DELTA WOOD WORK MACHINES
Posted on Thursday, July 23rd, 2009 at 8:58 am
8 Simple Ways to Trick out Your Drill Press
Is your drill press up to snuff? It should deliver spot-on, hassle-free results across a wide variety of tasks. Check out the helpful tips in this article.
1. Consider Upgrading Your Drill Press
Before you do anything, take a long, hard look at your drill press. Does it expand your woodworking horizons or limit you to the basic hole drilling? Some drill presses come pretty tricked out from the factory. For example, the Delta 17-959L sports crosshairs that tell you the precise center of the hole it will drill. The generous 18×14” table with replaceable insert tilts forward and left or right, enabling you to drill at even compound angles. Adding even more convenience and enjoyment to your shop time: a built-in gooseneck lamp, 17” of swing, and a ¾-HP motor that provides you all the woodworking muscle you’ll ever need.
2. Fence with Stops
Even the simplest fence – a straight scrap of wood clamped to the table improves both accuracy and safety of your drill press. And adding a length stop fixes the workpiece against two planes for dead-on precision and repeatability.
3. Utility Tray
Raise your hand if you’ve never lost a chuck key. The Delta 17-939 column mounted Drill Press Utility Tray keeps handy items at the ready and swings out of the way when not needed.
4. Mortising Attachment
Dedicated mortising machines are well worth the cost if you’re a frequent furniture-maker and cut a lot of mortises. If mortising is only an occasional task, though, a drill press mortising attachment proves to be an effective and economical way to get the job accomplished. Delta 17-924 comes with chisels in four common sizes. It fits any drill press with a quill diameter of 66mm, 50.8mm, 48mm or 38mm.
5. Adjustable Work Support
This easy-to-make project provides a helping hand for drilling long workpieces that extend beyond your drill-press table. Make it from any ¾” stock, and mark it with the table heights of other tools – it’s great for supporting stock at your mitersaw.
6. Drill-Bit Wall Cabinet
Like many of us, you may find it challenging to organize all of the drill bits, plug cutters, countersinks, sanding drums, circle cutters and other accessories that go with a drill press. This cabinet solves that problem, keeping your accessories easy to see and dust-free. The simple-to-make box has a half-lapped door frame with a clear acrylic insert.
7. Step-And-Repeat Fence
For attractive adjustable shelving, you need to drill identically spaced holes in cabinet sides – these holes hold the pins that support the shelves. To get started, build and attach this fence to your drill-press table. Make an index pin by driving an 8d finish nail into the edge of your cabinet side. Cut off the nail, leaving about 1/8” protruding. If you want shelf-pin holes every inch, insert the index pin into one of the slots, drill a hole, move the pin down two slots, drill the next hole and repeat.
8. Dust collection with a Twist
Whether drilling or sanding at your drill press you’ll find the going easier if you collect the chips and dust before the obscure your view of the workpiece, spill onto the floor or possibly interfere with the accuracy of your fence or stops. This handy, shop-made fixture enables you to position a shop-vacuum hose exactly where you need it. You can swing it into position or out of the way by twisting the knobs that lock it to the drill-press column and control the tilt of the hose mount.
About the Author
Buy Delta woodworking tools, Occidental Leather tool belts & tool bags and PLS Lasers at discount prices from ToolOrbit.com
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