Seeking input on support mechanism to be used with a drill press

[Frank Pellow]

I want to purchase or make something to balance longer wood while using my drill press. My drill press is a Delta X5 16 1/2" VS (see: http://www.deltawoodworking.com/index.asp?e=136&p=4749) and I have made a mobile base for it.

I found this support thingy at the Lee Valley web site: http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=45862&cat=1,240,41060

I am seeking comments and advise about this specific support or any alternatives that you care to suggest.

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Frank,

We have that same type set up on our Job Site SCMS. It really does work great for that tool. It takes a little getting used to, when adjusting the supports for height, but once you get used to it, you really can adjust them pretty finely.

My question for this support is why the cross bars (horizontal) are not longer? It looks like you don't get a whole lot of additional long board support. Other than that issue, it looks like a great solution! I sure like our SCMS stand with the same type set up.

[Dan Stuewe]

Looking at the picture it seems that the table will not be able to be rotated about the drill press column since the rack of a rack-and-pinion table height adjuster would be captured between the two halves of the support clamp. (if you don't need to rotate your table often, than this wouldn't be an issue.)

[Doug Shepard]

You might want to visit HTC's website. I'm on their mailing list and a catalog showed up today with a setup similar to the LV one you linked to. Don't have experience with either one though.

[Frank Pellow]

You might want to visit HTC's website. I'm on their mailing list and a catalog showed up today with a setup similar to the LV one you linked to. Don't have experience with either one though.
I don't think that HTC has a web site; however Northern Tool and Equipment does have a web site (http://www.northerntool.com/) and they sell HTC stuff. I found the drill press support that you mentioned there, and I think it is exactly the same as the one sold by Lee Valley.

[Doug Shepard]

Well I think you're right on both accounts. I looked closer at the catalog and it is the exact same model, right down to the label on the front. So it's an HTC unit, but LV's price is actually $10 less than the HTC catalog price. And I couldn't find anywhere in the catalog that lists a website address.

[Wes Newman]

Frank, Here's one from Grizzly (http://www.grizzly.com/products/item.cfm?itemnumber=h6238).

[Frank Pellow]

Frank, Here's one from Grizzly (http://www.grizzly.com/products/item.cfm?itemnumber=h6238).
Interesting. The Grizzly one seems to have the same parts as the one from Lee Valley and HTC, but the maximum width of the Grizzly support is 6" less (only 48" for the Grizzly). One other difference is that the Grizzly support is half the price of the support sold by Lee Valley.

What I think I would like is one tat has a wider maximum width, not a smaller maximum width.

[Frank Pellow]

Looking at the picture it seems that the table will not be able to be rotated about the drill press column since the rack of a rack-and-pinion table height adjuster would be captured between the two halves of the support clamp. (if you don't need to rotate your table often, than this wouldn't be an issue.)
I think that you are right about this Dan, but it sure would be good to hear from someone who has actually used one of these gizmos so that we could ask about this. It appears that it would not be hard to remove the support in order to rotate the table and I don't think that I will need to rotate the table very much.

I will send the question to Lee Valley since they are usually quite good at finding answers to questions about things that they sell.

[Carole Valentine]

I have one. Most of the time it is off the press, but I do use it on occasion. The wings are not quite as sturdy as I would like when fully extended, but it allows me to get the job done. And no, you cannot rotate the table with it in place.

[Tyler Howell]

Frank,
Using that Canadian ingenuity, I'm sure you can come up with something that can multi task rather than be dedicated to the DP. Doesn't sound like it gets a lot of use. I picked these up at Rockler on sale and move them from one tool out feed to the next with ease. Very versatile.

http://www.rockler.com/findit.cfm?page=10537&slt=hp (http://www.rockler.com/findit.cfm?page=10537&slt=hp)

[Frank Pellow]

I have one. Most of the time it is off the press, but I do use it on occasion. The wings are not quite as sturdy as I would like when fully extended, but it allows me to get the job done. And no, you cannot rotate the table with it in place.Thanks Carole, it's good to hear from a real user. Do you have the unit that is sold by Lee Valley and HTC? If so, I will continue to look around and see if I can find one that appears to be more sturdy.

So, I will need to take the thing off then put it on again if I need to rotate the table. How long does it take to set up?

[Frank Pellow]

Frank,
Using that Canadian ingenuity, I'm sure you can come up with something that can multi task rather than be dedicated to the DP. Doesn't sound like it gets a lot of use. I picked these up at Rockler on sale and move them from one tool out feed to the next with ease. Very versatile.

http://www.rockler.com/findit.cfm?page=10537&slt=hp (http://www.rockler.com/findit.cfm?page=10537&slt=hp)
Thanks Tyler. I see that the rollers are geared to bench top tools and I don't have many of those, but I might be able to come up with a way to use tham with my drill press -so you have given me a bit of a challenge. :)

[Tyler Howell]

In these pix I used them on the in and out feed of my planer. There's a couple on the chop saw station way back in the first pix and I've even used them clamped to a B&D Workmake for out feed on my PM 66. Not the cure all end all but they have come in handy. Good hunting.;) http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=13565
No affiliation

[Bob Boake]

I purchased mine about 6 months ago. I only paid 17.50 for it at a return center. I would pass on it if I could do it again. The horizontal arms are not a tight fit in the sleeves. They are secured with a a pc of threaded rod tightened with a plastic handle. Not rickety but you can still move the arms around when it is fully hand tightened.

When you get right down to it a long horizontal reach is not the best way to provide verticle support. I think amazon carries them and they were not reviewed well there either.

[Jules Dominguez]

I have a 20+ year-old Craftsman 16" drill press on which I put a homemade 18" wide by 58" long 3/4" thick Birch plywood auxiliary table . It has a 1" by 3" oak stiffeners under the length of the front edge of the table to hold flatness. It's bolted to the drill press work table, so it rotates or goes up and down with the work table. I find it very convenient and helpful to use, and I normally leave it attached to the drill press. When I have to handle longer boards than can be supported by this tabletop I use one or two roller stands which I keep in the shop for general use.

[Frank Pellow]

I purchased mine about 6 months ago. I only paid 17.50 for it at a return center. I would pass on it if I could do it again. The horizontal arms are not a tight fit in the sleeves. They are secured with a a pc of threaded rod tightened with a plastic handle. Not rickety but you can still move the arms around when it is fully hand tightened.

When you get right down to it a long horizontal reach is not the best way to provide verticle support. I think amazon carries them and they were not reviewed well there either.
Thanks Bob. I guess that, based on what I have heard from you and Carole and from the reviews I read at Amazon (again thanks for the reference), that I will give the Lee Valley and HTC support contraption a miss.

For others that may be interested, here are a couple of quotes from the reviews at Amazon:


"I've been using the HTC PM-128 Drill Press Support for a year or so and I think its a great idea. The problem I have with the PM-128 is its lack of rigidity and strength. I've never been able to use it for accurate drilling simply because it bends quite easily, especially when the arms are near full extension. Its difficult to get the rollers to be coplanar with the drill press table because the steel tubing twists and racks. I know, you are probably saying: for [the price] what do you expect? I agree, I got what I paid for. I wish HTC (whose mobile bases are top notch!) would come out with a PM-428 or something, costing about [ammount of money] or so, using heavier tubing and a more robust clamping device for the drill press column. Conceptually the PM-128 is well thought out, with plenty of adjustments and a convenient storage tray, it just needs to be beefed up a little. If you purchase the PM-128 be advised that it is not suitable for long >5ft. or heavy pieces of material, in my humble opinion."


"This gadget will work fine if you're drilling in something like thin baseboard molding, etc. or other light weight stuff. Any thing heavier than a 2x4 you can forget about decent support. You have to make an allowance on the height of your support to compensate for the swag you are going to get because of the weight. I wish I had bought a floor support stand instead."

[Frank Pellow]

I have a 20+ year-old Craftsman 16" drill press on which I put a homemade 18" wide by 58" long 3/4" thick Birch plywood auxiliary table . It has a 1" by 3" oak stiffeners under the length of the front edge of the table to hold flatness. It's bolted to the drill press work table, so it rotates or goes up and down with the work table. I find it very convenient and helpful to use, and I normally leave it attached to the drill press. When I have to handle longer boards than can be supported by this tabletop I use one or two roller stands which I keep in the shop for general use.
I guess that I will try to build something like this, and maybe incorporate the rollers mentioned by Tyler. My design will need to be such that the table is not always 58 inches wide.

[John Bush]

Hi Frank,
I agree that you should pass on that style of support system. I've had one for a while and the only way I've been able to stabilize the vertical movement is by using a 2X4 as a fence across the table and clamping the outrigger rollers to the 2X4. It worked really well then, but if you don't need a fence the set-up is a nuisance. I've had better luck using my rollerstands. Good luck, John.

[Carole Valentine]

Mine is the HTC unit. A suggestion...save what you would use for this thing and buy one or two of the new LV Roller Stands. A bit pricey at $79 but really nice stands. I use mine with everything, band saw, tablesaw, router table, drill press.

[Frank Pellow]

Mine is the HTC unit. A suggestion...save what you would use for this thing and buy one or two of the new LV Roller Stands. A bit pricey at $79 but really nice stands. I use mine with everything, band saw, tablesaw, router table, drill press.
Thanks Carole. I have definately decided not to purchase the support. Your suggstion of two Lee Valley stands is a good one and it is probably what I will do if I can not come up with a made support that I like.