Drill Press Stand?

[Gweedo]

I received a bench top drill press from the wife for Christmas. I'm planning on putting it in my shed (12X12) along with my bench grinder.

My question is about what I should use to place it on? Buy a stand? Build a stand? Any plans/examples out there? Show me what you are doing?

Thanks!

 

[Uncle Buck]

Look in sears tool catalog at machine stands, or mount it to your workbench, either way you will not be disappointed.

 

[rasputin]

I just mounted mine to my work bench. I have a separate work bench for all the "power tools", this way one is clear for doing actual work and one is clear for the drill press, disc sander, scroll saw, miter box, etc... Saves having yet another stand in the garage.

 

[Darren M.]

Sounds like you're in the same basic predicament I was in. I have the drill press and grinder but not the space to have them side by side. So, I built a rotating top on an existing stand. I then mounted a piece of sheet steel that was deep but not too wide. Works great. Mine is out of scrap steel I found around my Dad's ranch out in West Texas. I was lucky enough to have some scrap steel available but you can make it from just about anything.

Items needed for conventional setup.

• 1 - 4 leg, or very sturdy stand with flat top
• 1 - Bass boat seat swivel. ( Should be plenty sturdy. Think about the weight it was designed to hold up!)
• 1 - Table Top. Piece of plate steel, 12 - 14 gauge or larger? Or use wood/MDF/whatver.
• 8 - Short carriage bolts w/ locking nuts/washers/etc. (mount the swivel)
• 8 - Longer carriage bolts w/ locking nuts/washers/etc. (mount the tools)

1. Map out and drill holes in the stand if necessary.
2. Map out and drill hoes in the table top for the swivel. (You do have a drill press.... )
3. Map out and drill hoes in the table top for mounting the tools. Be sure to do this front to back to maximize your space. (You'll never/rarely need the press AND grinder at the same time.)
4. Bolt the swivel to the stand.
5. Bolt the table top to the swivel. (Tip, if you get the right sized carriage bolts you won't have to fit a wrench in the swivel, just apply the nuts from the outside.)
6. Bolt the tools to the table top.
7. Optionally you can drill a 2 holes through the top and on through the two plates of the swivel and insert a steel dowel to keep the top from turning while in use.

I'd show you a picture of mine but it's so over engineered I'd fear the remarks.

Make sense?

 

[Tx Firefighter]

I make these up for my stuff.

It's an old brake drum off a big truck and some scrap steel. Quite heavy enough for a drill press, but still able to be moved if needed.

Truck shops will give you a brake drum if you ask. They replace them all the time due to cracks, which don't affect what we're using them for.

 

[davejs]

You can also use a axel and hub.

 

[DAWGPIMP]

howdy! this is a kick *** site!

for my drill press i put a 6" pipe on a donut spare tire. i like having it mobile. i can put it in the middle of the room when i have to drill into large pieces of metal.

 

[mscott_45]

re: Drill pres stand

I use a two or three drawer steel file cabinet that is mounted on casters. Mobile to move where you need it, has built in storage for all the bits/clamps/tools you need there and up here in Ontario, a used office furniture supply store will have one for about $30 so you don;t break the bank.

My two cents...

Mike

 

[TOMWELDS]

The truck rim idea works great...if you need more, fill it with cement.

 

[maa139]

I have a 5 gallon bucket filled with cement as a base for my grinder stand...

matt

 

[Darren M.]

Harbor freight... univseral tool stand $19.99......
http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/itemdisplay/displayItem.do?itemid=7769

Can't beat that price w/ a stick and seriously. How much abuse is something like this going to see in a garage???

 

[PaulR]

BTT. Looking for some more pics of home-made drill press stands.

 

[rsanter]

the best stand you will ever get is to use a basic bottom toolbox
the drawers will hold the accesories for the drill press and it will be portable around your workspace.
you could even mount the drill press to one side and the grinder to the other
if you are worried about top heavy then you add a little ballast to the bottom of the toolbox under the botttom drawer

bob

 

[pcgold]

If you are in Canada, this is on sale right now:

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brow...craft%2BBench%2BGrinder%2BStand.jsp?locale=en

 

[lilredex]

Here's a "three wheeler" that I made for a larger table top DP, that I once had. It measures about 30" high. At the time, my W/S was tiny and I did a lot of my drilling out on the driveway, so mobility and stability were both very important. It was made from junk that was on hand and weighs in at about 100# (plus that cargo shown).

The drawers were designed to hold angle grinders and other body shop tools. Today, if I were to build something similar, it would have smaller drawers (2" H.) like in the last pic. That is the little (separate) cabinet mounted on my present floor model DP and can be removed when extra clearance is needed. Drill bits and other small accessories are housed in those smaller drawers.

 

[kmacht]

I have mine mounted on a file cabinet. I used a piece of wood inside the file cabinet under the sheetmetal and bolted the drill press through the top of the cabinet and into the plywood. It works great because I can use the file cabinet drawers to store the small vise, drill bits, etc.

Keith

 

[PaulR]

Good ideas thanks everyone. Drill bits stored near press, makes sense. That and I think I'm going to put it in the back by the oil drain pans, I drill a lot of metal and use a lot of cutting oil.

The grinder may go in the sparks/welding area because again, I'm usually grinding metal.

Right now in the lead is scrap angle iron, 2 pieces, weld to a base plate, weld on a top plate, secure to floor with 1/2" drop-in anchors. I think I've decided I'd like these things not to be mobil. I put my table saw on casters and it was a nightmare trying to rip some some heavy plywood the otherday, thing was moving all around.

 

[ZRX61]

I have a benchtop drill press, but built a stand about 2ft tall for it.

 

[Dolfan]

I went with a home built cabinet, 2x4 framed construction that is totally overbuilt and skinned the entire thing with 1/2" MDF and put a door on the side to use all the space underneath. That way I don't waste space and I keep all drilling related bits and such in that cabinet.

 

[Boyd Who]

Mine sits on a cabinet that a local store was throwing away.

 

[49stude2r6]

Appreciate everyones input, I find myself in the same situation so I have been trying to think of a creative mobile stand for multiple tools also. Leaning towards the tool box method with drill press, bench grinder and a belt sander mounted.

 

[mdbeck1]

I put my bench mounted drill press on a used kitchen cabinet. It's about 24" wide by 24" deep by about 30" height. It has drawers on it and houses my drill bits and drills.

 

[lilredex]

Appreciate everyones input, I find myself in the same situation so I have been trying to think of a creative mobile stand for multiple tools also. Leaning towards the tool box method with drill press, bench grinder and a belt sander mounted.

Here is a mobile for a chop saw and a couple of other things. It has a pivoting axle on the back end, so it is always self leveling out there in the driveway. It was made from scrap 1 1/4" sq. tubing and the tops are re-sawn maple and oak skids that I talked about in another thread. The best material is free material.

 

[smedly]

Re: Drill pres stand

I use a two or three drawer steel file cabinet that is mounted on casters. Mobile to move where you need it, has built in storage for all the bits/clamps/tools you need there and up here in Ontario, a used office furniture supply store will have one for about $30 so you don;t break the bank.

My two cents...

Mike

My exact setup.

 

[jwillis]

I made mine out of 2X4s. Got it exactly the right height. Put a shelf about half way to the floor. And attached it to the wall with a safety hanger. (a piece of strapping) I put wall molding around the main table to dress it up and keep things from rolling off. It works great for me.

 

[49stude2r6]

Thank you lilredex and smedly for posting those, another quick question on the wheeled stand, any issues with stability while driling/gridning/choping etc.? And how often do you find yourself actually utilizing the wheeled capability?

 

[Groovy]

Mines on a four legged stand from sears I fastened 2X4's across the bottom between the two out side legs and bolted locking castors to the 2x4s it rolls around easly and locks when needed. I'll have to snap some pics. I have a combo belt sander wheel sander on the same type of stand with same 2x4 and wheels took me me about half an hour to do them both and has been that way for 15 years + with no problems

 

[lilredex]

Thank you lilredex and smedly for posting those, another quick question on the wheeled stand, any issues with stability while driling/gridning/choping etc.? And how often do you find yourself actually utilizing the wheeled capability?

The "wheels" feature is used constantly, I do most of my sawing in the driveway sawing scrap wood for firewood. And, no stability issues with that stand. All loaded up it probably approaches 150#.

Moving outside keeps the sawdust outside, and the saw is easily parked inside when finished. If your area is uneven, pivot one axle in the center like a see-saw. It stops the cart from rocking and it also stays in place with all four firmly in place.

I keep that planer below the chop saw to do that messy stuff outside also.

 

[vette]

Re: Drill pres stand

My exact setup.

I LIKE THAT! I use my drill press more for polishing and sanding than drilling and this makes a nice place to keep all the stuff.

 

[smedly]

Thank you lilredex and smedly for posting those, another quick question on the wheeled stand, any issues with stability while driling/gridning/choping etc.? And how often do you find yourself actually utilizing the wheeled capability?

4 cheap swivel casters and a hack job of mounting them (I don't weld) and drawers loaded with scrap metal bits means it doesn't roll that great. In order to use the grinder i have to move it. Stability is fine for my needs, it doesn't wobble when use. It's mostly light duty stuff.

 

[chevelle64]

I can't take credit for the stand, it was built by my friend's Dad. The legs are 4 X 4s and the top is 3/4" plywood. The drill press is very heavy and the stand is very stable. I can take some better pics if you want .

 

[IDASHO]

My "benchtop" drill press is considerably larger than most.

So i built a heavy duty shelf for it.

 

[Pukeballs]

My "benchtop" drill press is considerably larger than most.

So i built a heavy duty shelf for it.

How do you like your shop fox? The wife got me one Xmas. It's just sitting in the garage right now waiting for me to put it together.

 

[shopnut]

Just another option for you drill press owners out there - Mount it off the wall or from a post.

I mounted my floor standing unit to one of the 6x6 posts in the shop to get it off the floor. Some old L-shaped truck fuel tank brackets worked nicely to support it at the top and bottom. I removed the press base plate and the remaining bottom flange mounts directly to the lower bracket. A muffler clamp grabs the column just below the motor at the top.

It might be a little hard to see in the picture (click to enlarge), but this should give you an idea. The black brackets are mainly hidden in the wall and all you see is the portion sticking straight out to reach the press. A vise and arbor press are mounted on the other post in a similar fashion.

 

[IDASHO]

How do you like your shop fox? The wife got me one Xmas. It's just sitting in the garage right now waiting for me to put it together.

So far so good.

Seems to be a very solid unit, and the run out is VERY minimal.

I have is set the slowest it goes (200rpm I beleive) and it stays there.

 

[49stude2r6]

Idasho, Do you have some dimensions on that shelf. I bought a used shop fox based on your reveiw of it, so I have the same machine works great so far but haven't had it long. I currently have a cobble together version of your shelf as well but the wall will be insulated and sheeted soon which doesn't work with my current shelf configuration.

 

[Pukeballs]

So far so good.

Seems to be a very solid unit, and the run out is VERY minimal.

I have is set the slowest it goes (200rpm I beleive) and it stays there.

Just got done assembling it and ran a bit through some 2x4's a couple of times. I haven't adjusted the speed yet but will play around with it more tomorrow. Its my first drill press so I'm excited to start putting holes in stuff.

 

[IDASHO]

Ill try to get better photos, and some dimensions of the shelf for you guys.

Im busy starting a remodel on the house this weekend, but I should be able to snap a shot or two.

 

[sscustom]

heres mine that i built from scratch the neighbours were renovating there house so she said what in he bin you can have so i built this drill press stand from scratch no plans just off the top of my head



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

[PCO6]

I have a floor mounted drill press but my solution for storing drill bits, hole saws, jigs, etc. was to place my drill press next to my shop press and place a roller cabinet under the shop press. The cabinet is full of drill and press related tools. The drill press and cabinet are on casters and can be pulled out easily. The cabinet top is a good working surface for both drilling and pressing operations.