My New Shop Built Drill Press Table

[Stephen Edwards]

I've just finished building a Drill Press Table for my G7947 DP, which I purchased earlier this year from CL. I looked at lots of images of DPTs on google and have looked at several threads here on the Creek for ideas. My table is my own design but incorporates severals ideas borrowed from other people's shop built tables.

Special thanks to Bill Huber for giving me the idea that I used for mounting my table to the CI table of the DP and for kindly taking photos of the underside of his table so that I could grasp the concept. He even did a drawing for me that was a big help! Bill's table was also the first table that I'd seen with a round insert instead of the typical square inserts that I've seen most often.

I also wish to thank Nathan Yeager for his idea of building the "mini fence", a short piece of wood that spans the two inner T-Tracks. On my table that feature turned out to be a real blessing. I'll explain the details later in this post.

With the exception of the hardware, (T-Tracks, T-Bolts, knobs and 4 heavy duty angle brackets), and one can of spray paint, the entire table was built from scraps from my shop, a few pieces of plywood from the local dump/recycle center and a piece of 1" oak plywood that I got for free from a big cabinet shop nearby. The piece of oak plywood was in their scrap pile and is the top for my DP table.

I think that I have about $20-$25 bucks in the whole shoot and shebang, max. I bought the Rockler T-Track kit when they used to put them on sale ever so often for $9.95. In fact, I bought 5 of those kits the last time that I saw them on sale at the price!

Here's a couple of photos of the finished table, one is a front view and the other is a side view showing the full extension drawer in the open position.

127375127376

The next two photos show how the box is attached to the CI table of the DP and how the top is attached to the box.

127377127378

The next photo shows the box mounted on the DP table with the top removed. If you look carefully you can see two small holes in the top of the box. On the underside of these holes are T-Nuts. In the center of the insert there is a recessed bolt that goes all the way through the insert and screws into these T-Nuts. That avoids any possibility of the insert lifting out when retracting a drill bit. The bolt is not too tight, making it easy to use the two finger holes to rotate the insert when one area is is blown out.

127379

More to come. If I'm not able to get these posts in sequence I'm hoping that a moderator can help me fix that, please!

[Stephen Edwards]

The table consists of three main components: the box, the drawer and the top. I designed the table so that the top can be repositioned on the box in the event that I ever need more swing in case I have a wider piece of stock to work with. I don't anticipate having to use that function very often but it'll be nice to have if I do need it. Also, if I decide down the road to build a new top I can still use the box and the drawer. In other words, I won't have to start from scratch should I decide that I need a new top for the table.

These photos are of the box, the foundation so to speak of the whole mess. Note the shallow dados in the bottom of the box. Those are recesses for the heads of the T-Bolts, which allow them to function as they would in a T-Track when I tighten the knobs underneath the table which holds my table to the CI table of the DP. I drilled a hole through each side of the CI DP table for the T-Bolts to pass through.

The dados in the sides of the inside of the box are the "channels" that acomodate the shop built full extension drawer guides. The two holes in the back of the box are cutouts that the drawer guides pass through when the drawer is closed. The two holes in the top of the box have T-Nuts inserted on the underside. Their purpose is to accomodate the bolt that holds the insert in place.

I built the box tall enough so that the handle that raises and lowers the DP table easily clears the top when changing height of the table. Here are a couple of photos of the box.

127380 127381

Next, we have the drawer. Very simple, straightforward construction. All 4 drawer sides are made from a piece of plywood that I picked up at the dump. The attached front and bottom are scraps from my shop. The drawer handle came from a discarded drawer that I picked up at the dump. It cleaned up nicely. The full extension drawer guides are nothing more than two pieces of hardwood glued and screwed to the drawer sides.

127382 127383

127384

Still More to come. Thanks for looking.

[Stephen Edwards]

These photos show the top. The first photo is a top view with the insert removed. That's a story in itself, the hole for the insert. I cut that hole with my new Grizzly circle cutter (A great circle cutter by the way, but you have to modify the cutters to cut anything deeper than 1/2". That's another story for another time). I didn't have my thinking cap on when I made the cut for the hole! The hole turned out fine. However, when I reversed the blade in the circle cutter to cut the "wheel" for the insert I realized that I had not left enough play in the cutter when making the hole to adjust it out large enough to make the insert. I had maxed out to its diameter capacity to cut the hole. So, I had to improvise and work with what I had at this point. Thus, the rabbet in the hole. This is starting to sound like a carnival game!

127385

Anyway, that faux pas turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I threw together a quick circle cutting jig for the router table and made a pattern for the inserts. The inserts are made of mdf laminated with hardwood on both sides, more scraps from a local cabinet shop. Once they are cut to size with my Whiteside solid carbide top and bottom bearing pattern bit (thank you Glenn Bradley for the recommendation!) using the pattern as a template, I run them through the drum sander until I get them just the right height to be flush with the top of the table.

Next we have two photos of the bottom side of the top. One photo shows the whole bottom side of the top and the other shows a detail of the T-Slot used to hold the T-Bolts that hold the top to the box. Pretty straight forward.

127386 127387

Now we move along to the fence. The DP is a 17" model. With the table mounted in its rearmost position and the fence attached at the rear of the table I have a maximum swing of 6". I've already figured out a way to increase that, just haven't done it yet. Simple solution, too.

For now, I can increase the swing by rotating the fence 180 degrees and moving it to the front of the table. With the top in it's normal position I now get 7 1/2 inch swing. When I slide the top forward on the box to it's second position I have a 10 1/2 inch swing. The photos below show the swings with the fence mounted at the front of the table with the table in its two standard positions.

127388 127389

Still more to come. Please bear with me!

[Stephen Edwards]

As seen in the first and third posts, the basic fence is really simple. It's a piece of scrap 3/4" hard wood flooring with holes drilled to accomodate the T-Bolts that ride in the Rockler T-Track. Holes are drilled in the fence so that I can position it in three positions on the table, left and right of center. From a piece of scrap, white oak I think, I made an auxiliary fence that attaches on top of the basic low profile fence. I can move this auxiliary fence left or right and have a stop block for repeatable bores up to 48" from the end of a board.

127390 127391

127392

These photos show the auxiliary fence using a stop block on the right end and the cross piece in front of the piece of stock with hold down clamps attached to the cross piece. I got the idea for the cross piece from Nathan Yeager's new DPT. I built upon his idea by cutting a T-Slot for hold down clamps. It's very useful!

127393 127394

We're almost at the end of this saga, my first completed (well, amost) very useful shop built accessory for one of my machines that I belive will be a handy dandy accessory. One more post to come.......

[Stephen Edwards]

This post shows how the horizontal cross piece that spans the two inner T-Tracks really shines. The photos tell the story.

127395 127396

127397127398

127399

I surely appreciate all the great ideas that I've learned here at SMC. And I appreciate the fact that folks more knowledgable than me are gracious in sharing their knowledge and experience. My hope is that someone will find this thread useful if they've been contemplating building their own DP Table. Hopefully, you'll find an idea that you may find useful from my project, as I have from other people's projects. I know that this table isn't "perfect". I've already thought of a few changes and additions to make. It sure has been a fun project! I especially got a kick out building what I think is a decent DP Table for such a small amount of money. It was sort of a challenge for me to use as a much material as possible that I had lying around and that other people were throwing away. In fact, it was a blast!

Thanks for looking. Comments and constructive criticism are welcomed.

[John Schreiber]

Stephen, That is an incredible table. I think you incorporated every good idea I've seen for a drill press table. This definitely gets a bookmark for future reference.

If in use you have further ideas to improve it, be sure to let us benefit from your experience.

[Brian Effinger]

Stephen, That is an incredible table. I think you incorporated every good idea I've seen for a drill press table. This definitely gets a bookmark for future reference.

If in use you have further ideas to improve it, be sure to let us benefit from your experience.

I have to echo what John said. That is a great and useful table. If you had the time, you should put this into a new blog, that way it is more easily found, and can be updated easily if you make changes to it.
Good job.

[Art Mulder]

Your dog is giving us the "evil eye" in the 2nd photo... :rolleyes:

I was going to ask about the handle to raise/lower the table. I already find it hard to get at my handle, with a much smaller/simpler DP table. (My DP is in the corner). How do you find it to get at the handle on your table?

In one of the photos it looks like the handle is extra long and sticks out past the side of the table. Is that true?

[Stephen Edwards]

Thanks guys. Glad you like the DP Table. I had a lot of fun building it.

One thing that I neglected to mention is how handy that Rockler T-Slot bit is for building shop jigs and fixtures. Perhaps other companies make one, too. I happen to have that one. Using the right material, in many situations, it'll do the same thing that the aluminum T-Track will.

[Stephen Edwards]

Your dog is giving us the "evil eye" in the 2nd photo... :rolleyes:

I was going to ask about the handle to raise/lower the table. I already find it hard to get at my handle, with a much smaller/simpler DP table. (My DP is in the corner). How do you find it to get at the handle on your table?

In one of the photos it looks like the handle is extra long and sticks out past the side of the table. Is that true?

Art, the handle is the stock handle that came with the drill press.

I should also have included dimensions.

The Box: 18 3/8 W x 15 3/4D x 8 3/8 H

The Top: 27 1/4 W x 17 1/2D x 1 1/8 H (including lip)

The 90 degree turn of the handle arm is 7 1/2" from the geared piece (with the teeth) on the column that raises and lowers the table. The back right side bottom of the box clears the bend in the handle by 3/8". The red handle itself clears the bottom of the top by 3", plenty of room for your hand. It's easy to get to the handle, not awkward at all. Granted, the 3/8 clearance at the bend seems close (It is close!). I took measurements and threw together a test box out of scrap to be SURE that it would work. I made the box as big as possible to work with the handle.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Stephen - glad to see you figured out photo sequencing! Very nice DP table! I am sure that lots of folks here will benefit from your detailed descriptions and photos! Very nice work! Thanks for sharing!

[Stephen Edwards]

Stephen - glad to see you figured out photo sequencing! Very nice DP table! I am sure that lots of folks here will benefit from your detailed descriptions and photos! Very nice work! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks Steve! I appreciate you helping me to understand how to do the posts in sequence. I got all my ducks in a row before making the first post. Your advice was a big help. Thanks again.

[Sam Layton]

Hi Stephen,

That is a great drill press table. I like the drawer incorporated in the table. It is nice keeping everything together for any given machine.

Great job, Sam

[glenn bradley]

That t-track in the cross piece is a wonderful idea. I'm blatantly stealing that. The table looks great and you will love having it.

[Rick Moyer]

I'll confess to not reading the entire write-up, but I did bookmark it for future study. I will likely make a better-than-I-have-now table and this will help immensely.

Thank you very much (and to others as well) for these in-depth processes on things that help in the shop. I'm sure we are all often grateful but sometimes fail to express it. Well done!!

[Stephen Edwards]

Sam, Yes, I like the drawer. I'm already seeing that it isn't going to be big enough! A future project on my list is a mobile cabinet to go under the DP Table. Currently, that's just wasted space under the table.

Glenn, Go ahead, steal it! After all, I stole the cross piece idea from someone else and just helped it to "evolve" a bit!

Thank you both for your comments.

[Mike Cruz]

Man, I envy you guys who put as much into your shop as you do/would into things your shop makes. I have such a list to do I can't imagine spending that much time and effort in one project. Kudos to you on this table. Boy, I would love something like that. I'll be lucky if I end up with a piece of ply, a straight edge, and a couple of C clamps hanging around. Great job.

Since you enjoyed doing that, um, prototype, you can just send it to me (I'll be happy to pay for shipping...no need getting greedy :D) so you can make the REAL one for you...with appropriate improvements, of course...IF you can find anything to improve on.

[John Nixon]

Hey Steve - NICE table man!!!!
Not only did you create a versatile and useful drill press accessory, you were kind enough to document the process. It's posts like this one which SMC a great resource for woodworkers. Thanks for all the effort you put into documenting this project, and congratulations on the Cadillac of drill press tables (right next to your Cadillac of router tables)!

[Danny Thompson]

Great DP table, Stephen. The front fence and extended rear fence are great ideas, well executed!

[Dan Forman]

Looks like you have thought of just about everything that might come up. I'll be borrowing that auxiliary fence idea for holding down pieces closer to the bit than mine will reach. Thanks for taking the time to do such a detailed post.

Dan

[Rich Aldrich]

Nice drill press table. I plan to build one this winter. It looks like I will be refering to this post for my plan. Thanks!

[Bill Huber]

I really don't understand it, you have just about everything you could ask for but I can't see where the kitchen sink goes, am I missing something.:D

I may have to add a drawer to my table, I could use the extra space. Now that I have a 3 ton jack to raise and lower the table the weight would not be a problem.

[Stephen Edwards]

Thanks for looking and for all the encouraging comments. I appreciate it. I hope that some of you find something useful and/or are motivated to build a new shop accessory for yourself after seeing my DP Table. Of course, please share pics with the rest of us!

Bill Huber: Thanks for the suggestion of the kitchen sink. Maybe I can make the hole for the insert work for a sink!

Thanks again to everyone for looking at my post.

Kind Regards,

[glenn bradley]

I hope that some of you find something useful and/or are motivated to build a new shop accessory for yourself after seeing my DP Table. Of course, please share pics with the rest of us!

Stephen, I missed Nathan's post but caught your "cross member" accessory that you borrowed from him. So simple and such a problem solver. A scrap of BB ply and a t-slot bit; wham-bam. Thanks to you and Nathan (once removed).

[Stephen Edwards]

Glenn, looks like you got right with the program on that cross member! Looks fine, too.

Nathan built a nice table, too. Here's his DP Table from his thread:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?p=1191320#poststop

I see that you made long slots for the T-Bolts in yours, too, as I did with mine. That feature which allows us to work with angled pieces of wood by putting the cross member right up against will come in handy, I'm sure.

That's another cool thing about the Creek and the online woodworking community: we'll see an idea and be inspired to take that idea to the next level. Like you said, wham bam simple solutions!

Take care.........