Simple power tailstock feed

[Tmate]

Repetitive light tailstock drilling, reaming, etc. can get somewhat tedious. I came up with this method of letting the carriage do the work.

A forked bracket bolts to the compound rest and engages a clamping shaft collar on the tailstock spindle. Loosen the tailstock lock slightly, and the carriage can move the tailstock at the desired feed rate.

Heavy drilling would probably put unwanted strain on the quick change gears, so I stick with the light work. Once a hole is started via conventional methods, hole accuracy hasn't been an issue.

 

[Rrobson]

A good idea in principle which I like, just be careful of the tailstock moving away from centre as it’s no longer tight on the rails (and wear which goes without saying). I do prefer the feel of a smaller drill but for deep hole drilling this would be great.

If you’ve got space (and only for really repetitive work) you can just move the tail stock to the other side of the carriage, of course a short bed won’t allow this always and it’s a pain moving it over, this is far quicker to set up.
Another useful item if you’ve got a quick change tool post is a morse taper adapter. Granted it’s not as ridged as a tailstock but an alternative method nonetheless https://www.cutwel.co.uk/quick-change-tool-holder-for-morse-taper-tools-4497-series-bison

 

[Sergei Slovenija]

A good idea in principle which I like, just be careful of the tailstock moving away from centre as it’s no longer tight on the rails (and wear which goes without saying). I do prefer the feel of a smaller drill but for deep hole drilling this would be great.

If you’ve got space (and only for really repetitive work) you can just move the tail stock to the other side of the carriage, of course a short bed won’t allow this always and it’s a pain moving it over, this is far quicker to set up.
Another useful item if you’ve got a quick change tool post is a morse taper adapter. Granted it’s not as ridged as a tailstock but an alternative method nonetheless https://www.cutwel.co.uk/quick-change-tool-holder-for-morse-taper-tools-4497-series-bison

Can be made from a Morse taper + a piece of steel + welding = clamp the structure in the cut holder.