drill press table from shopnotes

[DejaVoodoo]

I was looking for ideas for a drill press table when I came across

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

[Morris Dovey]

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

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.

[Tom Veatch]

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

[DejaVoodoo]

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