Fun Ways to Use a Drill Press

Sanding

• When shaping legs for a chair or table, a drill press can be used to smooth out the contours of the wood piece. Simply attach a inflatable drum sander where the drill bit normally goes and mount it to the table below. Varying the amount of air inside the drum sander makes the sandpaper conform to the shape of the wooden object being sanded. This make it easier to gently round any rough corners or edges. Using drum sanders on a drill press speeds up any time-consuming sanding job.

Sharpening

• Attaching sharpening wheels to a drill press offers a convenient method of sharpening chisels, gouges and other metal tools. A slotted sharpening wheel is effective because it makes the tool visible through the slots, so you can adjust the angle of the tool to get the edges uniformly sharp. Leather or cotton wheels can be inserted on the drill press immediately afterward to polish up the newly sharpened edges and make your chisel or gouge look like new.

Wood Lathe

• A drill press offers a less expensive alternative to a traditional wood lathe. All you need to convert it into a lathe is to install a live center that holds the wood and rotates it while you shave off strips. A live center can be created using a drill chuck and a thrust bushing from a hand-held drill. Simply bolt a piece of hardwood to your drill press table, bore a hole into it using the chuck and slip the thrust bearing into the hole. Insert a piece of wood between the chuck and thrust and the drill press will rotate it once turned on.

Drill Press Benefits

• Using a drill press for different woodworking and metalworking tasks offers plenty of advantages over a traditional hand-held drill. One obvious benefit is it drills more precise holes. A hand-held drill can be wobbly and slip. The drill press bit goes straight down into the wood or metal and will put the hole in the right place at the right size and depth as long as the wood or metal is secured to the drill press table.