drill press rack & pinion table

You could look at some of the Grizzly parts. I’m not sure if the columns are 2 3/4” though.
Of course, it looks as if buying these parts ala carte’ might be cost prohibitive; considering you could buy a pretty nice (used) DP w/ table elevator for $150-200.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/g7944/parts

Only worth getting into if your drill press head
is real nice. You’ll spend more on the parts than
you could buy another drill press for.

I had a drill press for years that had no table
or rack. I made a table out of wood that
clamped on the column – even though it
was well thought-out and sturdily made,
it was never stiff enough for drilling metal
parts accurately. For light wood drilling it
was okay.

My drill press is a vintage Boice-Crane that my father bought used in the ‘40’s. I have always liked it and still use it, so to me it is worth a little expense. I have already checked out Grizzley and several other companies and all of theirs have 3”+ posts. The closest I have found is a Harbor Freight with a 2 57/64th post which is just a tad over 2 3/4” but I may be able to shim it. Most companies don’t even tell their column diameter. I also thought about buying a used drill press but I live in a rural area in Arkansas so there is almost no chance of finding one locally and shipping has to be by freight so buying the whole DP online is cost prohibitive