Double-Duty Drill-Press Shelf

Shopmade shelf keeps parts and bits close at hand and is ideal for catching wood chips.

#256–Sep/Oct 2016 Issue

When using the drill press, I never have a good place to set aside multiple parts I am working on. So I made an adjustable shelf that mounts on the column, below the normal table, where I can place parts, bits, and accessories. What I love about it is that it also catches most of the chips from drilling and makes cleanup a cinch. I left one side open, placed a trash can under that edge, and adjusted the shelf just above the can. Now when a job is complete, cleanup takes just a few seconds. No more dustpan. To attach the tray to the drill press I made a simple hardwood frame, with a two-sided clamp that grabs the column. One side of this clamp is the central rail of the frame, screwed solidly to it. The other side of the clamp bracket is a separate part. To cut the big hole in these parts that fits around the drill-press column, clamp the parts together temporarily and use a circle-cutter or large hole saw on the drill press. To fit the plywood tray around the column, you can simply jigsaw a notch in it, and then fill the back side of the cutout once the tray is in place.