care of incra drill press table; phenolic tops, DP suggestions wanted...

[goforbroke442nd]

Found an incra drill press table for sale locally and was able to pick it up over the weekend.  definitely is one of the nicer designs for a drill press table I've seen.  looks almost exactly like the one here, except the stops are larger red ones usually pictured on the incra router system fences http://www.thisoldworkshop.com/review-incra.htm

I was wondering what's the best way to clean the red phenolic table top (alittle dirty with some light surface scratches), and what sort of surface protection to use?  (I'm thinking carnauba wax).  Although its just a DP table, it is very well built and something I'd like to maintain and hand down in the future.

Now I'm looking for a better drill press; the HF benchtop press I current have doesn't do this table justice!  I keep reading about looking for older US made ones, followed by Taiwan/ROC jet presses, followed by Taiwan/ROC brands.  Are there any good newer DPs?  Any good newer variable speed presses?  Any DP's still made in the US that aren't uber $$$?

Thanks in advance...

 

[flair woodworks]

I have the Steel City 17" floor drill press and am really happy with it.  Speeds are changed via pulleys which is quick enough for me.  I don't change the speeds that often anyways.

To clean the table, perhaps just a damp rag?

 

[PeterK]

The phenolic surface is very thin but chemically tough. You can wipe it with mineral spirits, WD40 or whatever works. Scratches are there forever unless you want to try polishing it with something very fine. I purchased several sheets in various thicknesses from Woodpeckers a couple years ago for jigs, tabletops, etc. I just live with the scratches. Only other thing would be to adhere a laminate layer to resurface it.

 

[goforbroke442nd]

Sorry, been on travel for alittle while.  Thanks for the help.  I saw a delta 18-900, and all I can say is WOW!  Not sure if I'd want to mount my incra table on that since it already has a great table.  So the search is still on for a decent and less expensive DP for my little incra table...