Thoughts on new Woodpeckers DP Pro Drill Press Fence

[Mike Goetzke]

Mike, I have the Nova Voyager and the new Woodpeckers DP table.

Overall, the table is quite nice. The drawer underneath is actually quite handy.

There is some limitation on where the table can bolt to the DP, but not of great concern.

My criticism with the table, is one I've had with all retail DP tables. They need the horizontal T-track to hold small objects. As you can see on Steve's homemade table, and Jim Becker's table https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread....ll-Press-Table, adding that horizontal T-track I really feel is essential.

Dust collection with the new DP fence is superb. Easily the best I've run across, so kudos there.

Clamping boards, with the rods and such for the expandable arms on the sides is sometimes challenging.

I also added the Wixey DP laser. Needs a little dialing in, but a nice addition to it for sure.

Overall, quite happy with it.

Thanks Alan - exactly what I was looking for. So the expanding table is not really a great value?

How do you like the new fence flip-stops?

I also have these extrusions called TrackTubes I bought for my MFT slab table support. They are basically an aluminum 2x4. I'm wondering if I can use a section and cut a center section out for dust collection and add extensions like my current fence has. Problem would be the flip stops. This extrusion has a t-track in the top but doubt it's compatible with any flipstops on the market.

IMG_2142.jpg

[Jim Barstow]

I have a bunch of woodpecker tools (not the dp table though). I view them as 75% tool, 25% work of art. When I’m gone, sell everything but make sure the Woodpecker tools go to a good home.

The thing you have to keep in mind is that these are designed and built in the US (in Ohio). One of the reasons I am willing to pay Woodpecker prices is that I know they aren’t assembled by 8 year old fingers paid $1/day required to get low prices. Woodpecker offers the consumer a choice that just isn’t available for things like electronics or cell phones. We just have to acknowledge that buying American from ethical sources costs more.

[Justin Rapp]

I have the 1st DP table from Woodpecker along with the DP3 fence. It works great and having the stops on the tracks make it easy for repeat drilling into multiple parts. Clamping also works great. The DP3 fence to hold work on edge is also really 90 degrees, at least with the 3 right angles I have checked it with. (Unlike my router fence from rockler which I had to shim to 90).

On the DPPro, I do like the ability to go wider, with up to a 48" fence however, the table isn't very deep which I don't like for larger pieces. The price for it does seem a bit excessive. $400+ is approaching about 1/2 the price of most drill press machines.


https://www.woodpeck.com/complete-wo...package-3.html
https://www.woodpeck.com/dp3-drill-press-fence.html

Woodpecker sells their rail kit and rail clamps and you can make your own table but it won't save you much money once you buy all the parts without the table.

[Mike Goetzke]

I have a bunch of woodpecker tools (not the dp table though). I view them as 75% tool, 25% work of art. When I’m gone, sell everything but make sure the Woodpecker tools go to a good home.

The thing you have to keep in mind is that these are designed and built in the US (in Ohio). One of the reasons I am willing to pay Woodpecker prices is that I know they aren’t assembled by 8 year old fingers paid $1/day required to get low prices. Woodpecker offers the consumer a choice that just isn’t available for things like electronics or cell phones. We just have to acknowledge that buying American from ethical sources costs more.

One thing with the new DP-Pro is the site doesn’t give much info on dimensions. I’d be interested in the table depth, dimension between t-tracks, drawer/shelf... some you can guess from the pictures. I emailed them and didn’t get a response yet.

[Pat Rice]

John, I have in the past built several drill press tables, but none had a good dust collection option. When I saw the new Woodpecker DP Pro setup it checked all the boxes for me. I have it installed and I am especially pleased with the dust collection through the fence and really like the new stops.
5B325D04-2275-488C-8B84-FB50B20FD5E3.jpg

[Steve Wurster]

One thing with the new DP-Pro is the site doesn’t give much info on dimensions. I’d be interested in the table depth, dimension between t-tracks, drawer/shelf... some you can guess from the pictures. I emailed them and didn’t get a response yet.

The "Specifications/FAQ's" tab on that page on their website has most of those dimensions listed. For example, the tables are listed as 20" deep in the middle and 1" thick. What's not listed in the dimension between T-tracks, but I happen to know that the fence itself supports 12-16" spacing, so the table itself is in there somewhere.

[Mike Goetzke]

The "Specifications/FAQ's" tab on that page on their website has most of those dimensions listed. For example, the tables are listed as 20" deep in the middle and 1" thick. What's not listed in the dimension between T-tracks, but I happen to know that the fence itself supports 12-16" spacing, so the table itself is in there somewhere.

Totally missed that - thanks!

So looks like the top is wider than past models. DP3 16"x23" and the new DP-Pro 20"x24"+12" or 20"x36"+12".

[Christopher Chen]

Can you guys offer some thoughts on what size table and fence to buy from wood peckers. For a more mobile drill press setup, the 48” table and fence seems too bulky, but maybe a game changer for certain operations, feel like I’m not thinking about something here.

[Mark Klika]

Steve,
I was looking to do the same thing you did, use a WP 24" fence on my own table which I'm in the process of designing. You said you had to extend the opening on the back of the bracket to accommodate the T track placement. Could you tell me what the maximum spacing was originally? They don't give alot of specifications on the WP site... It looks like you're design was similar to the one Woodsmith has. Their older version had instructions on modifying the crank so it's in the front of the table. That seems particularly useful to me. Kennyearings1 on Youtube posted good video on that feature. Any issue with the round insert spinning on you? Thanks in advance. Mark

[Steve Wurster]

Steve,
I was looking to do the same thing you did, use a WP 24" fence on my own table which I'm in the process of designing. You said you had to extend the opening on the back of the bracket to accommodate the T track placement. Could you tell me what the maximum spacing was originally? They don't give alot of specifications on the WP site... It looks like you're design was similar to the one Woodsmith has. Their older version had instructions on modifying the crank so it's in the front of the table. That seems particularly useful to me. Kennyearings1 on Youtube posted good video on that feature. Any issue with the round insert spinning on you? Thanks in advance. Mark

Mark,

From the emails that Woodpecker's provided me, the spacing on the fence supports 12-16" between track centers. Mine is closer to 18", so I had to modify it to fit.

Yes, my design is based on some Woodsmith plans. I didn't look into that crank modification idea though, as that seemed too much work for me (lol). I don't adjust the height of my table frequently enough to bother, really.

And my insert is placed so that the middle of the bit comes down pretty much half way between the center of the insert and the edge of the insert, so I have never had any issues with spinning.

Good luck with your build!

[Mike Goetzke]

Glad I didn't end up purchasing one of these fences for a new DP. We'll not against WP but I decided to order the Nova Voyager from Zoro in January. There was a 60 day wait but was able to use a 15% off coupon. Days ticked by and I checked on the DP almost daily. The days till shipping went down to 10 days then guess what - my order was cancelled. I was very very very disappointed. I did get a letter from them saying they would honor the price when it was available. So I kept checking back and about a month later the DP shows up as available again but this time a 20% coupon worked. Yes!....No! Two months later that one is cancelled!

I'm not happy with Zoro but I have contacted them and Teknatool (Nova) and they blame each other but if you look online seems all suppliers have long lead times or are not taking orders. Here is another killer - the price of the DP has increased by $150 since January. Only good news is, I have a probably 30+year old Ridgid DP and she keeps on drilling.

OK done venting.

[Mark Klika]

Thanks for getting back to me, Steve!

Yeah, you're right, the crank modification is alot of work. Probably be expensive too when you factor in the shipping costs. (Amazon Prime doesn't have all the parts I need).
I'm going to give it a shot anyway. I always thought that the height adjustment on a DP was a PITA.

Thanks again!
Mark

[Mike King]

You guys just aren't looking to spend enough money:

https://ruwi.de/en/wood-line/clamping-plate/

[Gordon Stump]

It looks precise and is very engineered! But drilling holes in wood on a drill press is not a very precise endeavor. I drill holes in the center of 7-9" wide boards. I doubt the dust extraction will be very effective at that distance. But like most things...build it and they will come. So congratulations to Woodpeckers on a beautiful drill press table.

[H. Gregory Porter]

I wasn’t able to read all the posts in this read. In general, Woodpeckers has well made products, but you have to make an investment in them. I consider each of those I have as a lifetime tool.

Most of what they sell, I desire but I have a hard time justifying. I have a few squares, and their pen turning system. I classify it as the best on the market.

As far as drill press fences, I would consider the Mag-Switch system that Kevin Kline designed over the WP design. Just my humble opinion.

https://mag-tools.com/products/drill-press-fence-pro