shop made drill press

Shop project time: I had this old Black and Decker drill lying around, corded, not too much power, but what a shame to chuck it. Happens to be I need a drill press also. So…since 2+2=4 I put the B&D to good use. The top/drill press part is not attached to the rolling table, I wanted the ability to use the table as part of my continuous work surface in my tiny shop.

To make sure the drill went a perfect 90 degrees I resorted to the same t-tracks I used in the router table project. I used four of them so that the drill assembly doesn’t wobble left to right. Then I added some springs to the sides to make it bounce back. I needed 4 in total because the whole thing was so heavy. The drill is held in place with a pipe clamp and rests on some 17mm ply that I screwed together. I also left some space in the back to hold accessories.

One mistake I made was not making the front of the table large enough. I should have left more space in front to hold work pieces. But, since I have more than enough space behind the drill, I can just turn things around, or clamp an additional piece of wood to the front if necessary. I have already used it and it works like a charm. Best of all, the pieces were really cheap or free. I found the t-tracks, had an old drill, and random bits of wood, that explains the multi-coloredness of the whole thing.

I should mention I was really afraid to build one of these things on my own. I wanted the drill to be precise, not approximate. So, I think that if I can do it and some out with a perfect 90 degree press, so can most people.

PS – I see that there is no winning for me with the photos on LJ, so sorry for the sideways shots here.

-- When certain, measure again, just in case!