Drill press fence attached to column?

[Phil Thien]

I haven't been able to find anything via google images, but was wondering if anyone has even seen any sort of fence system for a drill press that attaches to the column?

I've been drilling into the edges of variously taller pieces and having something mounted to the column would be nifty. A fence registered from the column wouldn't change relative position if I need to change my table height.

I see some challenges, like interference with the handle when plunging a hole. But I'd be happy with a half fence that doesn't extend beyond the chuck.

I plan on making something but was hoping to avoid reinventing any wheels, so I'd appreciate any pics or links.

[Dave Richards]

I've never seen anything like that but it seems like it could be a workable idea. It shouldn't be too difficult to engineer something that would work.

[Alan Schwabacher]

You'd need to make sure the fence not only kept a constant distance from the column, but also a constant position from side to side. That is, it can't pivot on the column if it's to keep the same distance from the drilling axis. That's the hard part in my mind, but you might be able to clamp tightly enough without risk of damage to the column.

[ray hampton]

will you answer one ? before I answer , DO YOUR column have a strip that will prevent the fence from turning, the strip may be call a quill

[Rick Potter]

Wouldn't it be easier to make some taller fence faces to attach to your fence...as done on a router table fence?

Rick P

[Phil Thien]

Wouldn't it be easier to make some taller fence faces to attach to your fence...as done on a router table fence?

Rick P

Not ideal. Sometimes I'm drilling parts that are 4" high, other times 6.25" high, and still other times 14" high. So it would be much easier to simply adjust the table up/down and have the fence not move.

[Phil Thien]

You'd need to make sure the fence not only kept a constant distance from the column, but also a constant position from side to side. That is, it can't pivot on the column if it's to keep the same distance from the drilling axis. That's the hard part in my mind, but you might be able to clamp tightly enough without risk of damage to the column.

I think I'd just make a collar by cutting a hole in some plywood that is the same size as the column. Then I'd cut it into two half holes on my saw and use some carriage bolts to squeeze the half circles to the column. Then I'd affix my fence to this somehow.

This is to finish a project that is intended to finish another project for yet another project. I'd be happy to pay $100 for a pre-made solution.

[Pat Barry]

This is to finish a project that is intended to finish another project for yet another project. I'd be happy to pay $100 for a pre-made solution.
Reminds me of the turtle universe theory: ""Turtles all the way down" is a jocular expression of the infinite regress problem in cosmology posed by the "unmoved mover" paradox. The metaphor in the anecdote represents a popular notion of the myth that Earth is actually flat and is supported on the back of a World Turtle, which itself is propped up by a chain of larger and larger turtles. Questioning what the final turtle might be standing on, the anecdote humorously concludes that it is "turtles all the way down"."

[Myk Rian]

will you answer one ? before I answer , DO YOUR column have a strip that will prevent the fence from turning, the strip may be call a quill
Do you mean the rack used for table raising with a crank?

[Phil Thien]

I now remember seeing what I want, just probably not easily available. But Skil made a drill press, the HD3680, which featured a fence that you can see in the pic below. So that fence above the table and below the head swings in and then can be tightened and the workpiece positioned against the fence.

[Alan Schwabacher]

That could work. I wonder if you could get a similar use by making a fence setting gauge. It could be simply a drill rod that could be adjusted relative to a fence. You'd put the rod in the chuck, clamp the fence to your drill press fence, and then lock it down and remove the gauge. This might be quick and accurate enough to reset the fence at a well-defined distance from the drilling axis.

[ray hampton]

Do you mean the rack used for table raising with a crank?

quill were a mistake BUT I am able to forget things, rack is the word that I unable to think of , the rack will prevent the fence from rotating fully unless you made a two piece mount , one piece will be limit to travel up and down while the other piece can rotate

[ray hampton]

plumbers and electric workers use what they call a "stand-off, can you use a pipe clamp [two ] bolt them together with an steel arm , it will look similar to your picture in a earlier post

[Phil Thien]

So I've screwed around with this a little bit and came up with a working solution.

I basically took some glued-up plywood (two 3/4" thick layers) I had hanging around and made a sort of collar for the column. I used some 6" long 5/16" carriage screws all the way through, and a couple of 5/16" knobs to snug it up. It gets real snug. One knob is just s simple little plastic jobber, the other is one of those ratcheting types that I can get some purchase on with my hand.

On one side of the collar I used a 3/4" router bit to make a groove about 3/16" deep for a piece of t-track, and I drilled another couple of 5/16" holes centered in that groove for some t-bolts. There are knobs on the bottom of that side of the collar that are attached to the t-bolts, and that tightens the t-track. So now the t-track can slide in/out and also be snugged.

A small block of wood at the front of the t-track similarly holds the sub-fence I normally use on my day-to-day drill press fence.

So now I can lock this all down and then move my drill press table without changing the position of the fence or stop block.

The t-track is pretty rigid. While I can flex it by pushing on it at the extreme ends of the fence, the pressure I'd be applying to my workpiece is centered and so it doesn't move.

Using two pieces of t-track, one on either side of the column, would have made it more rigid, but I had thought that tightening the collar on the column would toss them out of parallel making attachment to the fence problematic. Also, I'd have needed a bigger collar which would have required longer carriage screws (which the local hardware store did not carry).

This one works well but if I ever make another one I'm going to turn the split in the collar by 90-degrees, make the collar wider, make the back half of the collar maybe 1/4" thinner than the front half, and use two sections of t-track.

At least for now I can continue on my project which I was working on where the need for this fence became apparent.

[ray hampton]

So I've screwed around with this a little bit and came up with a working solution.

I basically took some glued-up plywood (two 3/4" thick layers) I had hanging around and made a sort of collar for the column. I used some 6" long 5/16" carriage screws all the way through, and a couple of 5/16" knobs to snug it up. It gets real snug. One knob is just s simple little plastic jobber, the other is one of those ratcheting types that I can get some purchase on with my hand.

On one side of the collar I used a 3/4" router bit to make a groove about 3/16" deep for a piece of t-track, and I drilled another couple of 5/16" holes centered in that groove for some t-bolts. There are knobs on the bottom of that side of the collar that are attached to the t-bolts, and that tightens the t-track. So now the t-track can slide in/out and also be snugged.

A small block of wood at the front of the t-track similarly holds the sub-fence I normally use on my day-to-day drill press fence.

So now I can lock this all down and then move my drill press table without changing the position of the fence or stop block.

The t-track is pretty rigid. While I can flex it by pushing on it at the extreme ends of the fence, the pressure I'd be applying to my workpiece is centered and so it doesn't move.

Using two pieces of t-track, one on either side of the column, would have made it more rigid, but I had thought that tightening the collar on the column would toss them out of parallel making attachment to the fence problematic. Also, I'd have needed a bigger collar which would have required longer carriage screws (which the local hardware store did not carry).

This one works well but if I ever make another one I'm going to turn the split in the collar by 90-degrees, make the collar wider, make the back half of the collar maybe 1/4" thinner than the front half, and use two sections of t-track.

At least for now I can continue on my project which I was working on where the need for this fence became apparent.

if a long carriage bolt can not be found then buy a threaded rod and buy the type of nut with a washer already attached and glue the nut on the rod end , washer on the inside

[Chris Parks]

I don't see why you need a collar on the column. A table with a fence can be clamped to the drill table and it can have an arm with a half collar that fits on the front of the column, it is only the precise spacing for registration you need. Put the sub table on the drill press table, push it back for the half collar to touch the column and you have a constant spacing.

[Phil Thien]

I don't see why you need a collar on the column. A table with a fence can be clamped to the drill table and it can have an arm with a half collar that fits on the front of the column, it is only the precise spacing for registration you need. Put the sub table on the drill press table, push it back for the half collar to touch the column and you have a constant spacing.

A couple of problems I was trying to solve:

(1) Moving the table up/down can also mean the stop block movies in relation to the bit. That is because the table can revolve around the column a bit, it doesn't necessarily always lock at the same clock time on the column, if that makes sense.

(2) With the fence I've got here, I can move the table and drill pieces that are 1", 3", 6", 12" and 18" high, and get perfect fence/stop block registration on each one of them. Without this type of fence, I'd need additional fences of various heights because trying to support a 12" high workpiece with a 2" or 3" high fence is a challenge.

The reality is this fence helps me drill the EDGES of rectangular workpieces. So imagine an 8" x 10" piece of 3/4" MDF. And I want two holes on each edge, centered on the 3/4" and 1" in from the corner.

With this fence, I can set the fence 3/8" from the center of the bit, and set the stop block 1" from the center of the bit.

Now I can drill a hole, flip the workpiece end for end. Drill another hole. Flip the workpiece upside down. Drill another hole, flip end for end, and drill the fourth hole.

Now drop the table 2" and repeat on the other two edges.

I won't use it often, but for drilling the edges of rectangular workpieces, it should come in handy.