I am curious about the size of benchtop drill press you have. Is it the
shortened version of the full-size Delta floor model; or the small machine
intended for hobby use (priced around or under $100)? The small ones are
limited in capability. However my 30 year old Craftsman floor model gets a
lot of use and has been updated a couple of times.

What do I use it for? Mainly drilling or boring holes. (I agree with
others that the drill press is not intended to withstand the lateral loads
that come with routing or shaping.) It is very difficult to drill a
perpendicular hole in anything with a hand-held drill motor or a dowel jig.
It also difficult to drill repeated and parallel holes, on even spacing,
without a drill press. The drill-press adds precision to any
drilling/boring operation. Some drill presses do a pretty good job with a
mortising set (if it fits) but mine is not compatible with the sets.

Go to the library and check out a drill press book or a general tool book
with drill press info. There are dozens of tricks, jigs and fences that
will increase the utility of the machine. Many of the jigs can be made
easily from scrap plywood and hardware.

Nearly all store-bought drill presses are designed for metal work. Thus the
small, rough, cast-iron table. The most useful improvement you can make for
your machine is a good-sized drill press table with a fence. My old
Craftsman has a table that is about 10" to 12" square. I built an add-on
from a double layer of 3/4" Baltic Birch Plywood that is 17" x 30" in size
and outside edges slide out to provide an additional 10" of support on each
side. I put "T" slots in it and built a maple fence that also includes a
"T" slot and a sliding/locking gage-block that makes repetitive work a snap.
Most of the top and fence were made from stuff I had in the shop. I had to
buy the "T" slots and associated hardware.

Look around for info. The drill press should be an indispensable part of
your shop.

RonB


"HerHusband" wrote in message
...
I bought a Delta benchtop drill press a couple of years ago, thinking it
would be one of the most used machines in my workshop. I bought it to make
mortises, drill shelf pin holes, holes for inset hinges, etc. But, two
years later, I find I rarely even plug it in. All the things I bought it
for, I tend to use my cordless drill for instead, or use different
materials or techniques that don't require the drill press.

It took me years to finally purchase a drill press, so I don't really want
to get rid of it. But I'm curious what other people do with their drill
press to get more use out of them?

Ideas please...

Thanks,

Anthony