Drill Press Cabinet
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Drill Press Cabinet
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For the first couple of years that I had my drill press,
I had it perched on a small stand that was reasonably functional
but left a lot to be desired. I finally got around to building
myself a better one, and it has been a big improvement.
The stand is made almost entirely of 3/4" oak plywood. It stands about 40" high which is just right for me. (My first stand was only about 32" tall and much too low for me to work at comfortably.) The surface area of the top of the cabinet is 23" x 23" and the cabinet box itself measures 21" x 21" x 36". The cabinet is on four casters (two of which can be locked in place when necessary) so that it is easy to move it around the shop. 
I built a removable light stand that I attached to the side of the cabinet. That allows me to direct a halogen light at my work area on the drill press table. The light pole can be removed from the base and can be rotated 360 degrees. The base of the light fixture can be attached to either side of the cabinet top. 
The light and the drill press plug in to a six-outlet power strip that I mounted to the back of the cabinet. Also plugged in to the power strip are the chargers for the batteries of both my cordless drills. Each drill, along with each charger, is actually stored on the bottom shelf inside the cabinet. The power cords for each charger exit the cabinet through a 1¼" hole in the lower back of the cabinet. 
Inside the cabinet are four storage areas. The lower two areas are just open shelves. They hold my two cordless drills, chargers, and various other jigs and accessories for the drill press. The upper two shelves have top sections that slide out to reveal all my drill bits. These two sliding shelves are made of melamine and are held in place by wooden rails mounted to the inside of the cabinet. These rails stop the shelves from tipping forward at full extension. The upper shelf holds numerous drill bits, including screw-driving bits and hole saw bits. It also neatly holds all of my allen wrenches. The second shelf holds both my sets of Forstener bits. 
The cabinet is painted white, which really helps brighten up the shop. The doors are also painted with the image of a vertically-hanging Texas state flag. The two doors are held in the closed position by two pairs of magnets. The door handles are a matching pair that, together, form the shape of the State of Texas. I enjoy customizing little things like door handles on projects. Door handles and pulls are a great place to add some additional artistry to a project. You can see other examples of this that I have done on my Router Table doors and the Fishpole Rack. This cabinet has really helped me organize my drill accessories and has been a useful and attractive improvement in my shop. If you like this project, you should also take a look at my Planer Cabinet. |