The Ultimate Pillar Drill Fence

[Orcamesh]

This has no doubt been covered before but I wondered if anyone highly rates a particular design of a "make your own" drill press station/fence?

So basically just a platform of say MDF or other manmade material with adjustable fence(s) and clamping locations etc.

Does anyone know of any online free plans or can point me to a previous thread?

cheers
Steve

 

[Mike Wingate]

http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite ... press.html
This is a good start.

 

[Orcamesh]

Ah, that's magic Mike, thanks very much. Just the job!

 

[Chris Knight]

I need to make a new drill press table and one thing I intend to incorporate is a means of holding the hose of a vacuum where it can pick up chips as I drill. This will be especially useful when using Forstner bits that need withdrawing from a deep hole frequently to avoid jamming/burning etc.

Re the fence, don't forget to make some allowance for the handles on the drill press. These can foul a tall fence when using a shortish drill. I see the larger of the two MCLS fences has a cutaway, presumably for this reason. ON my present table, that problem is dealt with by having an "L" shaped fence that can be used with either the taller or the shorter of the legs of the "L" serving as the fence.

 

[Orcamesh]

I need to make a new drill press table and one thing I intend to incorporate is a means of holding the hose of a vacuum where it can pick up chips as I drill. This will be especially useful when using Forstner bits that need withdrawing from a deep hole frequently to avoid jamming/burning etc.

Re the fence, don't forget to make some allowance for the handles on the drill press. These can foul a tall fence when using a shortish drill. I see the larger of the two MCLS fences has a cutaway, presumably for this reason. ON my present table, that problem is dealt with by having an "L" shaped fence that can be used with either the taller or the shorter of the legs of the "L" serving as the fence.

Yep, I agree Chris. I noticed the fence on the more expensive jig in Mike's link having the lower section so that the handles don't get blocked. Good idea about the hose too. Plenty of food for thought...

Thanks
Steve

 

[Mike Wingate]

I have a large ply table with part of the top righthand corner cut away to allow the crank handle to turn. The fences are ok, as thet move to anf fro on slots in the table. I will build another with alloy T-slots. I have a large 5" dia replaceable insert that takes my biggest drum sander, that lies partly below the table surface so I can sand flush to the bottom edge of the timber.

 

[Orcamesh]

I have a large ply table with part of the top righthand corner cut away to allow the crank handle to turn. The fences are ok, as thet move to anf fro on slots in the table. I will build another with alloy T-slots. I have a large 5" dia replaceable insert that takes my biggest drum sander, that lies partly below the table surface so I can sand flush to the bottom edge of the timber.

Yep, I think it is a good idea to use these alloy t-slots. I will do this. I also need to take into account the drum sanding kit I've got.

I'm surprised Steve Maskery hasn't got an "Ultimate Pillar Drill Station" in his videos, maybe that is something for the future perhaps?!!!

 

[knappers]

I have just bought the Axminster drill table (got it cheap as a return).

It wouldn't mount directly to my table, as the holes in the base are not in a square, whereas the slots in my drill table are at 90 degrees to each other. No biggy - it just involved me drilling new holes through the base to suit my slots.
The fence is quite well made, with adjustable gap, rulers and dust extraction. It also comes with couple of hold-downs. Overall not sure it's worth the full asking price - though by the time your've bought t-track and made all the bits and bobs, for what I paid I'm happy. Oh, and I got around the height of the fence by removing a couple of the "capstan arms" on my drill.

Si.

 

[andersonec]

Steve,

Have a look here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMZ0_jg8 ... re=related

Andy

 

[Orcamesh]

Steve,

Have a look here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMZ0_jg8 ... re=related

Andy

Thanks Andy, that is useful.

Not sure I need to glue AND pin the fence parts though! I thought glue alone was good enough for this! Still I suppose if you've got one you have to justify that you have one!! :lol:

 

[Orcamesh]

I have just bought the Axminster drill table (got it cheap as a return).

It wouldn't mount directly to my table, as the holes in the base are not in a square, whereas the slots in my drill table are at 90 degrees to each other. No biggy - it just involved me drilling new holes through the base to suit my slots.
The fence is quite well made, with adjustable gap, rulers and dust extraction. It also comes with couple of hold-downs. Overall not sure it's worth the full asking price - though by the time your've bought t-track and made all the bits and bobs, for what I paid I'm happy. Oh, and I got around the height of the fence by removing a couple of the "capstan arms" on my drill.

Si.

Si, thanks for this too. I guess you bought this one then?

http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-axminster-pillar-drill-table-prod364868/

It looks pretty good although my first observation is that it seems quite small. Let me know how you get on with it.

Yep, removing one or more arms is also a good idea.

cheers
Steve

 

[knappers]

Yes, that's the fella. The base is 2' x 1', which is big enough for me.
Very similar to the one in the video, but less hassle, and if you can pick one up with money off (Axminster seem to sell them off on eBay quite regularly), probably not much more expensive.

Si.

 

[Dackpsljc]

Hi, I am new to this forum and must say there are a lot of interesting listings.
I would like to build the Pillar Drill Table shown on this Axminster link. Can anyone tell me where I could get the parts for this. I can find the T-Track on the Axminster website, but where could I get the clamps. Most of all, where can I get white formica. I had a sheet for years which has been used up and now I require more. I tried the usual places B&Q etc. Who would normally have white formica in stock these days ?. Thanks

 

[Orcamesh]

Hi, I am new to this forum and must say there are a lot of interesting listings.
I would like to build the Pillar Drill Table shown on this Axminster link. Can anyone tell me where I could get the parts for this. I can find the T-Track on the Axminster website, but where could I get the clamps. Most of all, where can I get white formica. I had a sheet for years which has been used up and now I require more. I tried the usual places B&Q etc. Who would normally have white formica in stock these days ?. Thanks

Hi Dackpsljc

Welcome to the forum.

Not sure if you can get the clamps on their own, but there was a suggestion in this thread to buy the Axminster pillar drill table which comes with the clamps and if you need to make a bigger deck then you can.

Not sure where to get formica, I haven't bought any for years but I'm sure a quick search online would bring up loads of suppliers local to you.

Good luck!
cheers
Steve

 

[Dackpsljc]

Thanks Steve. I have found a website that sells various types of materials, Direct Plastics Online.
I am considering ordering this product from them. Nylon 6 Natural Sheet 1000 x 500 x 2mm @ 16.05 GBP
It would be enough to cover a drill table and a new router table top.

Do you have any knowledge of these materials and what would be best ?

Dave

 

[hobbler]

Hi mind if I chime in. I made my own out of Melamine double layer 19mm its better if 35mm , used ali T-slot channel and some hold downs http://woolnwood.blogspot.com/2010/08/p ... shove.html

There are some pit falls to mine and many designs including the Axminster version these are.
If fitted the raise and lower crank handle will hit the underside of the table. An easy fix ( I still have to do this to mine yet) is an old socket ratchet fitted.
The height of the fence (mine is 150mm and the drill handle will hit when raised to max, make smaller fence.
MDF loves moisture and tensioning down over time can bow :roll:
I set my T-tracks wide enough to mount my crosslide drill vice on many prefer to narrow the gap.
Epoxy as well as screw T-slot in
My tall fence also acts as a low front fence with T-slots

Ray

 

[custard]

I've got the Axminster unit fitted to a Ryobi drill press, and it also suffers from the problem of the crank handle colliding with the table. Great suggestion about fitting a socket ratchet, I'll see if it works next time I'm in the workshop.

One other thing I've noticed is that you have to be meticulous about clearing dust away from the fence, a small rebate at the bottom of the fence might help as sometimes little chips get stuck under the fence and if you don't spot them they can throw the accuracy out.

 

[Orcamesh]

Thanks for sharing your jig Ray. It looks great and some very useful advice there too. I have only just started building mine and I need to order some hardware, t-slots, etc. I am using 18mm multiply (birch) which is pretty good quality. Let's see how it holds up in use!

Cheers Custard for your tip too about the dust clearance, I will have to think about that in my design.

cheers
Steve

 

[jimi43]

I built mine based on that design but mine has a very low fence..I have never seen the need for a high fence:

I turned up the handles on the lathe to save on hardware and used flat nuts...

...with hardwood slides for the T slots....

I moved it to my new drill press....and added a centre toggle clamp which holds anything up to quite a thickness in place really rigidly:

The toggle clamp raises right out of the way when not in use:

...and clamps automatically when lowered:

Some modifications I am going to do next week are:

A toggle clamp on a slider for the T Slot for front clamping and a stick-on ruler on the fence.

This transforms the drill press from a useful tool to the ultimate tool! It can be left in place and the fence comes right off for larger pieces.

Hope this helps...

Jim

 

[Charlie Woody]

Hi Steve

Just wondering if you have built your pillar drill table and fence? What was the final design and what materials and hardware did you use? Where did you source these items?

I hope to start a similar project so any help you can provide would be appreciated.