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I previously made and used an X/Y table on my Delta floor standing drill press.  I've since sold that tool and replaced it with a Nova Voyager direct drive drill press. 

This post is about making a new (and improved) X/Y table for the new drill press. 

Nova Voyager Press

The previous table slid on 1/4" thick metal plate guides that slid in slots cut into plywood. With the leverage of threaded rods it worked well enough, but there is plenty of room for improvement. This version runs on linear slides salvaged from an old CNC project. 

A little sketching helped me visualize the assembly strategy.  There are 3 layers, a top, middle, and a bottom.  

Three Layers

1. The long rails mount on the bottom of the  top layer. 
2. The slides for the long rail mount on the top of the middle layer. 
3. The short rails mount on the bottom of the middle layer.
1. Four rails, 300mm long, were offset and used so the X/Y table could move forward 8.25". The 2nd layer is supported by 4 slides. 
4. The slides for the short rails mount on the top of the bottom layer. 
5. A removable fence mounts on the top rear edge of the top layer.
1. The fence/alignment strategy might mount on pins that drop into holes. 
2. The fence could be an L shape, with a short side and a longer side.
1. It could mount short side forward, or
2. Long side forward, or
3. Thickness edge forward. Perhaps the sides of the L fence are different thicknesses. Either thickness could be the forward edge. 
   
6. The height crank on the drill press needed to be accounted for.  Thus the notch in the rear right corner of the table. 
7. X and Y handles move with the table.  What they thread through is attached to the layer below. 
8. T-Slots running left to right on the top layer provide the best option for clamping parts down. Top layer is a sandwich of 12mm plywood with 5mm plywood between the tracks. The track is embedded into the 12mm layer so only 5mm sticks up. Track is .75" wide and .375" thick.  It works with both 1/4" and 5/16" t-bolts. One 48" long strip was cut in half to make two strips for the 24" wide X/Y table top. 
9. Strips of 1/8" thick plywood sit sandwiched between bottom layer and the drill press table. They account for the heads of the screws that hold the sliders to the other side. 

For the all-thread I used HDPE to make the blocks. One was drilled and tapped for the steel all-thread.  All were fit into CNC cut pockets for precise positioning and screwed in place. Between the bottom and the middle the all thread is flat on the bottom board.  I cut a shallow groove 1/16" deep below it using a 1/2" ball nosed bit it so it doesn't rub.  The second block is for the middle plate and collets to hold the all-thread in place. It took a bit of work after the CNC was done making it to get it to fit into the pocket made for it. Nylon washers are between the collets and the HDPE blocks. 

Y axis

X axis

Last step was to mount this X/Y table onto the drill press table. 

Bolted down

I've made a few wrenches from wood scraps.  Time now to see if I can make a wood version of a heavy steel mallet I have. Basically a small sledge hammer. 

I had a nice block of dense white oak for the head, and a section of hex shaped oak that was going to be the handle for a tool chest that made a good handle for the mallet. 

Using the CNC to cut the top details took some contemplation and experimentation. The hardest part was the chamfer around the edges. The easy parts were the top curved surface and the center hole for the handle. That hole was first drilled out at my drill press,  The CNC flared the top of the hole anticipating the wedge that will spread the tenon and trap the handle in place. 

White Oak Mallet Head

The old steel mallet is blessed with a nice patina and grace from being used and cared for over 5 decades since I inherited it from an Uncle. I'm sure he got good use of it over the time he had it. 

Old and New

Wood sealed

For a finish I applied tung oil on the red oak handle, and Danish oil on the white oak head.

Four clamps conspiring

A few of the scrap wood blocks in my collection have hinted that they'd like to be clamps. As such this post is about granting that desire and replacing some previous clamps that are near death. 

My previous clamps were cut from larger boards,  A few were cut as two halves that I glued together.  A few were cut from thicker boards, then turned 90 degrees so I could cut the slot for the bolt in them.  

The length of these clamps is not critical to their usefulness and can vary. 

The first one (upper right)  I made from a dense white oak scrap.  It suffered a few broke out chips when the bottom edge was flush cut after the CNC was done. It works despite those missing bits. 

The second clamp I cut from a scrap of birch (lower left).  It also gave me some grief as I made a mistake when clamping the scrap block down. I stopped the CNC after the first pass when I realized that mistake.  It works but has a few scars from my bandsaw, drum sander, and disk sander.

The last two clamps were cut from a 5/8" thick scrap of walnut. Room enough for 4 halves that when glued together made two clamps. I added an alignment hole for a 3/4" long section of 1/4"diameter wood dowel to make it easier to clamp the halves together and aligned. 

One Scrap, Four clamp halves

Here are two made from one block of white ash.  Both cut out as one piece, then turned sideways to cut the slots in them. 

Short Ash Clamp

Long Ash Clamp

These clamps hold the work down and also prevent it from moving sideways.  Made from wood you don't have to worry if a spinning router bit accidently encounters one. Should one or more  be ruined from such encounters making replacements is easy. 

4D 

Not all projects take a lot of time or a lot of wood.  A little scrap of Bubinga that was headed for the trash bin turned out to be the perfect material scrap for this project. 

Bubinga Scrap

Three CNC toolpaths.  Three vectors. Two router bits.  The slot that the ruler slides into was cut with a 1/8" t-slot bit.  The center area and curved edge were cut with the same 3/16" spiral down-cut end mill.  The blue friction tape keeps the ruler in place but still lets it slide out easy for compact storage. 

T-Square

This little block of wood turns a simple cheap ruler into a slightly more useful T-Square.  I plan to add this ruler/T-square to a drawing kit box project.  

A bonus feature is that the ruler can slide through.  This allows it to work as a marking gauge.

Marking Gauge

To insure that the ruler won't slide when using it I cut a recess under the friction tape for a small square nut, and added a thumb screw to lock the ruler in place.

Thumb Screw to lock it in place.

 I'm delighted with how well it works and easy it was to make.  The bubinga scrap is delighted to be something useful.   😊

4D

  I've had this block of Claro Walnut in my stash for a month or so. Recently it dared me to make something from it. 

Rough Block in Vise

It took a few steps to turn this block into a hinged box.  First step was to cut out the inside and then the outer edge using a 1/4" end mill. 

Inside and Outer Edge Done

Hinge Slots Cut

Rounded Back Edge

Ready to Flush Cut

Flush Cut. Some Sanding Needed.

A lid and hinges were still needed.  For the lid I found an old strip of 3/4" thick walnut.  I cut off 10" or so, then ripped it  2" wide using my table saw. Next I used my bandsaw to slice it in half.   I took one half and ran it through my drum sander to sand it smooth and uniformly thick.  That strip was cut into 3 pieces, which I then glued together side by side.  This left me with a thin piece large enough to cut the lid from. 

Lid.  CNC Done

Next came the band saw to free the shape from the rough block.

Bandsaw to free the lid.

Then to my trim router table to clean up the edges. 

Flush Cut the Edges

Now trimmed close to the shape of the box, and waiting for hinge plate inserts.

Slots align.

Hinge plates are cut from 6mm thick Baltic Birch plywood.  Glued into the slots in the lid. Pinned into the box with 1/8"d steel pins.

Lid Attached

The lid opens 90 degrees but no more. Action is smooth but I may test if a little wax on the hinge plate makes a difference. 

Lid closed.

All machining processes done.   Some manual sanding and a final coat of finish or two or three is all that is left to do.   A fun project. A good mental exercise. A useful box. Fewer wood scraps to deal with.  4 wins!

Hanging Lamp, Fabric Shade

A simple lathe turned hub for the bulb socket and power cord, and six lengths of 3/8" hardwood dowel are all the wood parts needed.  

Lathe-Turned Hub

Making the pattern, cutting out the shade panels, then sewing them together with slots to slip over the dowels was the hard part.  I had to remember a few sewing tricks I learned when I was a kid watching my mother sew clothes for family members. The seam edges between each panel are hidden in the dowel slot. 

Light On

I have 5 of these I made.  The hub and the fabric used each slightly different.  The lamps have no switch, so I use touch plate switches with each one.  The lamps plug into the control boxes for the switch, which then plugs into a wall outlet. In every room where I have one of these lamps the touch plate is set where it is easy to reach.  

To drill the holes I used this adjustable angle fixture to hold the lamp hubs under my drill press.  I positioned the hub, drilled a hole, rotated it 60 degrees, then repeat 5 more times for each hub.  I carefully marked 6 evenly spaced spots on the hub for the center of each dowel hole.  

Jig Rising

The hubs are 2.5" diameter and vary between 2.5" and 3.25" tall. 

It took some drafting skills I learned in high school to figure out the pattern shape for the cloth shade panels.  Nothing special about the fabric I used. A couple seem to have faded a bit near the top close to the bulb.  When assembled there is a gap between the hub and the cloth for any heat from the bulb to rise up through. 

I now have a rotary axis on my CNC, so making the hubs is an easy repeatable step should I want to make any more. While I can't drill angled holes on the rotary axis, I can have the CNC mark where each dowel center is before taking it off the rotary axis.  The shape could also be a hexagon rather than a cylindrical lathe turned shape.  This would tighten up the detail continuity of the design. With flat sides rather than a round shape it would be easier to drill the holes for the dowels accurately.  The hub shape could also be modified to better relate to any pattern the chosen fabric may have.  Choosing the fabric before finalizing the hub shape is recommended. Or simplify it to intentionally not compete with the detail in the fabric. 

The shade panels are 12.25" tall + another inch for a half inch hem on top and bottom. 12.75" from seam to seam on the bottom edge 2.5" from seam to seam on the top edge. Extra is needed for the slots for the dowels.  The dowels angle down from horizontal roughly 35 degrees. 55 degrees up from the vertical axis of the hub. These specifications are all arbitrary.  You could change the slope and size of the shade.  

I may make one more as I have a box of fabric scraps, plenty of wood to make a hub, and several 3/8" dowel sections that need a project to justify their existence.  Perhaps I could use a different fabric for each panel to make the shade, eh? 

Finding the right socket and cord hanging lamp kit is the last challenge.  Mine have a 15' cord.  Most I've seen are designed to hang with just a decorative bulb. Too much unneeded plastic around the socket.

Some lathe turning, hole drilling and sewing skills required for these hanging lamps. A fun and creative project given the variety of available fabrics out there and fairly common light hardware used.  I recommend using a dimmable LED bulb that will work with the touch pad switch.  Not all LED bulbs are the same. 

Comments welcomed!

4D 

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