "If it ain't broke, it doesn't have enough features yet!" 😁

I am using it a lot now. It's so easy to pick up and set. If I had needed to do anything accurately before I would have to shift the surface plate onto my welding bench and then go and get the big digital height gauge. It comes with a spare carbide point too. Regards, Mark

The pneumatic motor would just free wheel. I have seen some designs where the impact wrench is permanently engaged. I am not sure how long the vane motor would last that way. If you have an oiler in the air line it only delivers lube to the motor when the air is spinning the motor. I am hoping I am not so dopey that I leave the latch on permanently. Regards, Preso

I did try holding the carriage down hard and then engaging the air and it just doesn't work. About half the tools will be ejected but the ones that stick seem to need a fairly sudden jolt to break them loose. The latch mechanism works well but you have to give the impact wrench plenty of run up and plenty of air. If you hesitate it will just jam up and then you have to break the tool loose with the spanner. Regards, Mark

I use Autodesk Inventor for all my CAD work. I am a bit fortunate that I have a deal with Autodesk which was available to teachers who were involved with the F1 in Schools project. Even now that I am retired I can still access it since I do some mentoring with students from time to time. Regards, Mark

@@Preso58 Thanks for the info. Looks like a nice piece of software, unfortunately at retail it is priced well out of reach for a hobby workshop!

You can get a trial package for student/ learner/ non commercial use, ask around amongst the folk who use it, you'll be surprised at what's available. Stavros

I tried that, believe me! For some reason it must need a hard stop on the mechanism to break the grip of the taper. Regards, Mark

@@Preso58 So your taper is so locked in that you can't physically hold the butterfly impact down hard enough? wow .. well, you engineered a beautiful solution to that problem :) well done sir!

Well, that would absolutely work. I am finding that about half the tools I own don't need to have the latch engaged to pop out of the taper. I still can't make up my mind if that is good or bad. Regards, Mark

@@Preso58 thiis is more opinion than anything but, i would think you would want the taper to grab and hold. Without that you might be relying on the small pin, that keeps the collet from turning while tightening, to drive the cutter.

Ok, I'll look into it. If you send me an email at mark.presling@gmail.com I'll send them directly to you. Regards, Mark

Ha ha! Indeed! (He'd probably hand file the entire mechanism from one lump of metal with one had tied behind his back). Regards, Mark

I got mine on Ebay. There are tons of them, all the same, all made in China. Just search for 0-200mm Stainless Steel Parallel Marking Gauge Vernier Caliper W/ Carbide Scribe Regards, Preso

It's a Scotchbrite deburring wheel. I have had that one for ages. They last forever and are quite dense. They are great for deburring and putting a fine grained finish on all types of metal. They also remove paint, oxide and corrosion. They aren't cheap but I still think they are value for money. Regards, Mark

Sure, try this dropbox link www.dropbox.com/sh/f2uj8t9k9hdlomy/AADNpvMN2PSmy8Rv8o4m5B1La?dl=0 I exported the entire assembly file in STEP format. If you want the pattern STL's they are in the same folder. You can still make the Power Drawbar without castings though. Regards, Mark

Most of us do but up in Queensland where Mark is from most of them have less than 2 teeth 😂 There is also a reason why Queensland’s favourite beer is called XXXX - that way they only have to learn one letter of the alphabet 😂

@@ianbertenshaw4350 LMFAO!!!

Steady on Ian! Them's fight'n words! 😁

@@Preso58 Sorry Mark , I just couldn’t help myself 😂 Must be that blue cattle dog blood running through my veins 😁

Bob, I am guessing you mean what happens if you forget to disengage the impact wrench from the drawbar? If you do leave the impact wrench engaged the pneumatic motor in the impact wrench will just free wheel. Long term it will probably wear it out prematurely but it won't break anything. It's not necessary to lock the spindle when operating the power drawbar. The hammer action does all the work.

Do you mean I torque wrench? The thing I like about the power drawbar is that it just works and I don't have to mess around finding a suitable socket wrench or spanner and I don't have to reach up to the top of the machine to find the end of the drawbar. It's a win for me. Regards, Mark

Check the link in the description of part 4 of the series. Regards, Mark