Shop Project: New Drill Press Table

[Jim Becker]

Nicely done Jim. A good DP table is a joy every time you use it. I have my square insert off center but, need to convert to round. In these idle times I have been catching up on odd-jobs like this and your thread has brought this item into the light again. thanks,

Yes, I'm doing a bunch of little projects right now, too, Glenn. I'm a little stir-crazy, but that's not all from the pandemic...starting to consider future plans has a lot bouncing around in my head!

Alan, I think that the biggest "secret" to any kind of dust collection at the DP is having a way of directing it and having larger air flow than most folks would normally think necessary. The nature of the tool tends to throw chips in a 360º direction so having some kind of "big gulp directed inlet" is the key. I don't have a drop near where my DP lives so I'll just continue to use a broom, but if my shop situation changes in the future, I'd consider having a drop to service the tool and start playing with the possibilities. With this tool, it's primarily "chips" rather than dust, so mostly just "mess"...

[Jay Kepley]

I went with a round offset insert. It's worked very well. The picture below is sideways. I don't know how to fix that.

Happy New Year everyone!


Drill Press w Cabinet.jpg

[james manutes]

Very well done .

[Larry Frank]

For my drill press, I have gone with a 4 inch bell mouth hood. I find that if you point it at your work it does a very good job of getting chips and dust.

20210104_DP Bell Mouth (Medium).jpg

[Ray Newman]

" I'm a little stir-crazy, but that's not all from the pandemic...starting to consider future plans has a lot bouncing around in my head!"

--Jim Becker

We are both going down the same road.

[Jim Becker]

" I'm a little stir-crazy, but that's not all from the pandemic...starting to consider future plans has a lot bouncing around in my head!"

--Jim Becker

We are both going down the same road.

I think that dealing with the concept of "empty nest" is whacking my thought processes right now, and a lot less than the potential solutions. LOL The oldeer has been in her own apartment since last June and while she's a special needs adult and requires a lot of support, "she's out". The younger is in her last semester at Penn State. She and her very serious boyfriend (who's a darn great young man) are already planning their own place and she's at his parent's place half the week already. You might not be feeling that particular thing right now, but the decision process about "what comes next" is what it is as you know. I believe it is best for us to find a smaller property and home. Two people in their early- to mid-sixties and three small birds don't need 4200 sq ft and almost 4 acres.

[Dave Zellers]

Yes, they are round inserts. No, they will not spin around with a drill bit because the replaceable throat is offset from center, just in case you were wondering.

Thank you- I WAS wondering! But it makes sense. You will love that new top. I made one slightly wider with the side T-tracks but not the left to right track. It has changed the way I work. The drill press gets easily twice the use than it did before.

The next step is a fence with chip extraction. Doing a lot of repeated drilling and watching the chips disappear is such a dream.

[glenn bradley]

Thanks for the push Jim.

Convert to Round.jpg

[Jim Becker]

Now you just need a triangle to complete the puzzle, Glenn.

(Nice color combination, too...looks great!)

[Bob Riefer]

I also built a drill table like this awhile back (and I think it was after reading Derek's post)... although my versions are always a bit rougher around the edges than the nice examples I see here :-)

I used MDF scrap to make a fence with a t-track in it, which I find useful for repeating a step on multiple pieces, and the two t-racks for the fence to ride in has been nice too.

I hadn't thought about the hold-downs, but will probably do as someone (Glen?) mentioned on the previous page with an auxiliary hold downs contraptions that rides in the existing T-tracks... less surgery to my table.

I also used the round inserts... I rotate it as needed, and flip it over once one side is shot. I cut about 20 inserts at once, so I think I'll be ok for quite some time.


Also, my old Walker Turner didn't have a crank to raise/lower the table... so I used a trailer jack (minus the wheel) and it works very nicely. A bit ugly, but effective.
.

[Steve Wurster]

Here's my table, which I updated recently. Previously those T-track went all the way to the front and sides, as Jim did, but I didn't have the "plus" pieces so there were just empty dados in the top. I replaced that with stopped dados that extend slightly beyond the end of the track.

The table has openings left and right of the insert where clamps can be used to hold down either more complex pieces or ones that require more force to keep stable. Otherwise I just use hold-down clamps via the T-tracks. I've been running with a circular insert for quite a while now.

The fence is the recently-released one from Woodpeckers that includes an opening in the middle for dust collection. I had to extend the opening on the brackets on the back of that slightly to make it work with my T-track spacing, but that was easy to do.

dp_table.jpg

[glenn bradley]

(Nice color combination, too...looks great!)

I know . I should be ashamed. I have no "badge" loyalty. I primarily go for function although I try to make things look neat. I now realize what a hodge-podge my DP is

[Brian Tymchak]

Nice table, Jim!

When I wanted to add a cross-wise tee track, I did it like this:

Attachment 448266

Thanks for that idea Jay!

[Jim Becker]

Steve, that design is really awesome! I wish I would have thought of the clamping slots, too...even more flexibility with those!

[Steve Wurster]

Steve, that design is really awesome! I wish I would have thought of the clamping slots, too...even more flexibility with those!

I believe I stole those from some magazine somewhere. They work great!