Jigs and Fixtures #1: 8" Drill Press Platform Fixture

Looks like it turned out real good. Is there a reason you used plywood for your fence instead of MDF? I’m sorry to hear about your problems with the flush trim bit.

-- Jesus is Lord!

It came out very well. I’m sure you will get lots of use out of it.

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

Your jig construction is first class.

-- http://www.woodsongsfurniture.com

Looks like a very useful jig. Thanks for sharing.

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

I’ve seen others who have made a drill surface jig and they made a disposal block that fit under the drill bit so it could be replaced without having to replace the whole table surface.

It was probably a 4” X 4” block with half lap lips to sit into the table and there-by have a sacrificial drill area.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

Thanks for the kudos guys.

Os, I had already made the plywood fence as a temporary for my bandsaw until I got the Kreg fence installed. So, I just repurposed it for the drill press. You may be wondering why it looks so dirty on the face. Well, I had a little clamping mishap that I was unaware of until it was too late. My clamps slipped a little on the glue-up and pulled the face out of perpendicular alignment to the base. Since I don’t have a belt or disk sander, I took a pass on the tablesaw. That gave it a few burn marks. It’s square now though.

Karson, I agree. That sacrificial insert is definitely a planned task for the base. I unfortunately had to move on to other planned tasks yesterday. Thanks for the suggestion. I have to take another look at your comments on the pin jig about the measured stop blocks too. I think I had a question on that (I read it at work and didn’t have time to ask…)

-- Jeff, St. Paul, MN

Jeff,

Looks like we have the same drill press. I made a table for mine, I should post it. It is a little different. One problem that I have is that this drill press has a crank and the crank hits the table. Do you have that problem, or did you figure out a better way?

-- John

Jeff -

Very nice jig! Excellent use of T-track.

-- http://foldingrule.blogspot.com

John,

Yes, mine has the crank too. I could have/should have moved the T-tracks out closer to the ends of the table and then cut a notch in the back of the table for the crank. Then, I thought to myself, why do this? Since the platform on the press has straight slots I just decided it would be fine to loosen it and move it forward to clear the crank. Works great. I position the height first and then square up the fence as necessary.

Post that table. I’d like to compare notes.

Thanks, David. That stuff is pretty cool. I got an email today that the kit a I had lying around for a year has gone on sale again. 50% off – 10.99 for 4 foot of track and several knobs at Rockler…

-- Jeff, St. Paul, MN

I purchased a Rockler table and the first time I let the kids use it they popped the screws out of the tee tracks when clamping something down. How did you attach the tracks to the table? Anything special?

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

Titebond II.

Since the track requires 1/2” of depth and I was setting them in a 3/4” board I couldn’t see tryiing to seat screws in the 1/4” left over. I put down a nice bead and used a brush to spread it to all three sides of the dado. I just made sure I didn’t get squeeze out above the top of the hole that already existed in the track.

Was yours double-thick? I guess I should ask if it was the mini table or the larger one.

-- Jeff, St. Paul, MN

Thanks. It is the larger table. It is in the background of this picture.

I belive I will pull them out and glue them. That will probably fix the issue.

P.S. The shop is much cleaner now.

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

Sounds good. Should work great with an even coat of glue. Is that a Kreg pockethole jig to the right?

-- Jeff, St. Paul, MN

It is. I’m going to mount it on a smaller board. I set it up there before I got my bench. I used to use it on saw horses as a work surface.

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

Nice table Jeff… I will build one someday. Is there a trick to not getting the handles of the drill press hit the fence when you are drilling?

-- -John "Do I have to keep typing a smiley? Just assume it's a joke." www.flickr.com/photos/gizmodyne

Love it. I have the same benchtop drill. I don’t use it very often, but this is a project I had been wanting to do so that I will use the tool more. I agree with your comments, that a future replaceable insert is a must.

Rockler had their 4’ T-track/jig hardware kit on sale for $9.99 many months ago. I bought several of them as they are so handy. They normally retail in the $20 range. I can never have too many T-tracks.

-- Jeff, South Carolina

Thanks John. I think the angle of the photo and flash makes it look like it will hit the fence. There is plenty of clearance for typical usage. If a person were using a really small bit and had to raise the platform to the point where there would be a collision, they could adjust everything and then slide the fence off if necessary. Then, one of the hold downs could be moved to the back side (likely the right one) of the workpiece so there would be a more balanced and safer grip.

If the work piece was too small for the hold-downs to reach, I guess you could use a shorter temporary fence. Or, the whole problem could just be solved by putting a notch in the fence I suppose. Thanks for the question. You’ve got me thinking….

Hey Jeff, Rockler just put that kit back on sale for the $10 price. I think I’ll pick up some more myself.

-- Jeff, St. Paul, MN

I’ll have to go to the Rockler site next. After posting that I can never have too many T-tracks laying around for my next jig/fixture, I was about a foot short of what I needed for a much needed “tall” fence for my table saw/router fence. The extra knobs and bolts are great too. I like to make my own, but the plastic ones are good for quickies. Just toured your shop, Caliper, good job.

-- Jeff, South Carolina