OK, after more long hiatus memorial day weekend gave me some time to work on shop projects again....got a few knocked off my list...
Let's start w/ finishing up the drill press table. For the fence, for quick easy and adjustable, I'm just using a piece of 80/20 since it's got T-slotting on all sides, modular, and also low profile so doesn't interfere with the quill handles like some previous taller fences I had would.
Then, the last thing I need to do is set up a way for it to attach to the DP table. Wanted it to be easy to go on quickly and easy to position repeatably as well, so I ended up with some strips and toggle clamps. I must say it works well. So, I'm gonna call this done.
Certainly not the fanciest approach out there, but I've got now:
- Low profile adjustable fence
- T-tracks for clamping accessories
- Large slots for using quick grip clamps
- Easy to setup and remove
- Reused some parts and hardware I already had, the only thing I bought for this was a 2' piece of 80/20 for a few dollars.
Next I've got a short list of some accessories to build for it as well as some storage for those accessories.
Another piece that's been bugging me for a little while was my old Craftsman combination sander. It's got a 4"x36" belt and a 9" disc. Has a table that I guess from the beginning has always been off of 90degrees in both directions from the belt, which is unfortunate because the 4x36" belt is one of the most common sanders I use for deburring, light material removal, etc.
So, after cleaning up the sander, putting new belt and disc on, making what adjustments I could, I decided to fabricate a quick table for it that would be able to be locked down to a proper 90 degrees.
Real simple, just a piece of 3/4" cabinet grade ply with a nice flat smooth surface to work off of. Then some edges glued on so that it hugs the existing metal table well.
I didn't have to be particularly careful with the edge glueup as I used the table saw to flush & square everything up. Also put a few leveling screws on the underside so I could perfectly dial in the height at all 4 corners and get it nice & square.
Back in place, eventually will tackle this whole sanding table and make it fit and work better for work flow but it gets the job done at the moment.
Feels good to get this done and out of the way. Shop time can be very therapeutic!