Tips & Tricks: Through-the-table end boring

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I recently upgraded my drill press to a “woodworkers” model with a larger table, offering extra support for bigger workpieces. But it also features a removable center insert, which gave me an idea. Removing the insert makes it possible to feed a long workpiece through the hole for end boring without having to pivot the table to the side (and potentially throw it out of alignment). To aid in this, I made the fixture shown. It features a broad base with a notch sized to match the opening in the table. Four T-bolts with plastic knobs slip through lateral adjustment notches and engage the T-slots in the machine’s table to hold the base in place. Two vertical fences provide plenty of clamping support for workpieces. And atop these fences are two brass strips. The diagonal one provides a positive stop for loading pieces into the fixture, while the shorter one provides registration for a removable steel rule—helpful for setting the drilling depth. Magnets embedded in the side of the fence hold the rule securely when needed. n

—Dwayne Smyth, West Springfield, Massachusetts