A Different Kind of Drill Press Table

[CharleyL]

A few years ago I made a drill press table for one of my bench mounted drill presses, specifically for precisely drilling small holes in exactly the same position on many small pieces of wood. I wanted it easy to adjust, usually by marking the hole position on the first piece and then setting the fence and stop so that every part would receive the hole in the exact same position. I already had a Wixey cross hair laser unit on this drill press, but proceeded to super tune it so that it displayed the laser lines to cross at exactly where my smallest drill bit would drill the hole. I then build the table from 3/4" birch cabinet ply and used some poplar scraps for the fence, fence position lock, and the sliding stop. All were just scraps from my scrap bin. 

I chose to pivot the fence using a bolt through the left end and the left rear of the table. The fence does not need to be parallel with anything but the flat side of the part being drilled, so a pivoting fence eliminates the second adjustment point. (I did go back and undercut the fence to keep saw dust from affecting the position of my part against the fence after I took these photos. It's recommended that you do this). A single knob then allows me to adjust the fence position along the curved arc of the right edge of the table, and then lock it in position by pinching the table edge between the fence and the block below the table by tightening the knob. I added a sliding stop to the top of the fence using a piece of small T track, the size that will allow the hex head of a 1/4-20 bolt to slide into. The stop is then easily locked in place, again with only one knob. 

I can perfectly position the first part to be drilled using the hole position mark on the part and double check this position by bringing the drill bit down and partially drilling the hole. Then I stop the drill press and lock the spindle with the bit still in the hole. Then I can move the fence until it is against the side of the work piece and lock it in place. Then move the stop along the fence until it is against the end of the work piece and lock it in place. Then I loosen the spindle lock to retract the spindle, hold the work piece against the fence and stop, and then start the drill press and complete the hole. Every part that I position against the fence and stop can then be drilled in exactly the same position as this first piece. I still use the laser cross hairs to verify that nothing has changed as I drill each piece. 

The design is relatively simple and the photos pretty much self explanatory. Dimensions aren't very critical either. I built this table in about 2 hours, using just what I had in the shop. The bolts used to attach the table to the drill press table are carriage bolts so had to have their heads recessed in the table. The knobs below are just two plastic wing knobs that fit the carriage bolts, and they are positioned to go through the slots in the metal table, so I can move this wood table forward and back and lock it in position easily. I use two hanger bolts, a long one and a short one, for the table clamp  The short one just keeps the clamp piece from rotating when the long bolt and knob above are loose. I think this hanger bolt and knob are 1/4-20, but most any size close will work. The long hanger bolt wood threads are screwed into the clamp block and the machine screw end goes through a clearance hole in the fence to the knob. The shorter hangar bolt is also screwed into the clamp, but just goes into a blind clearance hole in the bottom of the fence. It's only purpose is to keep the clamp block from rotating when the clamp knob is loose. I used a long bolt (I don't remember the size) long enough to reach through the fence and table, several flat washers, and a stop nut on the pivoting end of the fence, with one thin flat washer between the fence and the table. Tighten this bolt only enough to eliminate the play, but not so tight that the fence won't swivel easily. 

This table installs and removes from the metal drill press table very easily, but I have two bench top drill presses, so I have pretty much dedicated this one to drilling small holes in multi piece jobs, so the table is usually left in place and the drill press belt is positioned for a relatively high speed for the small holes. It sits just to the right of my most used scroll saw and a coiled hose air gun hangs from the ceiling between them, which is frequently used at both positions for clearing the table of saw dust. I have a similar sized variable speed drill press that tends to get used for everything else, except for the big projects, like drilling with 3 7/8 Forstner bits, etc. I have a floor standing drill press for that. In the photo showing the drill bit I installed a much larger drill bit than normally used, so it could be seen in the photo.

Charley

 

 

 

 

[tgiro]

That's a neat idea. I'm always trying to get both ends of my fence aligned correctly. Yours is kind of set & forget.

[Scrappile]

Thanks, I like it.

[OCtoolguy]

Perfect timing Charley. I've been going to build a d/p table. Now I don't have to design it. Thanks.

Edited April 9, 2020 by octoolguy

[Hudson River Rick]

Nice design Charley.  

I have close to that design on my router table, but I really like the arc you put on your table and will borrow (?) that idea if you don't mind.  I think I see a new fence in the near future for my drill press.  Thanks for sharing. 

[Rockytime]

Now that is slik!

[OCtoolguy]

On 4/9/2020 at 8:23 AM, CharleyL said:

A few years ago I made a drill press table for one of my bench mounted drill presses, specifically for precisely drilling small holes in exactly the same position on many small pieces of wood. I wanted it easy to adjust, usually by marking the hole position on the first piece and then setting the fence and stop so that every part would receive the hole in the exact same position. I already had a Wixey cross hair laser unit on this drill press, but proceeded to super tune it so that it displayed the laser lines to cross at exactly where my smallest drill bit would drill the hole. I then build the table from 3/4" birch cabinet ply and used some poplar scraps for the fence, fence position lock, and the sliding stop. All were just scraps from my scrap bin. 

I chose to pivot the fence using a bolt through the left end and the left rear of the table. The fence does not need to be parallel with anything but the flat side of the part being drilled, so a pivoting fence eliminates the second adjustment point. (I did go back and undercut the fence to keep saw dust from affecting the position of my part against the fence after I took these photos. It's recommended that you do this). A single knob then allows me to adjust the fence position along the curved arc of the right edge of the table, and then lock it in position by pinching the table edge between the fence and the block below the table by tightening the knob. I added a sliding stop to the top of the fence using a piece of small T track, the size that will allow the hex head of a 1/4-20 bolt to slide into. The stop is then easily locked in place, again with only one knob. 

I can perfectly position the first part to be drilled using the hole position mark on the part and double check this position by bringing the drill bit down and partially drilling the hole. Then I stop the drill press and lock the spindle with the bit still in the hole. Then I can move the fence until it is against the side of the work piece and lock it in place. Then move the stop along the fence until it is against the end of the work piece and lock it in place. Then I loosen the spindle lock to retract the spindle, hold the work piece against the fence and stop, and then start the drill press and complete the hole. Every part that I position against the fence and stop can then be drilled in exactly the same position as this first piece. I still use the laser cross hairs to verify that nothing has changed as I drill each piece. 

The design is relatively simple and the photos pretty much self explanatory. Dimensions aren't very critical either. I built this table in about 2 hours, using just what I had in the shop. The bolts used to attach the table to the drill press table are carriage bolts so had to have their heads recessed in the table. The knobs below are just two plastic wing knobs that fit the carriage bolts, and they are positioned to go through the slots in the metal table, so I can move this wood table forward and back and lock it in position easily. I use two hanger bolts, a long one and a short one, for the table clamp  The short one just keeps the clamp piece from rotating when the long bolt and knob above are loose. I think this hanger bolt and knob are 1/4-20, but most any size close will work. The long hanger bolt wood threads are screwed into the clamp block and the machine screw end goes through a clearance hole in the fence to the knob. The shorter hangar bolt is also screwed into the clamp, but just goes into a blind clearance hole in the bottom of the fence. It's only purpose is to keep the clamp block from rotating when the clamp knob is loose. I used a long bolt (I don't remember the size) long enough to reach through the fence and table, several flat washers, and a stop nut on the pivoting end of the fence, with one thin flat washer between the fence and the table. Tighten this bolt only enough to eliminate the play, but not so tight that the fence won't swivel easily. 

This table installs and removes from the metal drill press table very easily, but I have two bench top drill presses, so I have pretty much dedicated this one to drilling small holes in multi piece jobs, so the table is usually left in place and the drill press belt is positioned for a relatively high speed for the small holes. It sits just to the right of my most used scroll saw and a coiled hose air gun hangs from the ceiling between them, which is frequently used at both positions for clearing the table of saw dust. I have a similar sized variable speed drill press that tends to get used for everything else, except for the big projects, like drilling with 3 7/8 Forstner bits, etc. I have a floor standing drill press for that. In the photo showing the drill bit I installed a much larger drill bit than normally used, so it could be seen in the photo.

Charley

 

 

 

 

Charley, did you build/make your own laser point or is it something that came with your drill press? I want to put something like that on my little d/p too.

edit: Never mind that question. I went back and reread your post and saw what you did. I'll have to see if I can get one.

 

Edited April 14, 2020 by octoolguy

[CharleyL]

I received one of the laser units with my Delta floor standing drill press, and hated it when first trying to use the laser unit, because the cross hairs moved position as I moved the table up and down. Then, one day I decided to figure out what was wrong with it and discovered that the laser units were in need of slight rotation to make their lines truly vertical. This required placing a 1/2" diameter rod painted white and with a point on the bottom, into the drill chuck of the drill press. With It in place I made a pointed dent into the wood drill press table. Then I rotated the laser line generators until each projected a perfectly vertical line on the back side of the white rod in the drill chuck.  Only then could I move the laser cross hairs until they crossed at the small dent in the wood table. Once doing all of this, I could raise or lower the drill press table or change the thickness of the parts that I was drilling and have the cross hairs remain crossed in the exact point where the drill bit would begin drilling the hole. 

After this calibration, I loved using the laser cross hairs, so I bought the Wixey units for each of my smaller benchtop Delta drill presses and went through the same calibration procedure. You want to attach the laser units as high as possible to the column, up against the bottom of the drill press head. The Wixey units proved to be much better made and were already calibrated quite well. They also produced a much narrower cross hair than the one on my floor standing drill press. I still performed the same calibration procedure on both to get them as perfect as possible, and I am very impressed with the end result.  The mounting clamp and frame of the Wixey units are steel, so they can be clamped very tightly to the column. The cross hair unit that came with my floor standing drill press is all plastic, so it can't be clamped tightly, and it gets knocked off position easily. I have been considering buying another Wixey to replace it, but haven't done this yet. To me, the laser cross hairs make it easy to see where the drill bit will begin cutting.

Adding the drill press table described above lets me position the first part in the position desired by using the cross hairs and holding it in that position while using only my right hand to loosen and move the fence up against one side of the piece and lock it in that position, then moving the fence stop, also using just my right hand until it touches the piece and locking it in that position, again using only my right hand, lets me make quick setups for drilling not only this first piece, but every duplicate piece for that project, and every one of the work pieces will have the same hole in exactly the same position with reference to that side and end of my work pieces. I have mostly been using this setup to drill the ear ring holes in the heads of my 1" high reindeer blocks before cutting the reindeer out of the blocks on my scroll saw, but I have used the drill press table for many other small projects as well. The ability to see the cross hairs where the first hole will go, and then be able to hold the first piece in position with one hand while moving the fence and stop into position with the other hand had proven to be perfect for my needs. 

Charley

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 14, 2020 by CharleyL

[OCtoolguy]

2 hours ago, CharleyL said:

I received one of the laser units with my Delta floor standing drill press, and hated it when first trying to use the laser unit, because the cross hairs moved position as I moved the table up and down. Then, one day I decided to figure out what was wrong with it and discovered that the laser units were in need of slight rotation to make their lines truly vertical. This required placing a 1/2" diameter rod painted white and with a point on the bottom, into the drill chuck of the drill press. With It in place I made a pointed dent into the wood drill press table. Then I rotated the laser line generators until each projected a perfectly vertical line on the back side of the white rod in the drill chuck.  Only then could I move the laser cross hairs until they crossed at the small dent in the wood table. Once doing all of this, I could raise or lower the drill press table or change the thickness of the parts that I was drilling and have the cross hairs remain crossed in the exact point where the drill bit would begin drilling the hole. 

After this calibration, I loved using the laser cross hairs, so I bought the Wixey units for each of my smaller benchtop Delta drill presses and went through the same calibration procedure. You want to attach the laser units as high as possible to the column, up against the bottom of the drill press head. The Wixey units proved to be much better made and were already calibrated quite well. They also produced a much narrower cross hair than the one on my floor standing drill press. I still performed the same calibration procedure on both to get them as perfect as possible, and I am very impressed with the end result.  The mounting clamp and frame of the Wixey units are steel, so they can be clamped very tightly to the column. The cross hair unit that came with my floor standing drill press is all plastic, so it can't be clamped tightly, and it gets knocked off position easily. I have been considering buying another Wixey to replace it, but haven't done this yet. To me, the laser cross hairs make it easy to see where the drill bit will begin cutting.

Adding the drill press table described above lets me position the first part in the position desired by using the cross hairs and holding it in that position while using only my right hand to loosen and move the fence up against one side of the piece and lock it in that position, then moving the fence stop, also using just my right hand until it touches the piece and locking it in that position, again using only my right hand, lets me make quick setups for drilling not only this first piece, but every duplicate piece for that project, and every one of the work pieces will have the same hole in exactly the same position with reference to that side and end of my work pieces. I have mostly been using this setup to drill the ear ring holes in the heads of my 1" high reindeer blocks before cutting the reindeer out of the blocks on my scroll saw, but I have used the drill press table for many other small projects as well. The ability to see the cross hairs where the first hole will go, and then be able to hold the first piece in position with one hand while moving the fence and stop into position with the other hand had proven to be perfect for my needs. 

Charley

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the explanation Charley. I'm going to put a Wixey on my wish list.

 

[CharleyL]

https://www.amazon.com/Wixey-Model-WL133-Drill-Press/dp/B01NAT54TX

 

Charley

[OCtoolguy]

3 hours ago, CharleyL said:

https://www.amazon.com/Wixey-Model-WL133-Drill-Press/dp/B01NAT54TX

 

Charley

Thanks Charley, I checked them out a couple days ago. I just have to wait a while before spending any money. Times are tough right now. Well, sorta tough.

[CharleyL]

3 hours ago, octoolguy said:

Thanks Charley, I checked them out a couple days ago. I just have to wait a while before spending any money. Times are tough right now. Well, sorta tough.

Ok, I realized that I hadn't put the link in my post, so just added it here. Take whatever time you need, but if/when you decide to build the table and/or buy the laser unit, send a note if you have any problems. You can get good use out of the table even without buying the laser.

Charley

[OCtoolguy]

41 minutes ago, CharleyL said:

Ok, I realized that I hadn't put the link in my post, so just added it here. Take whatever time you need, but if/when you decide to build the table and/or buy the laser unit, send a note if you have any problems. You can get good use out of the table even without buying the laser.

Charley

Oh yes, for certain. I have been going to build some sort of table but hadn't decided on a design. Now yours is just right. I don't have room for anything any larger than yours. It will be a fun build. Thanks again for all your input here on the Village.