Most drill presses come with a small cast-iron table designed for metalworking. Like many woodworkers, I’ve added a larger plywood table to mine. I made it with two layers of Baltic birch glued and screwed together, which let me build in a sliding insert that can be moved forward and back—or replaced entirely. The insert lets me maintain zero clearance under any drilling operation. The insert is held in place by simply locking down the fence.
The fence has T-tracks for attaching my JessEm routertable accessories—which also work well on the drill press—but the tracks will hold other commercial and shopmade accessories as well. The table has T-tracks also, one pair for attaching it to the cast-iron table below, and the other for attaching the fence on top.
I gave the fence and table a rear cutout so that they could slide closer to the column, allowing more capacity behind the chuck. The various tracks, knobs, and T-bolts all come from Lee Valley.
—Walter Baziuk, Ottawa, Ont., Canada
Drawings by Dan Thornton
Fine Woodworking Recommended Products
Oneida’s Super Cell Dust Collector
30-Gal with Wall Mount
Makita LS1219L Miter Saw
This is the saw I want in my shop. For one, it’s easy to use. All of the controls are easy to reach and manipulate, and the glide mechanism is both robust and smooth. The handle works well for righties and lefties. Then there are added bonuses that no other saw has. For instance, its hold-down is superb, as it can move to different locations, hinges for a greater range of coverage, and actually holds down the work. In addition, the saw has two points of dust collection, letting it firmly beat the rest of the field. The one downside was the saw’s laser, which was so faint we had to turn off the shop lights to see it. Still, all these pluses in a package that fits tight to the wall? That’s a winner for me.
Freud Super Dado Saw Blade Set 8″ x 5/8″ Bore
Leaves a dado with a flat bottom and even performs excellent on plywood and melamine.
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