let me start out by asking why would you want an xy sliding drill press table for a woodworking drill press well my answer is simple why wouldn't you i'm all about creative shop improvements so if i can put a cool xy feature on a drill press table i'm gonna do it in fact i did do it a long time ago back in the early days of this channel the first version was big and it was bulky but it could be used for all sorts of things i used the positioner for boring evenly spaced holes for shelf pins or cribbage boards i even chucked up a router bit and cut shallow mortises for hinges and inlays which may or may not be practical but it sure was cool the problem with that early version though was it was big and bulky and it was kind of complex to build so sometime later about five years ago i made a smaller simpler version that project only took half a sheet of plywood i recommend using the good stuff not necessarily baltic birch but a good cabinet-grade plywood from the home center because you really want your parts to stay nice and flat on this version of the table i eliminated the complex tracking mechanism with its drawer slides and threaded rods that the old one had instead i used a principle that i've used on several other jigs with a lot of success a simple system of sliding tables it's built in three layers the upper table moves forward and back on a wooden track there's a locking mechanism on the side that will also accommodate a system of stops then the whole thing tracks side to side on a metal guide bar inside a dado this is the same principle i used on my sliding router table design years ago and on my horizontal router table as well it tracks really smoothly and accurately in the center are replaceable inserts i like having the ability to swap these out when they get worn on my old table i use different inserts for things like drum sanders of different sizes i even made a live center insert from a roller skate bearing and a countersink bit so i could do some small turnings on the drill press there's really no reason you couldn't do these same things with this new tables insert another thing i really liked about the older version was the built-in storage for bits that one had bigger drawers this time i made a pair of compact trays so that the table itself would be as thin and lightweight as possible in these pullout trays you can fit entire sets of drill bits or spade bits and accessories so you never have to go far to find what you need and because the storage is close by you're more likely to put things away when you're done with them over the years i've tried several drill press table fence designs and some work better than others but i've always found that dust collection is really difficult at the drill press so that was part of my focus while i was making a fence for this table i found a little manifold that they sell at rockler and it attaches to my homemade fence and then the shop vacuum plugs right in problem solved another feature i wanted was a way to quickly put the fence on the table and then take it off again when it wasn't needed this one works much like a t-square style table saw fence there's a rail that the fence clamps to along the side and it's easy to position and then remove it when you want to that said sometimes i want to really clamp things down so the fence can't possibly deflect so in that case there are also t-tracks built in and the front panels are adjustable so you can get the right balance between maximum support and maximum dust collection this is especially useful if you're using those sanding drums all of this adds up to what i think is a pretty handy drill press table but it's that xy sliding mechanism that really makes it unique there are a couple different ways to operate it the simplest way is to place a piece of tape on the front of the table and then use a pen or a pencil to lay out your whole pattern that you want to cut this is great if you're making multiple work pieces with identical hole spacing you don't have to lay out each piece individually rather you bore a hole slide the table the next point or another hole move on to the next point and so on all without ever touching your work piece the same process applies to the y motion on the side of the table you can use both mechanisms together to make any pattern that you need and both mechanisms have locking knobs so you can secure it in its position this tape method is great for more complex layouts that have multiple holes but if you only need a couple different positions you can instead use the stops that are built into each mechanism they restrict the table's movement forward and back as well as side to side this is another feature that will come in handy for repeat work so there you have it my xy drill press table despite its relatively simple design it operates very smoothly and it includes all sorts of cool features in fact i suspect that if some of you build it in your shop you're going to find all kinds of creative ways to use it so if you'd like a set of plans to build your own you can pick them up at the link below and i'll see you next time it's just a couple of cuts your ears will be fine right it will be if you have your isotunes bluetooth earbuds in because you'd already have your ansi certified hearing protection on because you're listening to your favorite music and podcasts and you're supporting a small family business at the same time please use the link below this video to learn more and to show them you support what we do as well
