Clamping to the machine table

[Tom Bender]

Clamping to the table of my drill press and band saw were frustrating due to the ribs on the undersides. Also the drill press has that handy blood gutter that collects chips and makes it inconvenient to slide a vise around between holes.

So I took the tables off, flipped them over mixed up some auto body filler and filled between the ribs. Also filled the gutter. Big improvement!

Not sure what to do about the table saw wings.

[johnny means]

I usually just use F-clamps with the screw end on the bottom.

[Matt Day]

I rarely need to clamp anything to webbed surfaces, but when I do I either put the screw end down as Johnny says or use a small block of wood to fill the webbed area. My DP has an auxiliary fence with t tracks and such so I don’t have to worry about clamping on it.

[Robert Hayward]

On a previous drill press I I cut and shaped plywood pieces to create a smooth table bottom for the same reasons the OP states. I epoxied them to the bottom of the table. I made the thickness of the fillers the same as the table ribs. You could not see the wood until you were under the table looking up. I have yet to do this mod to my newish Nova DVR but plan to. Seems even with an F clamp with the screw on the bottom those ribs interfere with where I want to place the clamp.

[Jim Becker]

For a DP, your solution is pretty simple and effective if you want to use the OEM table as your actual surface. Many of us alternatively put larger tables on the DP with tee-slots, etc., for easier clamping more toward the middle and a thinner, flat surface to use regular clamps at the edges.

If you have a need to clamp to one of the larger tools' tables where it's impractical to fill, just make up a few blocks of wood that are the same thickness as the recess under the table to use under the clamp. They can even be slightly thicker; just not thinner...than the recess.

[Mike Nolan]

I use small blocks of wood with magnets embedded in them. It is easier to clamp when the blocks stay in place by themselves.

[Bill Conerly]

Mike, you are a genius.