A Totally Insane, Ridiculously Over Engineered, X-Y T-Track DRO Drill Press Table

[teetomterrific]

Sometimes a tool project takes on a life of its own. This is one of those cases where at some point I was in too deep to just let it go and I had to make the thing that was an idea that I had been toying with for almost a year. The genesis of this crazy thing I have made came about while cruising tools on Amazon and I came across this Milling Machine Compound Drilling Slide Table For Bench Drill Adjustment X-Y

The thing is tiny and made to fit on a small bench top drill press but I could see some interesting possibilities for replacing my run of the mill drill press table I made shortly after I purchased my Nova Voyager a couple years ago. So I started researching how I could build something that did the same thing but was as large as my existing 20" X 30" DP table. As it happened I had also been casually shopping for CNC machines and the genesis of an idea to use off the shelf CNC parts was born. Long story short I ended up settling on a series of heavy duty 20mm CNC parts and my basic design was driven by the available T-Track Extrusions I could find that wouldn't break the bank. That was a 250mm flat 8mm T-Track Extrusion form Misumi.

Part of the process was to draw the entire thing in Sketchup to make sure I could actually build it. This went through several iterations and all through the drawing process I was ordering parts to solve the various challenges that building out my idea was presenting me. Prototyping anything is always a process of making mistakes and finding solutions for them and that went on throughout this build process. I won't bore you with the details but the final Sketchup drawing collection is a result of correcting several miscalculations.

The true purpose for building a large X-Y drill press table was to be able to move the work piece to the drill bit in a precise way while clamped to the table. Also for the ability to move the fence forward with linear motion instead of manually moving the fence so the work orientation doesn't change.

So anyway, I present to you for your amusement a video of my Totally Insane, Ridiculously Over Engineered, X-Y T-Track DRO Drill Press Table for your enjoyment and or ridicule.

The one thing that surprised me during the build was just how flipping heavy it was. When I finally completed it I weighed it on my big shipping scale and it is a whopping 96lbs 12oz or just a hair under 44kg. That's pretty heavy but my Nova Voyager is handling it with ease. 

- The table is primarily designed to use spoil boards with the T-Track.

- The T-slots are an 8mm opening and will fit most 5/16 T-Track hardware.

- Total Table Top Size = 750mm wide X 450mm deep 

-Total Depth =  525mm when including the X axis crank wheel

- Total X-travel 100mm from center forward and 100mm from center backward, (~4" each way),  (travel is limited by DP throat from Table to Column. On the Nova Voyager that is less than 25mm, or less than an inch backward)

- Total Y-travel 225mm from center leftward and 225mm from center rightward, (~9" each way)

I've spent the last couple weeks putting together 4 page Master Parts List with Purchasing Notes and also a 14 page Build Notes document with illustrations. This should provide interested folks with additional details necessary to tackle building a version of this project, (if they are totally insane that is). The latest Sketchup drawings from my 3D Warehouse collection X-Y DRO Drill Press Table are linked in the build notes documentation as well as here. 

Now for the shocking part. The total cost to build this beast really surprised me when I finished putting together the master parts list. Not including tools like metric bits, and taps, the price for all the parts was $990.98 YIKES!!! I know that since I purchased everything over a 3 month period while I refined the design, I experienced the boiling frog effect of not noticing how much I was really spending all the while thinking it was half what reality was. Sheesh! No regrets though. I think this thing will be worth every penny I spent on it in the long run. YMMV

[Phil Thien]

Love it. Worth the investment of time and money if you ask me.

[EricU]

Nice.  I recently decided to make something similar for a totally different purpose.  But mine is going to be computer/stepper motor controlled.  


I have a palmgren XY vise on my drill press table.  It's a little frustrating because the travel isn't really centered on the mounting bolt slots.

[teetomterrific]

Nice.  I recently decided to make something similar for a totally different purpose.  But mine is going to be computer/stepper motor controlled.  


I have a palmgren XY vise on my drill press table.  It's a little frustrating because the travel isn't really centered on the mounting bolt slots.

That sounds neat. you might want to check how I sourced my ball screws and rails in my Master Parts List with Purchasing Notes You might want to get a quote on parts from the company i bought mine from.

I could probably add stepper motors and a controller to this one with a rebuild. I'm going to give it a rest for a while though and use it and see if there are any other ideas that percolate up. I want to play with some lateral stabilization of the Voyager table and see if I can eliminate the lateral deflection that happens during raising and lowering.

[Bill Schneider]

Love it! That's an example of when too much is just right.

[Arlin Eastman]

Where can I put in my order.


I would like to get a midi mill tho with your set up. 

[EvilTwin]

Beautiful. Over-engineered, Extremely. You are gonna cry the first time you drill through the wood and put a hole in that nice extruded table...

[teetomterrific]

Beautiful.  Over-engineered, Extremely.  You are gonna cry the first time you drill through the wood and put a hole in that nice extruded table...

I know...   My eyes well up just thinking about it.

I've actually been thinking about replacing the piece in the center with two of the 70mm or 100mm wide T-Slot sections and then mill the bottom and edges of 3/4 MDF or Baltic Birch or even some hardwood like soft maple so it slips in either side and is flush to the top, (replaceable). That would make it possible to do a lot of drilling without a spoil board.

[Cian]

I dig it. Nerds rule!

[bennybmn]

I love overengineering. I can't do it at work, so I do it at home
Sometimes in an effort to save money, or use what I have, or sometimes just dreaming big!