In praise of the humble drill press

[rudy de haas]

I tend to take tools for granted.You buy them, you use them, you don't think about them - well, at least I don't.

However, yesterday I needed to make eleven pairs of countersunk bolt holes in a total of nine small, thin, pieces of glued up maple. With the drill press getting consistent a 3/32" countersink depth was trivial. One set up: hold the wood, drop the drill, next. Without that tool this would have taken hours and produced significantly more variable results. When I stopped to think about how amazing this tool really is, I started to wonder: what other unthought about miracles and stories are out there?

[Rich Riddle]

There are many unsung hero tools in the shop, but the band saw and drill press are two of my favorites.

[Mike Circo]

The shot filled, dead blow mallet.
I'm constantly dancing that fine line between too tight a fit to assemble, or too loose to glue properly. So I Error on the side of too tight.
The dead blow hammer "nudges" pieces together without damage or marring, too much impact on the piece and minimal effort to my old joints.
A simple concept that works well.

[Bruce Mack]

Hot melt glue and a good 7/16" glue gun is valuable for clamping blocks, mock ups, and even feeding small or thin parts to machinery as with router table or planer (affixed to melamine carrier board for making thin stock). The good glue tacks like crazy, so little dabs will do it. Presently I'm using hot melt to make a model of a structure that will stand quite tall. 100's of thin wood parts comprise it. PVA glue and micro clamps would not have worked for me.

[Aaron Conway]

My 12" Starrett combination square. I don't remember the last time I went into the shop and didn't use it. I even used it over the weekend while hanging some mini-blind brackets.

[Ben Rivel]

Drill press is a must in my shop. Really dont know how some guys go without one.

[Glenn de Souza]

Hot melt glue and a good 7/16" glue gun is valuable for clamping blocks, mock ups, and even feeding small or thin parts to machinery as with router table or planer (affixed to melamine carrier board for making thin stock). The good glue tacks like crazy, so little dabs will do it. Presently I'm using hot melt to make a model of a structure that will stand quite tall. 100's of thin wood parts comprise it. PVA glue and micro clamps would not have worked for me.

+1 on this. For 10 years my hot glue gun was in the box on a shelf. Then I saw some videos on YouTube from Jimmy Diresta where he uses hot glue for dozens of things, and now I reach for it all the time. Double stick tape has a place, but there are many times when hot glue is even better. Did you know hot glue is reversible - Isopropyl or denatured alcohol will release it. If the two surfaces are non-porous, a hit or two from a dead blow mallet will break the glue joint. You can also shoot it with a blast of freon and pop it off clean that way. One of my favorite ways to use it in a reversible way is to apply a piece of duct tape to surface 1, apply a piece of duct tape to surface 2 and use hot glue on the duct tape to temporarily glue the two surfaces together. Very convenient for template routing, clamping wedges or blocks, or like you say, feeding small parts to a machine using a carrier.

Changing subjects a little, isn't it a kick when you find inspiration and new applications for a tool you've had for years? It's like it suddenly became a new tool.

[pat warner]

". Really dont know how some guys go without one. "
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Live x it. Without jigs and fixtures woodworking, plastic fab. metal work, aerospace etc couldn't function.
Jigs and fixtures (http://patwarner.com/images/jigs_fixtures_main.jpg) are made of components screwed in place.
No drilling, no jigs, no woodworking.

[Thomas Canfield]

I agree that the drill press is one of my favorite tools, but will add that a large table with fence and hold down tracks makes it a lot more useful tool. My original 12" benchtop was very useful, but moving up to a 16" floor unit with extra quill travel greatly added to its service.

[Gene Takae]

I probably do take my DP for granted. However, I did learn early on that it is excellent for ripping pieces of wood out of your hand and spinning them very fast.:p

[Rich Engelhardt]

what other unthought about miracles and stories are out thereTrack saw......
I long ago lost count of the number of times I read a thread where someone would ask how to make some particular odd cut and shudder at some of the suggestions - both from a Rube Goldberg and safety approach.
My thoughts were always, "If you had a track saw, we wouldn't be having this conversation".

Track saws are so much more than a means to break down sheet goods....

+1 for a drill press being an unsung hero.
As clumsy as my GMC benchtop is, it's still worlds more accurate than I could ever hope to freehand something.

[Mike Hollingsworth]

Track saws are so much more than a means to break down sheet goods....


Incredibly useful for installing kitchen cabinets or installing any type of door. I couldn't do without mine.