Drill press table - shop built

[Nathan Yeager]

I get a lot of benefit from seeing what/how others have built their items so I'd like to share my drill press table.

Table:
- 30" x 20"
- 3/4" Woodcraft phenolic ply on 3/4" plywood
- maple edging
- Incra t-track & hold-downs
- shop built maple fence (with Incra T-track)
- shop built cherry & maple stop blocks
- off-set circular replaceable insert - can rotate for full use of disc

Table Base:
- 18" x 15" x 5" riser box (to raise table above the DP's crank)
- 3/4" plywood box
- 1/2" plywood drawer
- maple drawer face
- oak knobs

Dust Collection:
- Loc-Line dust collection hose & attachment
- shop built maple drill-press attachment
- Rockler flexible 4" hose to floor

Cost: ~$220

Thanks for looking.

[Jim Rimmer]

Nice job! I've been looking at my DP and thinking. You gave me some good ideas. Can you get a profile shot to show how the riser box deals with the crank location?

Nice table :D

[Chuck Isaacson]

That there sure is a perty table. And yes I meant to spell pretty like that. I have the drill press table from Rockler. It is OK, but a little weak. I am afraid to tighten the clamps for it too much for fear of ripping them out. Where did you get that dust collection piece from? I like that.

Chuck

[J D Thomas]

Very nice job Nathan. I too wouldn't mind seeing more pics from underneath and off to the sides. Some great ideas and applications here.

[Sean Nagle]

Very nice design. The riser box and offset insert are clever ideas.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

That is a nice a dust collection attachment thingie. I'll have to pirate that idea. Just hose clamps to hold it onto the column?

[Doug Mason]

Is the table square square on all four sides (put in an extra long drill bit to ensure it is); if not, you'll have to shim.

[Nathan Yeager]

I'll post a profile and underneath pic tomorrow.

Woodcraft sells the Loc-Line dust collection unit though I bought mine online. There are other brands of a similar design. Not a fan of the blue and orange but functionally it works great. They have a few types of collection pieces. So far I've found this design to be sufficient and easy to get close to the action.

I didn't find anything I liked to mount the dust collection hose to the press. This was my initial design. It hasn't seen much use (or re-alignment) yet, but it feels very secure. The hose clamps allow me to easily loosen/tighten for re-alignment. It was very easy to construct and I am happy to replace it if the design doesn't hold up.

Square on all four sides -- thanks for the concern. To be technically accurate, I assume you are referring to 4 sides with 2 of them being opposite the others. In that case - it is square to 2 of those sides with careful shimming. If you have found it necessary to align your table with more than 2 measurements please let me know how mine could currently be mis-aligned.

[Robert Reece]

I really like the table. I am definitely not happy with mine. It's I think from Woodcraft or Rockler and it's pretty weak. The inserts flex too much for me.

However, I got rid of the locline for dust collection and went with these expandable lines from leevalley - http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=62605&cat=1,42401,62597,62604&ap=1.

I have a 4" and a 2.5" coming off a 6" Wye, one in each leg of the wye. it works much better than the locline. I think I am actually going to replace the 2.5" with another 4", then I'll have one on either side of the work.

[Nathan Yeager]

Robert - thanks for the correction. Loc-Line is what I meant. So you have dust collection at both the left & right sides of the bit? Does the right side interfere with the feed lever?

What did you not like about the Loc-Line hose?

[glenn bradley]

That looks great. A nice DP table takes the machine to a new level for me.

[Sam Layton]

That is a great drill press table Nathan. Good job.

Sam

[Stephen Edwards]

You did a fine job on that DP table. I especially like the round insert and the drawer.

[Darius Ferlas]

I see one major problem with this table.
Too pretty to be used for work ;)

[Michael Wildt]

Nice table.

I would like to know how you make the inserts though. If you placed it off center then you could turn it to get 'fresh' material under the drill bit.

I have also looked at the one in shop notes, but never gotten far enough to make it.

Michael

[Nathan Yeager]

Michael - Correct, you can simply spin the disk to get some fresh backer material (then flip it and spin some more). I have a circle cutting jig for the router that I can dial in to make discs out of scrap MDF & ply that fit just fine.

[Larry Marley]

wholly cow! that is beautiful

[Mike Cruz]

Very nice! Wish I had the time,money, and patience to spend on that kind of project.

[Michael Wildt]

Ahh, good idea with the circle jig. Thanks.

[Floyd Mah]

Beautiful work. I've discovered over the years that the clamps on my drill press table were rarely used. The fence was used more frequently, but often not necessary unless I were to produce a series of holes which needed to be offset the same amount. Anyway, like the zoo keeper that found that a spare tire made a great gorilla toy, I found that a jig that I made for another function turned out to be a very useful drill press accessory.

Most of the time, I hold work on the drill press by hand. I drill both wood and metal, sometimes alternating the two materials. Most of the holes are through holes, so that the underlying surface, if it were an insert would need replacement frequently. Drill bit lengths vary depending upon the diameters chosen, so I was frequently unclamping the table to reset the height to match the quill travel. Sometimes I need to quickly chuck in a small drum sander bit to finish an edge. Sometimes I work with small pieces of wood or metal that are difficult to clamp. In other words, I use the drill press frequently and in lots of different ways. If I had to worry about maintaining the furniture appearance of what is a work surface, I would be wasting a lot of time.

So when I put what was essentially a small step stool on my drill press (my jig) I found that I had a very useful tool. First, I had a large, broad surface to drill on. Through holes could be made anywhere. Rough areas where the wood was raised by the drill could be sanded or scraped. I could clamp small pieces to the upper table with spring clamps. I could position work on the drill press, even after it was clamped to the surface (try clamping small work on a drill press table exactly where you intend it to go). I could go from an 1/8" bit to a 3/8" bit without unclamping the table because of the height difference and limited quill travel. I could use a small drum sander tool and lower the sanding area below the table without pulling out an insert. I could still slide the work along a fence, even while it is clamped to my table. The surface is renewable just by replacing it with a fresh piece of wood.

Anyway, I recommend making one of these to go with your new table.

[Stephen Edwards]

Floyd,

Your "jig" is a very practical and useful idea. I'm almost finished with my new shop built DP table. For sure, I'll remember your little "step stool" as an accessory for the table top. Thanks for sharing.

[Nathan Yeager]

Floyd - to each his own I guess. I am happy that you have such a useful jig in your arsenal. There are many benefits of a table such as mine that I'm sure you appreciate but don't mention:

1. Dependable vertical accuracy - How confident are you that as you move your jig around your 90-degree alignment is what you expect? Maybe that is of a lesser concern as everyone's need for level of accuracy is different.

2. Insert replacement - your jig is destructive as you mention (simply replacing the face with a new piece of wood). The inserts are replaceable as well. I am guessing that the consistency, cost, and ease of cutting a new MDF disc is less than replacing your jig's wood face.

3. Clamping - There's not a spot on the table that I cannot reach with a clamping device. If my piece is larger than my table I have to get creative, but you have the same problem if your piece is larger than your jig. I have no trouble whatsoever positioning my piece exactly where I want it with a hold-down. Perhaps you need some t-track and a hold-down to avoid having to 'clamp' your small pieces?

4. Quill travel - There's no need to adjust the table height to account for the quill & bit travel associated with changing bits. I assume most drill presses have the travel limit lock available. Takes me about 2 seconds to set it to a sufficient depth to pass through the material, into my disc, but not my 2nd layer of plywood.

5. Safety - I am ashamed to admit how many times over the years I've 'held' the piece to be drilled with my bare hands understimating the power of the press. I've suffered chest bruises as the piece climbed the bit and was ejected into me as I reflexively raised the feed. Do you get that twinge of uncertainty when you do it? I don't anymore because I always have the piece secured.

6. Drum sanding - I bet I can attach a drum sander (limited to my 4-inch disc size) and be sanding faster than you can. I'm betting that the 2 seconds it takes to remove my insert (allowing the drum to be lower than the surface) is faster than it takes you to align & clamp your jig.

7. Furniture appearance of a work surface - This my hobby not my profession. I find that I enjoy it more when I have a clean & orderly working environment. I am happy spending the time maintaining the quality and image of my shop - that is not a waste. If I had the skill to build all of my working surfaces as fine furniture, I would. Do you have any pictures (or old tools, etc..) hanging in your shop? Do you consider the time spent hanging them or looking at them wasteful? I don't.

None of that was meant with ill-will. It's very satisfying to find a new method of doing tasks that works for you. I think maybe you should give your DP table a second-chance!

[Stephen Edwards]

Floyd - to each his own I guess. I am happy that you have such a useful jig in your arsenal. There are many benefits of a table such as mine that I'm sure you appreciate but don't mention:

1. Dependable vertical accuracy - How confident are you that as you move your jig around your 90-degree alignment is what you expect? Maybe that is of a lesser concern as everyone's need for level of accuracy is different.

2. Insert replacement - your jig is destructive as you mention (simply replacing the face with a new piece of wood). The inserts are replaceable as well. I am guessing that the consistency, cost, and ease of cutting a new MDF disc is less than replacing your jig's wood face.

3. Clamping - There's not a spot on the table that I cannot reach with a clamping device. If my piece is larger than my table I have to get creative, but you have the same problem if your piece is larger than your jig. I have no trouble whatsoever positioning my piece exactly where I want it with a hold-down. Perhaps you need some t-track and a hold-down to avoid having to 'clamp' your small pieces?

4. Quill travel - There's no need to adjust the table height to account for the quill & bit travel associated with changing bits. I assume most drill presses have the travel limit lock available. Takes me about 2 seconds to set it to a sufficient depth to pass through the material, into my disc, but not my 2nd layer of plywood.

5. Safety - I am ashamed to admit how many times over the years I've 'held' the piece to be drilled with my bare hands understimating the power of the press. I've suffered chest bruises as the piece climbed the bit and was ejected into me as I reflexively raised the feed. Do you get that twinge of uncertainty when you do it? I don't anymore because I always have the piece secured.

6. Drum sanding - I bet I can attach a drum sander (limited to my 4-inch disc size) and be sanding faster than you can. I'm betting that the 2 seconds it takes to remove my insert (allowing the drum to be lower than the surface) is faster than it takes you to align & clamp your jig.

7. Furniture appearance of a work surface - This my hobby not my profession. I find that I enjoy it more when I have a clean & orderly working environment. I am happy spending the time maintaining the quality and image of my shop - that is not a waste. If I had the skill to build all of my working surfaces as fine furniture, I would. Do you have any pictures (or old tools, etc..) hanging in your shop? Do you consider the time spent hanging them or looking at them wasteful? I don't.

None of that was meant with ill-will. It's very satisfying to find a new method of doing tasks that works for you. I think maybe you should give your DP table a second-chance!


I can't argue with that either! It's a fact that it is a very satisfying feeling to build a high quality accessory for one's woodworking machines. Your table is beautiful and appears to be well thought through with the incorporated safety and function features.

As you said in your first post, I've learned a lot (and am still learning) from other people's projects and the different perspectives that individuals have to share.

[Danny Thompson]

Great table, Nathan! Fully functional and very clean looking.

What is the function of the short wooden strip--sort of a mini fence--at the front spanning the two center tracks?

The ruler on the fence makes sense. Why did you use ruled tracks in the outer positions? Are they precisely aligned with the quill?

What is the star knob on the maple hose attachment doing for you?

Thanks for posting.

[Floyd Mah]

I debated with myself as to whether I should follow up with a reply, but in the interest of clarification, here it is. I was not trying to detract from your fine table, but I described an accessory which would improve the utility of any table, even yours. It would allow you to work faster without damaging your table. In woodworking and metalworking, work-holding accuracy and safety is the key to translating your ideas to actual results.

Regarding vertical accuracy: Of course if one were to be unable to create a small wooden object with parallel sides, he wouldn't be able make this accessory. Otherwise, the ability of the working surface to remain perpendicular to the drill bit depends on the accuracy of the drill press table. So, if you were to see merit in my idea, I'm sure that you could construct this accessory without too much difficulty. The only requirement is parallel sides.

Insert replacement: There are about one hundred holes in the yet-to-be -replaced top that I show. Somehow I've managed to find a clear area most of the time. This would have been a bucketful of discarded inserts. A new top is made by dimensioning a piece of scrap wood (or MDF) with a saw and a thickness planer.

Clamping: Some of the work pieces that I have clamped have been as small as a postage stamp. Try clamping that and lining it up with drill bit on your big table at the same time. I bet it would take more than two seconds. By the way, I bet you didn't notice that the drill press in the picture has an actual fence as well as T-tracks for clamping, so I present this accessory as an aid to the usual drill press table. (I might add that my fence was made to be usable on its' side, providing clearance for drilling small holes very close to the fence). In any case, I have tried in the past to clamp such small objects to the table. It's not easy. Now I resort to using a well-machined drill press vise. In any case, I mentioned clamping earlier in connection with using small spring clamps. They hold small work securely to the top and then I can maneuver and position the workpiece directly under the drill bit. It can also be indexed to the fence if necessary. I might mention another enhancement to my drill press: I have a cable wrapped around the pinion-gear (thing...can't remember what it's called) that is foot-operated so that I can lower the quill with foot power. Gives me a third hand...sort of like the Great Flydini (Steve Martin reference).

Quill travel: Take a look at your drill collection. I have several hundred. They vary in length from under 2" to over 8" (I won't count the ones that I don't use on a drill press). My quill travel is just 3". I won't ask you what yours is. The accuracy of your drill press probably suffers as you extend the quill to its' full length. Not to mention all that cranking of pinion gear for the short bits if you set the table low to accommodate the longer bits. In any case, I don't enjoy the thrill of raising and lowering and re-aligning the table when I am working quickly and using various length drill bits. This has nothing to do with the travel limit lock.

Safety: I present a method to hold small work pieces securely with spring clamps. This gives me a bigger handle to hold onto the work. I should have mentioned that holding a workpiece by hand is only for small drill bits. The big drill bits exert too much torque. As I mentioned above, my drill press table has a fence and clamps for holding larger work. I use even bigger clamps or vises for larger workpieces and bigger drill bits. Yes, I agree woodworking can be pretty dangerous, so I don't take chances either. (Look up my post on creating a real riving knife for a Delta contractor's saw).

Drum sanding: No insert to remove. I'm already 2 seconds ahead. This calls for a youtube showdown.

Number 7. Okay, you got me there. I'm from the Harbor Freight school. In other words, I am interested in getting things to work despite the rough appearance. I am usually more interested in solving a problem than actually producing the product. To this end, making the jigs might be more interesting than the furniture. It's also a hobby for me.

I've drilled lots of holes. Often the accuracy of your work is not determined by secure clamping of the work alone. Other factors include the sharpness of the drill, the hardness of the workpiece, the prominence of grain in the wood, the depth of the hole, the downward pressure that you exert on the drill bit, flexion of the drill bit, drill speed and, most important, the centering of your drill bit. The reason that I prefer using a non-fixated work support for small workpieces is that I find centering a workpiece under a drill bit and then clamping is moderately difficult. Everything moves just before the clamp secures the workpiece. With this accessory, I can lower the drill bit slowly and walk the workpiece under the drill while turning it manually or under power.

[Stephen Edwards]

I think that it would be interesting and informative for all of us if you would both be so kind as to post more photos of your tables, showing the details of setup for drilling operations.

Floyd, I'd especially like to see more detailed pics of your step stool jig in action as well as the "third hand" feature that you mentioned that enables you to lower and raise the quill with foot power, please.

As someone who's currently building a DP table, I'm truly interested in learning as much as I can about any features that people have discovered to be useful and efficient.

From my perspective in regards to this debate it isn't a matter of the "right way" vs the "wrong way". More often than not, there are several right ways to do a thing. The more that I can learn, the better woodworker I can be. I've also learned that frequently one good idea will lead to another, thus kicking my skills and techniques up a notch!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Nathan,

Great looking table and I 'm sure it'll work as well.

I will caution you though about using your DC while drilling or machining metal. There has been at least one DC fire attributed to a hot metal spark being pulled into DC system and it lay smoldering for sometime in the DC before it started a fire.

Again...nice looking and I'll bet functioning drill press table!

[Nathan Yeager]

Danny: Thanks for the comments.

The short wooden strip is just an easy way to apply lateral pressure against the fence. Once the piece is against the fence I can slide that strip against it and lock in place using the t-track. I still use the hold-downs as well, but some of the force is taken up by the front/back fences. Many will think that is over-kill, but I've taken some blows to the chest and may be over-cautious in my desire for clamping. It also means I'll be less likely to mar my work piece by mashing the hold-downs onto it.

The ruled tracks in the outer tracks are aligned only to each other. Allows me to adjust the fence to desired amounts after it has been set initially. I debated the need for them but the additional cost was only a couple of bucks.

Star knob - hard to tell from the picture, but the maple hose attachment is not solid. It is a clamp, it's just clamped down all the way.

[Nathan Yeager]

Good points Floyd.

I'm confused as to how you avoid the necessity of raising and lowering your table. If you are concerned with achieving the optimal travel length to avoid the possible problems you describe, you are raising and lowering something... What is that something?

If I understand you correctly you are saying that you can easily clamp small pieces to your jig and then align the jig to the proper position. I'm assuming that your jig then remains unclamped to the table, otherwise you are back in the same position of dealing with small movements mis-aligning your piece. So, effectively you are back to hand-clamping your work pieces. To each his own on the safety and reliability of this method. I guess I drink too much coffee - don't think my tremors would allow me to keep everything perfectly placed.

Sanding - by my count I am done in 2 seconds, and you've done nothing yet. Are you simply walking up to your drill press, inserting the sander, turning it on, and sanding away? The last time you used your drill press you had spring-clamped a postage stamp to the edge of your jig and fine-tuned the jig's position to the desired location under the bit. Is that the exact location you need it for your drum sanding? I hope so, otherwise I've started the 2-second countdown. :)

I agree your large wooden face will reduce the need for re-facing compared to my 4-inch replaceable insert. I made 10 inserts - I'm estimating it took me 5 minutes. I guess that is time I am willing to waste.

I thought the 'Harbor Freight' way was to feign functionality through appearance while actually being totally useless. Seems your way is the complete opposite. :D

Just having fun here Floyd. I love hearing how others do their tasks. I have tons to learn and really do appreciate the time you (and everyone else) take to contribute to this forum.

[Floyd Mah]

Okay, first the sanding face-off.
We both have to chuck in the sander drum. No advantage to either.
I drop the step on the table and slide the "v" cutout to the drum. At the same time, the clearance from the drum is achieved. Since the drum doesn't have to be adjusted to drop below the table, I can either lock the quill at the proper height, or raise the table. That requires unclamp, align, reclamp. I probably won't need to do that. I'm ready to sand.
Your move. You pop out the insert. Drop the quill and lock in place or unclamp, raise, align, reclamp. You might have to go through the last series of steps if your drum happens to be too far from the edge of cutout. Now you're ready to sand.

Anyway, most likely I win since I don't have to realign the table. Also depending on the size of the drum and the offset of the center of the cutout from the swing of the drill press, you might not be able to get that 3" drum to work without cutting into the table top.
Well, neither of us worked up a sweat, but using a drum sander elevated above the table does have some advantages. I concede that it may be less stable a platform when unclamped, but one is usually moving the work when performing a drum sanding operation. If you intend that the competition began with a previous operation just completed on the table (my postage stamp), I would unclamp the spring clamps, both at once, while you are still spinning the knobs on the hold-downs and then sliding it off the tracks. It might be close, but I bet I could win that contest also by a hair.

As to Harbor Freight: I know that many people on this forum view items purchased from HF with contempt. On the other hand, there are a few who will say that they bought something for a very low price and it serves the intended function, but without the polish or durability of a much costlier tool. I enjoy shopping at HF much in the same way that some will buy an old, rusty Stanley plane. Often it's not much to look at. It may not function very accurately. But generally it fits the budget. I'm a hobbyist. I enjoy making it work better if possible. I plan to use the tools for very light work in my workshop. For that reason, it doesn't have to last twenty years and be industrial grade. I can turn an old Stanley plane into something usable, but I also have a couple of Lie-Nielsen tools. I guess it's part of the challenge of making something work much better than it should. Think back to when you didn't know how to make something with woodworking tools. If you saw a pile of boards, that was just garbage. I bet now you look at it and wonder if you couldn't find some use for it. (Ha, I bought a metal detector from HF for $15 to hunt for nails in my wood scraps). Now that I have a small lathe and a milling machine, I look at metal scrap and wonder what I can do with it. (I recycled the sheet metal wings from my Delta contractor saw into a flange to protect my van's catalytic converter from theft as well as a tool rest for my HF belt sander). So, if I buy something from HF, it's often the start of something else.

Anyway, I've spent too much time talking about my ideas. How did you fasten the trim onto the side of the DP table? Did you use splines? Biscuits? How about a DP table with Greene and Greene design elements? I'm making an XBox Joystick controller for my son using Greene and Greene accents. It'll be interesting to see if any of the video-game fanatics even recognize it.

Forgot to add how I take advantage of using the step with drills of different sizes. I take the step off the DP table, toss it on the ground and use the insert in my table to back up the work or throw on another piece of MDF or wood to accept the inevitable drill-through hole. Hey, another advantage to the step is that it is great for people like me with presbyopia and near-sightedness: It brings the work closer to my eyes.