MLCS Drill Press Table - $59.99 + Free Forstner Set

[Pakaderm]

With many of us purchasing shiny new drill presses lately, I was looking at drill press tables. I found this one at MLCS for $60, down from $100. It's got free shipping, and comes with a 7 piece Forstner Set.

Does anyone know the quality of this table?

http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shops...s_table_anchor

Thanks,
-Pakaderm

[Richard]

I used to think that a drill press table is a very handy thing to have. Now I consider it a waste of time and money. The work holding fixtures I need vary so much that it is pointless.

[davidtu]

Check out this thread... (and others mentioned within)

http://www.bt3central.com/showthread...ht=drill+table

[Tequila]

I bought that table a couple years ago when they had a scratch & dent sale. It was OK for a while, but I ran into some shortcomings pretty quickly and don't use it at all anymore.

For most operations, my drill press (Delta DP350) arm hits the fence screw knob, so I almost never use the fence.

The grooves in the MDF for the t-tracks leave very little material in the table. Overtightening holddown clamps just a little pulled out one of the track screws. That's made it very difficult to be sure that the workpiece is sitting flat on the table.

The aux table mounting flanges are held in place with three very small screws. Too much pressure on either the mounting clamp or the top of the table can cause these screws to pull out of the MDF.

When I get to it, I'll be making a new auxilliary table. It will probably be similar to the MLCS table, and I may reuse some of the parts. But the new table will be better supported all around, and will avoid the crearance problems I ran into with the MLCS table.

[theminor]

This one at grizzly is only $30 and it appears to be the exact same thing:

http://www.grizzly.com/products/h7827

I have it and for $30 what more could I ask for? I think it does great!

The only issue is that the fence blocks the handles when the table is too high, but that would be a problem with any fence I guess. Or maybe I'm doing something wrong...

[MikeMcCoy]

I got the one from Grizzly a couple of years ago during one of their Presidents Day sales and it's hard to beat at the price. I did find similar issues as stated above but they were fixable. The T-track and epoxy glue solved the lack of material problem. At the time I had a bench top drill press and cutting the fence down to size made quill hitting the fence problem go away.

[LCHIEN]

the grizz appears to be the same as the MLCS for about $30
but I didn't like it too much in the end and replaced it.

The Grizz makes me seriously wonder if MLCS stuff is as much of a bargain as I thought it was...

[Hoakie]

After seeing them around, I though I could make one as an "easy" shop project. I've since added the replaceable insert like the commercial ones. I like it because I got tired of trying to balance/clap everything due to the small plate on the Craftsman 10" DP

http://www.bt3central.com/showthread.php?t=30793