bigarm Posted March 2, 2016 Report Share Posted March 2, 2016 Not sure if this is the right place for this, but here goes anyway. Do any of you use a drill press table? If so, do you find it useful? Did you buy one or make your own? If you were to buy one, which one would it be? I would kind of like it to be easily installed. I have a Porter-Cable 12 speed drill press from Lowes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilgaron Posted March 2, 2016 Report Share Posted March 2, 2016 I have that drill press. I bought the cheapo drill press table at Harbor Freight. It isn't great, and I ended up modifying it a bit, mostly to make all of the parts go through it rather than depend on screw threads holding in the mdf-like substance. At the price of t track and clamps at Rockler or so, though, it is worth it even if you throw the table away and just keep the metal bits. The fence it comes with is also a bit tall for the handles on the drill press to pass. If you like tinkering and don't mind modifying it, it is far cheaper than others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AceHoleInOne Posted March 2, 2016 Report Share Posted March 2, 2016 Oh for sure a table is extremely helpful. It provides the stability for drilling long stock. Plus it become a convenient place to stack your crap on Make your own, its piece of cake. -Ace- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post wdwerker Posted March 2, 2016 Popular Post Report Share Posted March 2, 2016 A lot depends on what you want out of a drill press table. I need to drill holes in multiple locations accurately and repeatedly. So I bought the WoodPeckers drill press table & fence. It has flip up stops and a low profile fence. If you are drilling metal you need to clamp it down first. If the bit grabs it will take the metal and spin it dangerously fast. You can get seriously hurt or damage the drill press, bit or workpiece. A replaceable insert is a nice feature for a drill press table so you can get the underside backed up and prevent blowout. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted March 2, 2016 Report Share Posted March 2, 2016 24 minutes ago, AceHoleInOne said: Plus it become a convenient place to stack your crap on 24 minutes ago, AceHoleInOne said: -Ace- Heck yeah it does, my drill press is also a great place to store sawdust and wood chips because it's hard to get the broom around the back . I consider the pyramid between the post and the wall to be a measure of productivity or lazyness, can't decide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerkface42one Posted March 2, 2016 Report Share Posted March 2, 2016 A drill press table is definitely useful. They certainly make things easier in terms of getting reliable and repeatable results. You can usually get by without one, but they can save you a lot of time by not having to clamp pieces in sometimes awkward ways to get the job done. I just finished building my Roubo workbench which involves quite a bit of drilling in different pieces. While it turned out well, it was definitely a pain to get things clamped down and in the right position because the parts were so large and the stock table (Previous model of 12" Jet benchtop drill press) was so small. There are a number of places out there that have plans for making your own. I just ordered the WoodPeckers drill press table a couple of days ago myself. It's on backorder right now and probably won't get here for 2-3 weeks, unfortunately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted March 2, 2016 Report Share Posted March 2, 2016 I got a dust collection kit for my drill press from Peachtree. Jointed position able nozzle that's great at getting most of the chips it you are drilling a large number of holes. I never bother to drag a vac over and adjust the nozzle for only a couple of holes but when you drill multiple holes the chips can become a problem pretty quick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AceHoleInOne Posted March 2, 2016 Report Share Posted March 2, 2016 You don't need to be a fancy pants about this. Mine is simply a piece of MDF bolted down to the table. Really, building furniture, how much time do you really spend using the drill press. Save the shop cash for something else..........AS ALWAYS, that's how I see things through my rose colored glasses Instead of a replacement insert. When you need to back-up the exit wound of the drill. Simply lay down a piece of scrap. -Ace- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerkface42one Posted March 2, 2016 Report Share Posted March 2, 2016 Time is the bigger concern for me. I already don't get as much time in the shop as I would like so I would rather spend time building furniture as opposed to building my shop. For that reason alone, 90% of the time I would rather plunk down the cash and get something that I know is going to work well and do what I need it to do when I need it to do it. Examples being the WoodPecker's drill press table, Incra miter sled, etc. Everyone's situation is different. If you don't have the cash for stuff like this and want to build your own, that's a solid plan as well. If you have the cash but would prefer to spend it elsewhere, by all means do so. Different strokes and all that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted March 2, 2016 Report Share Posted March 2, 2016 I was going to build myself a drill press table & fence, but Lee Valley had one that wasn't much more than the cost of all the hardware. Works well for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Posted March 2, 2016 Report Share Posted March 2, 2016 2 hours ago, jerkface42one said: Time is the bigger concern for me. I already don't get as much time in the shop as I would like so I would rather spend time building furniture as opposed to building my shop. For that reason alone, 90% of the time I would rather plunk down the cash and get something that I know is going to work well and do what I need it to do when I need it to do it. Examples being the WoodPecker's drill press table, Incra miter sled, etc. Everyone's situation is different. If you don't have the cash for stuff like this and want to build your own, that's a solid plan as well. If you have the cash but would prefer to spend it elsewhere, by all means do so. Different strokes and all that. I'm 100% with you on this. I just ordered the Woodpecker one from Acme Tools during their feb 29 sale. It's completely worth it for me. I have some jigs and shop stuff that I've built or am building (sled, jointing jig, cabinets) and some stuff that I just don't want to build (DP table, iBox jig.) I'd just rather spend my time trying to make the things I want rather than spending it building things I need to build the things I want. That may change someday if I no longer drive an hour to and from work and would have more free time, but for a while that won't be happening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beechwood Chip Posted March 2, 2016 Report Share Posted March 2, 2016 Mathias doesn't use a drill press table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjtboy Posted March 2, 2016 Report Share Posted March 2, 2016 I have that same PC drill press from Lowes and was originally going to buy the Woodpeckers table mentioned here too - looks like a great unit. Ultimately I decided to make my own, as it is super easy and hard to screw up. I could have gone super cheapo and just stuck with scraps, but I ended up buying a t-track and clamp set from Rockler for it (that was about $35). The ply and sm piece of walnut I used was scrap leftover - I did buy the "chalk board" top material I used for this from HD for another $10 just cause I thought it looked cool (and used the remaining piece to cut additional removable inserts while I had all the settings on the table saw - used about a 15 degree bevel to lock insert in place). Here are the pics. As I said, dead easy to build - took only a few hours not counting time for glue to dry on laminated pieces that make up the fence. I was initially nervous about attaching a table the the stock DP table as it had no holes and was using this as an excuse that I needed to buy - but drilling through the stock DP table to attach via bolts was so simple - I just used my regular twist bits and it went through the table cleanly and easily. Then I attached my shop made table through these holes with bolts/washers. This is a similar design to plans from Wood magazine and the one that Steve from WWFMM made a video on. I did extend the fence a bit and made the lock down slots in the fence longer as well, so I can slide it from side to side off the table's edge for extended stop-block use. I find it makes using the drill press more efficient and easier for me, well worth making or buying one. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janello Posted March 2, 2016 Report Share Posted March 2, 2016 I have a piece of mdf. My fence is a jointed piece of maple and 2 screw clamps to adjust it. I use my drill press a lot and would like a better set-up but I am to lazy to make one and haven't gotten around to buying better yet. What I have works, it's just not great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Posted March 3, 2016 Report Share Posted March 3, 2016 3 hours ago, Beechwood Chip said: Mathias doesn't use a drill press table. That guy... the more I see of him the weirder I think he is. Wasn't terribly fond of his ama on reddit either. But he's brilliant. 2 hours ago, cjtboy said: I have that same PC drill press from Lowes and was originally going to buy the Woodpeckers table mentioned here too - looks like a great unit. Ultimately I decided to make my own, as it is super easy and hard to screw up. I could have gone super cheapo and just stuck with scraps, but I ended up buying a t-track and clamp set from Rockler for it (that was about $35). The ply and sm piece of walnut I used was scrap leftover - I did buy the "chalk board" top material I used for this from HD for another $10 just cause I thought it looked cool (and used the remaining piece to cut additional removable inserts while I had all the settings on the table saw - used about a 15 degree bevel to lock insert in place). Here are the pics. As I said, dead easy to build - took only a few hours not counting time for glue to dry on laminated pieces that make up the fence. I was initially nervous about attaching a table the the stock DP table as it had no holes and was using this as an excuse that I needed to buy - but drilling through the stock DP table to attach via bolts was so simple - I just used my regular twist bits and it went through the table cleanly and easily. Then I attached my shop made table through these holes with bolts/washers. This is a similar design to plans from Wood magazine and the one that Steve from WWFMM made a video on. I did extend the fence a bit and made the lock down slots in the fence longer as well, so I can slide it from side to side off the table's edge for extended stop-block use. I find it makes using the drill press more efficient and easier for me, well worth making or buying one. Ha, I got this same drill press for my bday last month. I like it a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjtboy Posted March 3, 2016 Report Share Posted March 3, 2016 2 hours ago, Cliff said: Ha, I got this same drill press for my bday last month. I like it a lot. Yeah, really great DP for the price. I have been pleasantly surprised by it! Can't remember which magazine - it was probably Fine woodworking or Wood, but they recently named it best value buy or something like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
logos Posted March 3, 2016 Report Share Posted March 3, 2016 Here's mine. Roughly followed an online tutorial from the redneck woodworker. It was pretty straight forward using his video. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdolcourt Posted March 16, 2016 Report Share Posted March 16, 2016 My attempt resulted in the attached. The was parallel sides should be perpendicular to the fence. The fence is hollow to allow chips to suck through. Idea being the key word. It works, but the fence takes up a lot of room and could (will) be redone to be more compact. But I do like the drawers on the sides and space for forstner bits in the center. I find the storage useful. Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conundrum Posted May 7, 2016 Report Share Posted May 7, 2016 I have two drill presses. One I use for metal and one for wood. I built a table and storage for my wood one and I absolutely love it. It make repetttive drilling much easier and I feel better organized. My table has T-slots, a fence, replaceable waste boards and extended adjustment handles. I saw the original ideas for mine in ShopNotes (www.shopnotes.com - highly recommended). I also got the basic idea for my under drill press storage cabinet there as well. I also added lock-down wheels so now I can easily move the drill press if I need to clean. I am now happy with my drill press all the way around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.