Bunk
Well-known member
Time to share a new drill press setup I put together as I am building out my basement workshop. While I wait for my main light fixtures to arrive, I took a little detour and decided to create this drill press table and stand setup.
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The Stand-
The stand is the HF 7 drawer side cabinet. I fabbed up some leveling feet and a steel reinforcing frame for the bottom as it isn’t really designed to stand on its bottom. I topped it with a 3/4” MDF to stiffen up the top and minimize flexing.
The Table-
I did a bunch of research, collected a ton of ideas from everywhere I could find a design, sketched out a basic design and started work. In hindsight, there are a few details that I would definitely have changed had I planned the design a little more carefully, but they aren’t anything that I can’t work around.
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The top is ~ 24×18. The table surface is 3/16 Hardboard that has many layers of Johnsons paste wax on it. I didn’t think I’d like it, but it really gives a nice working surface. Underneath is 2 layers of 3/4” MDF. All three are glued together. I discovered a little too late that I really wasn’t setup with enough clamps for this glue up (hey I am just starting out), which prompted a minor clamp buying frenzy the next weekend. I trimmed out the edges with some 1/4 maple strips – glued, but again due to a scarcity of clamps I had to resort to some finish nails (do differently next time item#1).
I routed a 4” recess for the 1/2” MDF sacrificial surface under the quill. I wasn’t really 100% happy with how it came out. I kinda rushed putting together the router jig and I left the whole “bottom” if you will, instead of just leaving a ledge for it to sit on. It works for now, but I may try to clean it up later.
The two fence/hold down clamp t-tracks are placed a little too close to the outside edge, in that I can’t rotate them to be parallel with the fence as the tails will hang off the sides. Again no biggie, they still work great.
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View media item 8064I liked the idea of an aluminum fence. I added a strip of PE cutting board material. Made the stop block out of the same angle the fence is made from, but with one face shortened up a tad. I love the cam locks on the backside.
View media item 8065The table attaches to the drill press with some carriage bolts. I had originally planned for 3, but I neglected to account for the metal table support arm in the back so, there isn’t enough room for the same knobs I used up front. I may or may not try and find another knob that’ll work, as the two up front seem to work great, and I hate to spoil the quick off and on possible right now by adding a nut and washer to the back. I think it would have been better to bury the carriage bolt underneath the top layer of hardboard rather than having the countersinks visible, but maybe not…I don’t know.
In order maximize my table surface, I had to bevel the back bottom edge for the height adjusting crank.
All in all I am quite pleased with the table, its been a great addition.
There'll be more on the rest of the shop as the build progresses.
Bunk
View media item 8060
The Stand-
The stand is the HF 7 drawer side cabinet. I fabbed up some leveling feet and a steel reinforcing frame for the bottom as it isn’t really designed to stand on its bottom. I topped it with a 3/4” MDF to stiffen up the top and minimize flexing.
The Table-
I did a bunch of research, collected a ton of ideas from everywhere I could find a design, sketched out a basic design and started work. In hindsight, there are a few details that I would definitely have changed had I planned the design a little more carefully, but they aren’t anything that I can’t work around.
View media item 8061
The top is ~ 24×18. The table surface is 3/16 Hardboard that has many layers of Johnsons paste wax on it. I didn’t think I’d like it, but it really gives a nice working surface. Underneath is 2 layers of 3/4” MDF. All three are glued together. I discovered a little too late that I really wasn’t setup with enough clamps for this glue up (hey I am just starting out), which prompted a minor clamp buying frenzy the next weekend. I trimmed out the edges with some 1/4 maple strips – glued, but again due to a scarcity of clamps I had to resort to some finish nails (do differently next time item#1).
I routed a 4” recess for the 1/2” MDF sacrificial surface under the quill. I wasn’t really 100% happy with how it came out. I kinda rushed putting together the router jig and I left the whole “bottom” if you will, instead of just leaving a ledge for it to sit on. It works for now, but I may try to clean it up later.
The two fence/hold down clamp t-tracks are placed a little too close to the outside edge, in that I can’t rotate them to be parallel with the fence as the tails will hang off the sides. Again no biggie, they still work great.
View media item 8063
View media item 8064I liked the idea of an aluminum fence. I added a strip of PE cutting board material. Made the stop block out of the same angle the fence is made from, but with one face shortened up a tad. I love the cam locks on the backside.
View media item 8065The table attaches to the drill press with some carriage bolts. I had originally planned for 3, but I neglected to account for the metal table support arm in the back so, there isn’t enough room for the same knobs I used up front. I may or may not try and find another knob that’ll work, as the two up front seem to work great, and I hate to spoil the quick off and on possible right now by adding a nut and washer to the back. I think it would have been better to bury the carriage bolt underneath the top layer of hardboard rather than having the countersinks visible, but maybe not…I don’t know.
In order maximize my table surface, I had to bevel the back bottom edge for the height adjusting crank.
All in all I am quite pleased with the table, its been a great addition.
There'll be more on the rest of the shop as the build progresses.
Bunk
