Fixing Hardboard on Drill Press Table

[ReLMAustin]

Hi!

I'm working on a drill press table that is a hybrid of plans I've seen online or in magazines. Many of the plans suggest using hardboard for the top and making a replaceable piece for the middle. That is the part I am at.

I glued two pieces of hardboard to a sturdy plywood base. Then, I made the insert for the middle. The problem is that when I put it all together, I can see that the three pieces do not sit flush. One side, especially, seems to have a bulge in the middle of the edge that rides against the insert. This is the far side of the insert in the photo, and you can make out the dark line where it sets proud.

Is there any good way to fix this? I'm thinking of just sanding the high places to get it flush, but I'm not sure how well the hardboard will survive that. Are there any better ways to flatten hardboard once it is attached?

Thanks!

Edit: For some reason the system won't let me upload a photo. It just gives a captcha challenge in a tiny box I can't even read. Here is the photo: http://imgur.com/OHTlU .

[mds2]

The only thing I can think to do is to sand it. But I don't have any idea what that would do to the surface either.

[ReLMAustin]

Hi,

I did end up sanding the hardboard. It actually worked better than expected. After I sanded the entire top flat, I put on several coats of Johnson's paste wax (miracle cream, in my opinion). Now, it seems like a pretty good surface for the drill press table. Here's the finished product.

[ALPHApoker]

Sanding works great because you never really change out those inserts as often as you think you will. I generally just pivot the table slightly with each hole that needs a backer. If it does become too cumbersome to sand each one, you can cut the hole shallower and use set screws from underneath to balance it out