I bought small bench top drill press a couple months ago to dedicate to “wood only” drilling and with hopes that I could affix a drill press table with fence. I was pleasantly surprised when I unpacked the drill press since there was virtually no measureable runout at the 1/2” bit just outside the chuck, the laser was spot on, and it ran very smoothly and quietly. I had a drill press table that I had recently built but found that I was having to remove and replace it frequently on my floor model drill press to drill metal projects, avoiding the metal shavings and oil.
I used some hanger bolts and knobs to fix this wood d.p. table to the metal one, an improvement over the awkwardclamps when I used it on the floor model. It did not take long, however, to discover a shortcoming; the table elevation crank could not clear the underside of the wooden table so that wooden table would have to be removed to make more than minor changes to the table height.
In looking for solutions, I considered adding a coupling and a 6” extension to the handle shaft until I measured carefully to find the handle shaft was 0.55” instead of a standard1/2”. I decided to build a wooden push-on knob since the new table with wooden table is not very heavy and the rack and pinion action is fairly smooth.
To start, I cut out two pieces from some scrap oak 3/4”plywood that measure 2-1/8” in diameter. I drilled one piece through the center with a 1/2” Forstner bit and enlarged it with a round raspuntil it fit tightly on the 0.55” handle shaft of the drill press. The next piece added inside that hole was a slice from a 1/2” dowel to provide a flat area to match the flat area on the handle shaft. I glued that in place inside the plywood round and pushed it on to the handle shaft to provide “clamping pressure” while the glue set. I carefully removed it from the shaft and glued the other plywood round to it.
For finishing touches I sanded six lobes into the outer circumference and softened the edges of the knob with sandpaper. I inserted a thin metal shim on the flat spot when I pushed it onto the shaft and gave it a couple taps with a rubber hammer to seat it. The 1-1/2” thick knob is easy to grip and it works well though not as fast as an offset handle that you crank. Shop-made solutions are always fun and no out-of-pocket cost is lagniappe (alittle something extra).
This small drill press has size limitations, for sure, but it works well for small drilling in wood and is smooth and accurate. I have seen other solutions to the blocked elevation crank for the table, but this was easy and it works well for this light duty application.
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