I know nobody wants to hear about tools, but since making tools and jigs is a passion of mine, I'm going to go ahead with this post. Humor me! I recently acquired an entire set of Popular Mechanics do-it-yourself encyclopedias (plus 3 yearbooks) all for $5.00! I was giddy, and reading them is a lot of fun. Mixed in with all the alphabetized topics of DIY stuff are pages of tips, tricks and jigs. The two I am addressing here were under B -bandsaw and D -drill press, they had their own sections as do most all tools. There I found these awesome accessories.
This helpful jig I just had to try is a drill press hold-down. It is just what I needed, as getting clamps on drill press tables is many times an exercise in futility.....Here are the plans.
I knew it was too big for my little drill press. But do a whole bunch of math to reduce it? Heck no! In the '70's when these books were written, you could not just go upstairs to your computer, scan/copy/paste the section you need and tell your printer to print it at 5 inches! HA instant reduced patterns.
The hold down works well and when not in use, it just swings out of the way.
The second handy helper is a cam action band saw fence . Here you can see the spring, the handle is shaped to apply the pressure. It does not adjust for blade drift, but it holds good!
Tomorrow I will do a miniatures post :)
