Drill press table & pen vice

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Firefyter-emt

Firefyter-emt

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Mar 30, 2006
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Putnam, Connecticut, USA.
Well, after swapping my crappy 10" Sears drill press for a less crappy 12" one (all kidding aside, they are a world of diffrence so far. The 10" one had a 1/4" of slop measured at the tip of a 7mm brad point)

Anyway, I needed a new table top, this time with T-track. I also needed a better pen vice. So, I spent a little time in the shop and made this. I was going to use 2 layers of MDF, but the only stock I had to edge band it was not wide enough so I used this thick sheet of MDF I had. The banding and clamp is white oak. I counter sunk 2 t-nuts under the t-track to bolt it to the drill press. I do have about 4" of forward and backward travel on the table top. I have just enough of this white oak to use for a fence. I am going to attach it to 2" aluminum angle iron.

I still need a couple coats of shellac followed by some wax, and the clamp was given a couple quick coats of lacquer.. I am quite happy with the way it came out.

I screwed up the pen clamp, but it worked out ok.. I cut on the wrong side of the line on and made the hole too big. After a little I came up with making a thin mascassar ebony "jaw pad" to put the saw kerf back in :D Now it looks good and works!

I will link them because I forgot to resize. I made 12 extra inserts for the table while I was at it too.

www.yankeetoys.org/lee/drilltable-2.jpg
www.yankeetoys.org/lee/drilltable-3.jpg
www.yankeetoys.org/lee/drilltable-4.jpg
www.yankeetoys.org/lee/drilltable-5.jpg
 
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When I designed this table I carefully lined the t-track up to the slots in the metal drill table. After the dado's were cut I counter sunk a hole with a forsner bit to sink in a 1/4-20 t-nut. Then I drilled the hole for the t-nut while it was all lined up. I have 2 small maple blocks as spacers / washers under the table and two 1/4-20 threadded hand knobs that clamp it down. I am able to move the table forward about 2" in this design. My biggest complaint on my last one was the bolts that showed thru the table top. You could just use bolts under the track, but the inserts allow me to remove it without the bolt spinning. I also made the inserts simple by taking advantage of the dado's for the t-track. I clamped a scrap piece of wood to use as a straight edge fence for my router and once the depth was set (I used the hardboard to "shim" under the router and set it to that and it was perfect the first shot)I moved the fence to the other side to make the second line and cleaned out the center. I then made the inserts to fit the hole (well, I made 12 of them while I was at it) I may alter a couple to fit my drum sanders so they sit under the table. Feel free to ask for any more info. The table works great, I do wish I made it wider though, just for when I drill longer stuff. I might rebuild another one and trim the edges in paduck (kicking my self for not thinking of it at the time!)
 
I duno what ya said caught a few words here and there but :O) ...Like I said I am NO wood genius I make a decent pen IMO and pipe and tamper and a few other things !!! But not much else [:I]Thou I did make a table but had to use clamps its kina ugly but it works fine !!!yours look nice [:I]





http://affordablepipes.com/
 
By the way, I never did add the photos of the fence. The next time I put an order in at Rockler I will order some more t-track and put a strip into the fence for stop blocks. I picked up a 2x2 piece of alloy angle iron and mounted the 3" oak onto it.I also designed in the ability to move the table itself back against the tube or foward about 3" more. When I make a stand for the drill press I plan to make a second top that attaches to this one and is about 3 feet long. this will have a fixed fence glued to it, but the whole table can slide in the t-track. I plan to hang it off the back of the drill press stand. I figure it will be handy for longer things.

drilltable-6.jpg


By the way, those blotches are not filler, this board was riddled with worm holes (still is in fact) The blotches are from the bugs... KInda neat with all the tiny little holes in it [:D]
drilltable-8.jpg
 
Lee, Thanks for posting this! I'm in the planning stages of making a table for my new drill press. Your ideas really helped. Could you tell me a little more about how you attached the table to your dp's table? Maybe send a couple of pictures of how it's attached?
Also, what a great GREAT photo of your sweet little girl and her Golden Retiever. My Golden is 14 and still loves having little kids hang all over her.
 
Sure Al, can't remmember if I posted how it is done, but what I did was to plan my t-track over the slots in my cast drill table. I first made the dados for the t-track and thenslid the table all the way against the upright pipe. I then marked this point from underneath so I know how far back I could go. I did this because my table caan be slid forwards or backwards to fit the fence better. I then measured where the holes needed to be and using a forsner bit I make a counter sunk hole inside the t-track dado. I then drilled the hole for the t-nut insert. (I think it is 19/32") Those were "pulled tight" using a 1/4-20 bolt and a piece of scrap maple I use to seat the inserts. What you should do first thought is to cut some maple blocks that will fit under the table and mark the hole unding the hole in your new table top (much eaiser this way) From there on it's simple. I bought some 1/4-20 hand knobs (I did have to cut down a threadded rod to make studs because all the hardware store had was socket knobs, but you can order the studded knobs from anywhere. Make sure it fits and the stud does not hit the t-track. Other than that the only tip would be to use crazy glue in the holes for the t-track incase you even need to take remove it, the MDF is soft.

PS, with the dados for the t-track I used a wood fence for my router clamped to the table and removed the material in between the dados. Cut the opening and then make the inserts to fit. If you bore holes in some of the inserts to fit a drumb sander set you can have a better sander set up too. [:D]

Here is the photos. Hope this helps!

drilltable-10.jpg


drilltable-12.jpg


www.yankeetoys.org/lee/drilltable-11.jpg
www.yankeetoys.org/lee/drilltable-13.jpg

By the way, thanks on the photo comment.. She's a little princess. Our goldie is about 11 and has survived all 4 of out childern so far.. The stuff they put that poor dog thur.. [:)]
 
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