Another custom-built drill press table

[hdv]

I noticed a couple of people posted their custom-built drill press table, so I thought to add another one. Who knows? It might  inspire someone to make an even better one.

I started out with a CAD drawing. If anyone wants a copy, it is available, but in a non-standard format (FreeCAD).

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First I have to move the handles outward, because otherwise they would get blocked by the platform.

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I also added a Wixey depth gauge and a laser, because my drill press didn't have those.

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Here's the platform with integrated T-tracks and centre scales.

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You might notice the laser lines do not cross in the centre of the sacrificial plate. That is on purpose. I wanted to use round backer boards, because square ones can only be used on 4 sides. Now I can get a lot more mileage out of them by just turning them a few degrees. There's a finger hole to make it easy to replace or turn the backer boards. And the boards are inserted in another insert  [tongue]

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I did that so I could easily replace the drilling insert with sanding inserts for drums with different widths.

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Obviously dust collection when drillng would be nice to have as well

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And to have dust collection when sanding I put the platform on a box with a dust port that fits my CTL26.

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The whole assembly is fixed with 4 bolts that can easily be loosened if I need to remove the table.

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I had a Woodpeckers Super Fence that I didn't use yet, that I now use as a fence (both vertical and horizontal). I made 2 blocks that are perfectly square to fix the fence in vertical mode to the tracks. On the fence I epoxied a left and a right lexan scale to create a centre scale. The epoxy works really well for this. There is still no peeling at all.

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Sometimes I have very small pieces where the knuckle clamps I use don't work that well. So I made a wooden sub fence that can be attached to the T-tracks for those situations.

Finally I put the drill press on a platform with casters so I could move it when needed.

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Up to now I am very satisfied with this contraption. If there is one thing I regret then it is that I didn't notice in time that the guide rail had moved when I routed the groove for the right T-track. I won't repeat the noises I uttered when I found out...  [scared][crying]

 

[Mike Goetzke]

Very nice setup. I especially like the WP super track and flip-stops.

Can you share where you purchased the two directional measuring tape?

Thanks
Mike

 

[Klemm]

[member=66485]hdv[/member]  - what a terrific contribution of ideas on the FOG - thanks for going to the trouble of documenting and sharing it here - right down to the oversize mobile base for this notoriously tippy piece of equipment.

Hans

 

[hdv]

Thanks Mike, Hans!

Those are standard Incra scales. You can find them here. They do have imperial versions as well. In the past I tried to glue them with CA glue, but I wouldn't recommend that anymore. Epoxy really does give much better results. It takes a little bit more time to prepare (taping, sanding, and wiping with acetone) and cure, but if you do it right you will never have to redo it after that. With CA glue I often had to re-glue after about a year or so. And sometimes (not always) the plastic started peeling. I never had that happen to me when I used epoxy as a glue.

Indeed, the base prevents tipping. The drill press never has since it is on this base. The little black nobs are used to move rubber feet up or down. This has two uses: levelling and locking. It is a cheap solution, and it works great. But after I built this base I found out about toggle clamps. Next time I would use a pair of those.

There is one thing I plan on adding later: a cover for the base of the drill press itself. To prevent stuff falling through the slits.

The Super Fence and those great flip stops are wonderful for indexing.

 

[hdv]

Oh, another thing. It is important to glue shortly after wiping the sanded metal. This is because aluminium/aluminum will oxidize, and that will negatively impact the bond between the epoxy and the metal. I usually wait 10 minutes. Acetone evaporates very fast, so that should be enough. That is if you used a moist tissue, and did not douse the metal in acetone.  [wink]