Drill presses are notoriously messy, because chips are so hard to collect from them. My solution is nothing fancy, but it works amazingly well. It’s a wide drill-press table with an integrated dust-collection box and two vacuum slots through the top of the table.

When I’m drilling small workpieces, all chips and dust are sucked into the slots as I drill, down into the box, and out the vacuum port. With large panels and plywood, the slots are covered, and the suction acts as a workpiece clamp (happy accident— wish I could say I intended it!). In that case, the chips stay on the panel, so when I’m done, I just tilt the panel toward the slots and the mess disappears.

To make the dust box more efficient, I inserted angled panels inside it, creating a sloped trough that funnels chips into the port.

Alongside the vacuum slots I inset two lengths of T-track, which secure an aftermarket drill-press fence. Between the vacuum slots I routed a shallow dovetailed socket for a sacrificial strip of 1/4-in. plywood. The strip slides back and forth to present a fresh backer surface for clean drilling, and can be replaced altogether in minutes.

—MIKE GULDENSTERN, Newburyport , Mass.

Illustrations by Dan Thornton
From Fine Woodworking issue #286

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	Drill-press table has built-in work supports Whenever I drill a long piece that extends beyond my drill-press table, I struggle to hold it down safely. My new shopmade table solves this problem effectively and economically.
	Drill-press shelf holds parts and catches wood chips When using the drill press, I never have a good place to set aside multiple parts I am working on.
	Hand-Screw Vise Holds Odd Pieces on Drill Press To make a versatile drill-press vise for round or irregular workpieces, start with an inexpensive 10-in. wood hand screw.