I made an unnecessarily complicated drill press table

[ryanjg117]

I acquired an old Boice-Crane drill press a few months back, which has served me well working with both metal and wood. However, rather than a typical table with t-slots, this drill press has a "production table" which is essentially a solid milled metal slab:

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I'm going to predominantly use this tool for woodworking, but I do like the flexibility to occasionally drill metal as well. I researched some of the commercially available drill press tables out there and settled on a fairly blatant ripoff of the Woodpeckers design. I already had a few MagSwitch MagJig 95 magnetic clamps lying around, so I decided that is how I would affix this auxiliary table to the original metal production table. The magnetic switches are nice, but they are designed to be mounted into 3/4" plywood. Plus, I wanted them recessed under the top of the new table, and out of the way so that I could utilize the full size of the table. Ultimately, this meant I needed a really thick base.

I ended up laminating three boards together - each cut on the Shaper Origin - and then glued them together. Here you can see a spiffy animation of the "sandwich" along with some of the hardware:

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Cut the bottom layer first. Upside down since I wanted to countersink the holes for the t-tracks:

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Here can see my "cleats," which fit a bit too tight and required some sanding even though I included a .01" offset when I cut it on the Shaper:

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With cleats dry fitted:

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Second layer cut, this one was just 3/8" thick to provide the necessary cubbie depth for the MagSwitches:

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Top layer cut:

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Here you can see a close-up of the MagSwitch recess. Kudos to MagSwitch for providing their 3D STL files on their website.

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And here you can see the MagSwitches in their recesses. Ended up being a very tight fit.

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The easiest way to make a drill press table is with another drill press table. Here's the proof:

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Inserting the threaded fasteners. My plan here was to use machine screws to "kiss" the production table on all edges, so that it could be removed and re-installed in the extact same X and Y location relative to the drill press head. I ended up applying some Loctite to those screws once they were in the perfect position.

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Glue-up of the bottom two layers:

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By the way, this RooClear stuff is incredible. Using it because my top and bottom layers are laminate-faced. Won this glue at an auction for a woodshop that closed down (along with a lifetime supply of Titebond). Glued together a couple test pieces before hand, and wow, I could not break them apart by hand even without any mechanical fastener.

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Glue-up of the final layer, completing the sandwhich:

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Here's where I got a bit lazy. I was about to purchase the Incra T-Track Plus and a bunch of sliding rule tape, but I discovered that Woodpeckers sells the drill press tracks standalone (without the table). Opted for that kit even though it has some deficiencies:

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The laser engraved t-tracks are nice, but I didn't even think about their location relative to my drill press head, which was a mistake. Of course my drill head doesn't register at the "0" position on these tracks. So, I'll likely have to get some Incra tape and CA glue it on top later. Not critical.

Anyway, there you go. Perhaps the most complicated woodworking drill press table conceived?

 

[Sparktrician]

I really like your thinking!  [smile]

 

[RKA]

I like it, very well done! (and nothing wrong with unnecessarily complicated, what else would we do with our time?  )

I had the same issue with the WP track.  I wasn't thinking about the 0 point on the tracks until I finished mounting their table.  Didn't seem like it was worth the effort to adjust the table and the interface board between their table the the DP table.  Reflecting back it was stupid to laser engrave those markings, a sliding rule and track that you can zero out (ala incra) would have been much better.  But that's not critical, most of the time we only need the marks on the fence. 

 

[ryanjg117]

Reflecting back it was stupid to laser engrave those markings, a sliding rule and track that you can zero out (ala incra) would have been much better.  But that's not critical, most of the time we only need the marks on the fence.

Yeah, it makes me wonder why Woodpeckers sells these tables with laser engraved markings, unless there is a standard throat size for most woodworking drill presses? But you're right, perpendicularity is not that critical since it's all about where the fence is positioned at the point you're drilling. Much like why a router fence doesn't really need to be perfectly aligned.

 

[Cheese]

Nice job...I love what that Shaper can do.  [big grin]

With the bolts "kissing" the cast production table, you probably didn't need the MagSwitches. Just there for peace of mind?

For metal working and other larger projects, I'd recommend installing the Woodpeckers tall DP3 fence or even modifying that piece of 8020 and use it as a fence. Recently I had a number of through-holes that needed to be placed on each end of some 2" ABS pipe. By using the DP3 I could clamp a work stop to one end of the fence and then also clamp the ABS pipe to the fence so that all of the holes were located exactly and the parts then were interchangeable.

 

[Bob D.]

I used a pair of self-adjusting clamps to secure mine to the DP. This makes for an easy on/off. It's close to lining up with the quill, about 1/4" off. If I coped the back edge of the DP table I could make it but it's not a big deal to me. I just use the scale as a reference. I think it is possible to slide the pair of tracks in the table forward or back, they are not fixed in the table. I may give that a try.

 

[ryanjg117]

With the bolts "kissing" the cast production table, you probably didn't need the MagSwitches. Just there for peace of mind?

You might be right about the magnet switches not really being necessary - and certainly three MagSwitches is probably overkill. From what I've discovered, these magnets are super-strong against lifting, but less effective against lateral forces. I'll probably keep the single magswitch in the back turned on, just to prevent any lifting as bits are drawn up (still unlikely given the mass of this table), and probably find other uses for the two other magswitches. How about a bandsaw blade holder that will attach vertically to the back spine of my Rockwell 20"?

 

[Cheese]

1. You might be right about the magnet switches not really being necessary - and certainly three MagSwitches is probably overkill.
2. From what I've discovered, these magnets are super-strong against lifting, but less effective against lateral forces.
3. I'll probably keep the single magswitch in the back turned on, just to prevent any lifting as bits are drawn up (still unlikely given the mass of this table), and probably find other uses for the two other magswitches.

1. I captured my Woodpeckers drill press top in a very similar fashion on a Delta production table. It works well unless I place long, heavy steel items on the table, then it can at some times lift one side of the Woodpeckers drill press top. I also routinely use a 40# Heinrich vise on the table and if that's located substantially off-center, it will tend to tip the Woodpeckers top.

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2. You're dead on with your supposition of the lateral force issues with the MagSwitch.  Here's a photo of a simple yoke assembly fabbed from 3/4" ply that supports a light weight hose and a plastic nozzle. It contains 2 each 65# MagSwitches that adhere it to the cast iron table. So it has 130# of attractive force yet 5# or less, of side force can knock this thing off of the table. I'm replacing the 65# units with a couple of 90# units. Unfortunately that means this whole thing has to be reconfigured.

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3. Rather than utilizing the closest MagSwitch, I'd energize the furthest away MagSwitch especially when working with steel. They will suck up any and all metal shavings in the area which could become a real nuisance.

 

[nclemmons]

Nice design Ryan -

I think I would have just drilled and tapped the cast table for machine screws from the top of the table, given the magnets and metal shavings.

Your 3-D animation and Shaper work are fantastic!

 

[schneems]

What dust collection kit is this? Where did you get it from? Do you like it?

 

[Jiggy Joiner]

I like it, and don’t see it as over complicated. When making things, it’s nice to do it to your spec and needs  [thumbs up]

This is one I made fairly recently, I went with circular inserts, as I‘ve learnt you get more use from circular than square.

To secure mine, I fitted some hardwood keys, and a couple of toggle clamps. This is a solid set up that sits right every time, and quick to to fit or remove.
I added an extraction port in the fence, this gets most of the debris, if any gets left behind, I just pull the hose out of the port, and vacuum off.
I used a Festool 27mm hose, and have the remote for ease of use.

It’s working out well for me so far.
If I did another, I might use as some of the guys here suggested in another thread, use U channel secured with nuts and bolts as a stronger job. Or maybe dovetail C channel.
I fixed my C channels with epoxy, and long coarse thread screws, so far, so good but, sometimes the channels can lift with excess clamp pressure

Always room for improvement I guess  [wink]

 

[ryanjg117]

Very nice - liking that toggle clamp mounted on the underside, and the tall fence. Thinking of springing for the Woodpeckers DP3 tall fence if I see it on sale, or might repurpose some 40x80 aluminum extrusion as a fence.

This drill press is getting less use as I have a bigger Powermatic 1150A with speed adjust and have been doing more metalworking projects lately. I've got a few ideas for a raised tab/slot fixture table I might build in the near future.

 

[Cheese]

Very nice - liking that toggle clamp mounted on the underside, and the tall fence. Thinking of springing for the Woodpeckers DP3 tall fence if I see it on sale, or might repurpose some 40x80 aluminum extrusion as a fence.

The DP3 is nice...highly recommend. I don't use it much but when I need it I've always shook my head and mumbled...money well spent.  [big grin]

 

[Mike Goetzke]

Very nice - liking that toggle clamp mounted on the underside, and the tall fence. Thinking of springing for the Woodpeckers DP3 tall fence if I see it on sale, or might repurpose some 40x80 aluminum extrusion as a fence.

The DP3 is nice...highly recommend. I don't use it much but when I need it I've always shook my head and mumbled...money well spent.  [big grin]

I'm looking to build or buy a DP table. Many great ideas here. When I looked at Woodpeck I noticed a table I haven't seen before. It's called the DP-PRO. Anyone have hands on experience with this one?

Thanks

 

[FestitaMakool]

A bit off topic of these comprehensive set ups in this thread, but I noticed these simple tables, yet look like that they hold many nice features, from Veritas:https://www.leevalley.com/en-gb/search#q=Drill press table&sort=relevancy&numberOfResults=24