Occasionally I need a pin router, but not often enough to justify the expense or to permanently dedicate the scarce shop space in my garage. So I came up with a way to convert my drill press into an inverted pin router quickly and easily.

First, screw a rectangular particleboard base to the legs of your router table so it can be clamped to your drill press table. Mount a short length of drill rod or an inverted drill bit in the drill press chuck to act as the pin, and then lower the quill all the way and lock it. Next, lower the drill press table a couple of feet so the router table will fit between the table and the pin. Then, clamp the router table to the drill press table after you have carefully centered the router bit beneath the pin.

To use the pin router, raise the quill and place your workpiece on the router table. Then lower the quill and lock it when it is at the right height to engage the pin routing pattern.

David Jeffrey, McKinleyville, Calif.

Fine Woodworking Magazine, June 1991 No. 88

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