Drill Press Handle Upgrade

[JoeyGee]

I recently picked up the Ryobi 12" DP discussed here:

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

I really, really love this DP. The one thing I didn't care for are the balls on the handles. They are small and just feel like they are--cheap and plastic. I updated my old 8" DP with these new handle ends and I really liked them, so I did the same on this one.

I just used those cheap wooden knobs that you can find at places like Michaels or Hobby Lobby. I drilled a larger hole in the ends and epoxied them on. I always liked the look and feel of the Bosch router handles. These aren't nearly as nice, but feel a lot better than the cheap ends that come with the DP.

[cabinetman]

That's a cool upgrade. Were the old ones screw on, where you could have threaded the knobs?

.

[Shep]

Looks nice. Looks like you have upgraded the table as well. I have the 10" and would love to do the same. Any pictures of the table?

[JoeyGee]

Cab, yes, the the old ones were screw on. I didn't think of threading the new ones. As it was, I drilled them slightly undersized and then just screwed them in. It actually was quite tight that way, and probably could have gotten away with no epoxy, but I wanted to make sure. I don't know what wood the knobs are but it was soft enough to thread on with the threads on the handles.

Shep, the table is actually the HF table, the same one Bill has pictures of in the linked thread. I'm too lazy to go out and take more pictures . It's a good table, costs about as much as the materials to build one yourself, not to mention the time it saved me from building one. I had to modify it to fit over the table on the 12" but the table on the 10" Ryobi is not as wide and should fit on fine.

The table was only $30 when I got it. Looks like it's gone up.

HF Table:

http://www.harborfreight.com/drill-p...nce-96395.html

[Bill in Buena Park]

Nice setup on those handles - I might have to look into that. I have the same HF table, and had to do the same modification, but worth the effort IMO.

[greenacres2]

Seeing the handle on this Box Jig might inspire me to build it...
http://www.leestyron.com/newlynnjig.php 5 or 6 pictures down.

Probably could put a threaded insert in a golf ball.

Earl (first post after lurking for a month)