I don’t think there’s a more sparse definition of “default settings” than what you get when you unpack the box containing your new drill press. Once assembled, the chunky cast iron table stares blankly at you as if to say: “What — I’m a drill press, what did you expect?”
And once it’s up and running, don’t let the purring of a drill press fool you. Unless you clamp the workpiece — or hold it firmly against a fence — you can get hurt quickly by the bit grabbing the material. Most cast iron tables have slots to hold workpieces to the table while drilling, but it won’t be long before you start daydreaming about a table that makes it a joy to drill holes. Well, you can wake up now. As you see here, we’ve done all the design work for you.
BUILDING IN LAYERS
The drawings here show the first of three layers of Baltic birch plywood that make up the table. The bottom two layers are
¾" thick, and the top layer is ¼" thick. This method of construction gives you a flat, stable surface to work on.
To keep the three layers uniform I started by shaping the bottom, then used
