drill press table from shopnotes

DejaVoodoo wrote:
> I was looking for ideas for a drill press table when I came across
>
> http://www.shopnotes.com/issues/094/extras/drill-press-table-and-fence-system/
>
> Has anyone built this? The plans or picture do not show the back of
> the fence. I'm looking for ideas of how to attach it so that both
> left and right sides can be adjustable latterally but stay even like
> the rockler drill press table.

I didn't build that one, but I'll offer a couple of ideas I used in the
drill press table at

http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/Projects/DrillPressTable/

I used a 2x4 for a fence, and drilled it so that I could use it flat or
standing.

I notched one side the fence using a Forstner bit just a tad larger than
my chuck body to make it easy to drill near the edge of a workpiece with
a small bit.

I made the table deeper than the column and added a cut-out so that the
table could be tilted. The additional table space has been helpful.

I routed a stepped cut-out so I could use replaceable inserts. If you
plan to do drum sanding on your press (I don't, but I chew up inserts
fairly regularly), you might make your cut-out large enough for your
largest drum.

Take care in locating the fence knobs to make sure they don't interfere
with the feed levers (I screwed that up, and will correct in my next
version).

IMO, it's not particularly handy to have the fence always parallel to
the front edge of the table. Small adjustments are easier to make when
you can nudge one end of the fence a skoosh and re-tighten.

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/

> I built it, and am quite pleased with it. The fence attaches to the
> top via the two fore and aft t-tracks and the two knobs aft of the
> fence. Some angular adjustment is inherent to the per-plans design,
> but there are no provisions for side to side movement of the two sides
> of the fence. If that were a vital requirement, I'd replace the
> t-tracks on the fence with a couple of t-bolts and mount the tracks on
> a pair of moveable fences that could then slide side to side. Though
> to be honest, I've found no need for such adjustment.
>
> If you do build this per the plans, be sure to check the size of your
> existing DP table against the dimensions in the plans. I didn't, and
> found my table was wider than what the plans assumed. As a result, the
> edge of the iron table interferes with using clamps in the inboard
> slots. Even so, I find it very usable and useful..
>
> Tom Veatch
> Wichita, KS
> USA

Thank you Morris and Tom. Lots of good ideas from you both.
Yesterday I picked up a piece of formica to laminate the top with - I
hoping to get started on it this weekend.

Mark

On Mon, 18 Aug 2008 06:14:36 -0700 (PDT), DejaVoodoo
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Has anyone built this? The plans or picture do not show the back of
>the fence. I'm looking for ideas of how to attach it so that both
>left and right sides can be adjustable latterally but stay even like
>the rockler drill press table.
>
>Thanks
>Mark

I built it, and am quite pleased with it. The fence attaches to the
top via the two fore and aft t-tracks and the two knobs aft of the
fence. Some angular adjustment is inherent to the per-plans design,
but there are no provisions for side to side movement of the two sides
of the fence. If that were a vital requirement, I'd replace the
t-tracks on the fence with a couple of t-bolts and mount the tracks on
a pair of moveable fences that could then slide side to side. Though
to be honest, I've found no need for such adjustment.

If you do build this per the plans, be sure to check the size of your
existing DP table against the dimensions in the plans. I didn't, and
found my table was wider than what the plans assumed. As a result, the
edge of the iron table interferes with using clamps in the inboard
slots. Even so, I find it very usable and useful..

Tom Veatch
Wichita, KS
USA