Drill press height

[Jaze Derr]

If you have a drill press, about where on your body do you usually have the workpiece? That sounds weird...

What I mean is: chest height? Knee height? Do you like to have the workpiece precisely 3.4 inches above your navel? etc...

The reason I am asking is because my "benchtop" drill press is pretty darn big, and I have it on a workmate-type folding station for the moment. This places the workpiece at about chin level on me! :eek: This just doesn't seem safe, at all. I know my eyesight isn't the greatest, but I don't really want it that close to my face, thankyouverymuch. So I was wondering about where other people position theirs?

I want to make Danny Proulx's drill press cabinet (http://popularwoodworking.com/article/Drill_Press_Workstation/), but I think it will be much too high for my drill press, and I am a total novice at building a drawer cabinet, or, indeed, anything from plans. I don't know how to modify his plans without messing everything else up :(

I could make it as is and use a step stool, but that doesn't seem safe either.

Any tips on how to shorten a cabinet like that? I've looked and looked for "frameless cabinet design" stuff, but I can't find anything that spells out exactly how to design something like that.

[Callan Campbell]

:D:eek::D. For me, both of my drill press tables are about chest height. Unless of course I'm working with a larger project on my floor model DP, then the table is where ever it needs to be. My bench top model sits on a shop made stand of vertical 2x pine/softwood material since the old Delta[early 50's] is all cast iron or steel, including the cast iron belt guard. Top and botton of stand are 3/4" plywood, with simple shelves in the interior of the stand to house drill bit sets.
Figure out where your hand/arm will comfortably be to work the drill press handles, and then measure where the height of the stand needs to be to obtain that working dimension. Then the table ends up at a natural working height.

[Tom Rick]

Set it up so your eyes/face are not level with the chuck.
Keep the reach to handle just over shoulder and work table used most about mid chest.

[pat warner]

Table adjusts up/down. You adjust up/down on adjustable stool of your choice. You find out what is right for you x experiment.
The head and table can always slide up/down to meet your comfort needs. Test!

[Mike Harrison]

Its easy to modify the cabinet dimensions. First, I think your eyes, or maybe the top of your head, should be about even with the top of your drill press.

Measure from your eyes to the floor, measure from the top of your DP to its bottom (the bench). Subtract the smaller from the larger, and thats how tall you want the cabinet.

NOW, Subtract the amount you found above, from the FINISHED height of the cabinet in the article. The remainder is how much you want to subtract from the length of the sides and rear pieces of the cabinet.

End

[Jaze Derr]

Its easy to modify the cabinet dimensions. First, I think your eyes, or maybe the top of your head, should be about even with the top of your drill press.

Measure from your eyes to the floor, measure from the top of your DP to its bottom (the bench). Subtract the smaller from the larger, and thats how tall you want the cabinet.

NOW, Subtract the amount you found above, from the FINISHED height of the cabinet in the article. The remainder is how much you want to subtract from the length of the sides and rear pieces of the cabinet.

End

thanks for that. I can manage the carcass of the cabinet ok, it's modifying the drawers that has me confused. I've never installed a drawer.

Guess I'll just build it and figure it out on the fly, like usual.

[Thomas Canfield]

Drill press height should take into account being able to change the speed. Usually that means being able to change belt or lever. Also keeping the chuck level within the normal working height. You can bend over easier than step on a stool to adjust height. Make the speed change accessible and use it as required for better and safer drilling.