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Thread: Clamping to the machine table

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Location
    Michigan
    Posts
    2,754

    Clamping to the machine table

    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.

  2. #2
    I usually just use F-clamps with the screw end on the bottom.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    West Lafayette, IN
    Posts
    6,527
    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.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Tampa Bay area
    Posts
    1,083
    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.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
    Posts
    65,638
    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.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Costa Mesa, CA
    Posts
    76
    I use small blocks of wood with magnets embedded in them. It is easier to clamp when the blocks stay in place by themselves.

  7. #7
    Mike, you are a genius.

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