Drill Press Table

[Derek Cohen]

A couple of weeks ago I took advantage of a Black Friday sale and purchased a Nova Voyager drill press for a great discount. This replaced a Taiwanese model I had for 25 years. Yeah, I know this machine is OTT, but it is an amazing tool. For those who are not familiar with the Voyager, it is a computerised, variable speed drill press with a 2 hp direct drive motor (240v). I have already used it to determine the ideal speed for a selection of forstner bits, and then drill to a preset depth, and stop automatically at that depth. 

Putting it together was .. uh  ... a little scary. The motor section is extremely heavy, and I was concerned that I would drop it in my usual clumsy fashion. Anyway, it was put together without mishap. A Nova fence was one of the freebees thrown in ...



Nova recommend that one not use a mobile base, however I need to do so since my machines occupy one side of a double garage, and some machines need to be mobile. The drill press is one. The ideal mobile base is as low to the floor as possible. A low centre of gravity is more stable, but also you do not want to raise the drill press up too much as the controls and computer screen may be moved out of your comfort zone.



Steel mobile base on lockable wheels ...



This post is more about the table I built for the drill press. Some may be able to use the ideas here. Most of the ideas are old hat, but there are a couple of novel ideas. My old drill press  used nothing more exciting than a piece of plywood over the cast iron table. Somehow it was sufficient, although the work holding sucked ... and this is what I wanted to address here. Plus, the sacrificial board became chewed up and useless very quickly, and I had an idea to improve on this.

I was not crazy about the cast iron table as a work surface. For a top I found in my local salvage yard a 18" x 25" UHMW slab 30mm (1-1/4") thick. This is about as perfect a table top as one could get - it is very resistant to damage, and yet will not damage wood placed on it.

It planes without any tearout




The first task was to dado in aluminium tracks for the fence and hold downs, and then to create a circular mortice for a sacrificial section ...



Using a power router to waste UHMW is an interesting experience - lots of plastic string everywhere, and dust control was not working well. The circular recess was time consuming and finicky. The template began as a 2" forstner cut hole. This was then progressively widened to 4" using a rebate and a flush cut bit in the router table. Finally, the template was used with a pattern cutter to create the circular recess, above.

The circular sacrificial disks are 1/2" thick MDF. I found it quicker to saw them fractionally oversize on the bandsaw, and then turn them on the lathe ...



Here now is the basic table ...



There is a cut out at the rear for the winder ...



Now why did I choose a circular sacrificial section? I have seen many drill press tables using square sections. I cannot recall seeing any with round disks (unless it was dedicated to a sander, but that is not the same thing). The drill bit is not centred on the square. Instead, it is moved to the rear of the square. That way one can rotate the disk four times after it becomes holed. My objection to this design was that one only obtained four points, and as soon as one section became holed, it could no longer back up the drill. 

Now a circular disk, on the other hand, has an infinite number of positions (infinite until the circle is completed). Just rotate as much as you need. More work to make, but better in the long run. 



Here is the finished table ...



The Nova fence came with those twisty levers. They are useless ... difficult to achieve the ideal tautness and hard to get to behind the fence. I replaced them with the long knobs. These needed to be cut down by 3/4" to avoid fowling the downfeed handles. 



The tracks not only hold the fence, but also Incra hold downs ...



... and even the Micro Jig clamps for taller boards ...



I hope there is something you can use.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Robin Dobbie]

That is just such a beast of a drill press. Some day... and that table is pretty sweet.

I made my drill press base over 6" tall because I made it from 2x6 and ply(original was broken, bought the whole thing on craigslist for $75). Filled the inside with sand. Not sure lowering it a few inches would've made it dramatically more stable(which it needs to be). I think the only way to get that would be by increasing the width/front to back depth.

[KyleD]

I do not understand why more drill presses aren't manufactured like yours with a split quill bore.
Nice job on the table. 
I must make it known that i drill more metal than wood on my drill press so my concern may not be yours.
I would not elect to use anything as slippery as UHMW plastic. Could make it hard to clamp some items down secure enough. If it is easy to remove then you could just use the metal table for the few times you would be worried about movement.

[teetomterrific]

Nice DP Table design. Similar to the one I'm using on my Nova Voyager now, but I have a Peachtree fence instead of the official Nova one and it's MDF and laminate. I have been working on design for a large 450mm x 750mm XY Table using CNC machine parts for rails and ball screws. I just about have all the parts together to build it over the Christmas holiday. I'll post photos and the finished design when it's done.

On another note, the only thing I can find to complain about my Nova Voyager is the mechanism for raising and lowering the table is very sloppy. You would think with a 21st century DP head design they could have done the same kind of work to keep the bit centered over the exact same spot instead of using a early to mid 20th century mechanism that allows a couple inches of movement side to side at the bit location. I have some ideas how to retrofit a stabilizing column but that will have to be a future project.

[Derek Cohen]

I would not elect to use anything as slippery as UHMW plastic.

Kyle, the surface is far from slippery. It is hard and smooth, but has resistance. I would not have used it if it was not so, as one of my priorities is work holding. I was told that this UHMW was originally used as a covering for the tray in a pickup.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Derek Cohen]

the only thing I can find to complain about my Nova Voyager is the mechanism for raising and lowering the table is very sloppy.

I agree. Keeping the drill centred is important, and this is a task that needs a little extra care on the Nova. One does not expect it. I am not sure how to eliminate it.

I shall be adding a Wixey laser, and I have also another laser, one with a long, straight line that will be built on. This is to aid in aligning angles for staked legs.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[cputnam]

Very nice indeed! Sourcing decent table material is one of my concerns. I'm not fond of mdf but there is higher quality level of the stuff that bears up pretty well. It probably can be had in any number of surfaces too, but I'm not willing to buy a whole sheet The bigger factor is whether or not I want to spend my remaining time building stuff for my family or building tools. I'm willing to build a bench because it is so necessary and a decent purchased bench is $3000 USD and up.

[Derek Cohen]

Hi Curt

The cost of the UHMW offcut was $25. This material will last forever, unlike MDF.

I know what you mean about building vs buying a bench. I think I spent about $250 on the wood for mine, and I am sure that it would have cost at least 10x this if purchased ready-built.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[teetomterrific]

So here is a brief glimpse of the X-Y Table I'm planning for my Nova Voyager. This is a screen capture of the Sketchup drawing. 450mm X 750mm with x and y DRO.

[Derek Cohen]

What is the purpose of this, Thomas? It looks ready for space flight


Regards from Perth

Derek