Take a tour of my Drill Press
Interesting Characteristics
I have a Jet Drill Press that has a number of enhancements which I've custom made. I use my Drill Press for mortising and well... drilling holes! I've added a custom oversized tabletop, and fence. On the fence I've incorporated a number of mortising holddowns. You'll see a custom, oversized handle that I turned on the lathe if you look closely at the photos. Since I use the Drill Press for mortising, this oversized handle give me the extra leverage needed to drive the chisel to cut the mortises.
Commentary
The Drill Press, like all my machines is on a mobile base. I custom build this one. It's sort of like a shoe that the base of the Drill Press fits into. I was a bit worried that making the machine mobile might pose tipping problems. Since Drill Presses are top-heavy by design (that cast iron head and motor are quite heavy), I was thinking that moving the machine around may be difficult or even dangerous. Luckily, it turned out just fine. It rolls with ease and while it's clearly top-heavy and I push the machine with care, it does not give any sense of tipping over. I think it has a lot to do with the quality of the casters you use, and I did use high-quality (expensive) casters.
For a detailed walk-thru of individual workstations in my shop, click on any of the links below.