On 3/25/2021 8:05 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 25 Mar 2021 09:11:15 -0500, Leon lcb11211@swbelldotnet
wrote:

On 3/24/2021 5:47 PM, Bob D wrote:
The second big power tool I bought years ago was a floor drill press. Its been ever faithful and still does the job. But two things about the drill press that have always aggravated me: 1) chip collection and 2) track mounted hold down clamps.

For chip collection, I have tried all manner of hoses connected to holders, fences, etc. The problem is that a drill press presents an infinite challenge in terms of hose locations, type bit used, shape of the work being drilled, etc. I asked Leon what he does. He said he just has his wife hold the vacuum hose. The only thing that works consistently for me is to hold a vacuum hose crevice nozzle near the drill bit. But that is only possible if you have a cooperative partner, or your work is so securely clamped that you can operate the drill press with one hand.

I built a decent drill press table with tracks years ago and I have tried many styles of track clamps. They all worked well some of the time. But there are those occasions where the clamp is not tall enough, or the track is in the wrong position. Also, the setup time was aggravating.

I finally came up with an idea, triggered while drilling more dog holes in my workbench. I love Leevalley dog hole hold down clamps. Why not see if they will work on the drill press? So I drilled 8 dog holes in the front edge of my drill press table. Voila! They are super strong clamps, fast to set up and do not ever interfere with the drill press handle. They are expensive and not for everyone. But I am very happy with the solution.

Here's a link to a photo of the setup.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0Gor...-_Crystal_Lake

Bob



Pretty cool!

Dust collection. On the DP, that is tough but I believe, Scott Lurndal
bought an accordion like tube that fits around the quill and bit and
attaches to a vac. Sorry Scott if you were not the guy. ;~)

I've looked at things like the below but haven't found that DPs are
that messy. I would like dust collection for the DP when I drill
metal. I don't wand those shavings getting into my woodworking.


Because I build a lot of doors, and hang them with Euro style hinges I
drill hundreds of 35mm/1-3/8" 1/2" x deep holes. I have to vacuum with
each hole. Otherwise, not so much.