Making A Drill Press Leveling Base Homemade Machines & Jigs

A drill press is very nearly a mandatory tool for a reasonably well equipped wood shop. The better ones are floor standing models, and although there are some decent quality bench mount units available, these are typically not very powerful and are limited in their capacity under the chuck.

With the upsides to having a floor stander, there are some downsides as well. If your floor is rough and uneven you’ll need to shim the base to make the drill press fairly level. Also, depending on the weight and size of the base, the unit can be quite tippy, as most are top-heavy. From my own experience, I can say that the ideal is to shim the base, then bolt it down to the floor – indeed, it is recommended by the manufacturer that you do this. This is not always feasible, and may not be an option if you live in a rented property or lack the space for a permanent setup. If not bolted down, putting extra weigh on the base works well too, but can get in the way for some operations.

I haven’t bolted mine down, since I will be moving from my current shop location (eventually). My floor is also quite unlevel and uneven, making the drill press wobble slightly when I use it. Having it dead level is usually not terribly important, but having it fairly close would be nice. I have also found that it is a bit lower than I’d like, and having it 2″; to 3″; higher would make it more comfortable for me to work at.

With these basic criteria in mind, I set out to build a base that was easy to make, inexpensive, but still gave me the functionality and durability I was looking for.

Here’s a short video showing what I came up with:

The first step was to cut some regular framing lumber down to size and plane it flat. The lumber had been drying for quite some time, which is important for a finished project like this.

With the stock cut to size, I laid out the radius using my beam compass:

Making A Drill Press Leveling Base

The semicircle is then cut with the band saw and smoothed to the line with the disk sander:

Making A Drill Press Leveling Base

The frame of the stand is made with two members, joined to form a “T”. The second member is marked out and cut in the same way:

Making A Drill Press Leveling Base

The joint is secured using #20 biscuits and glue. The locations for the biscuits are laid out on the members:

Making A Drill Press Leveling Base

Often biscuits are used for alignment, here they are used as reinforcement also. I’m using polyurethane construction adhesive to glue the joint:

Making A Drill Press Leveling Base

It is clamped and left overnight to cure. An alternative way of making this frame is shown in the SketchUp model:

Making A Drill Press Leveling Base

The feet of the stand are made from two layers of 1/2″; thick plywood. The centre is marked and the outer diameter is drawn on all six pieces:

Making A Drill Press Leveling Base

The inside of the lower part of the foot is drilled out with a 2-1/2″; hole saw:

Making A Drill Press Leveling Base

The upper and lower parts are glued and clamped:

Making A Drill Press Leveling Base

Three 3/8″ threaded rods are cut and a nut is tightened onto the ends. For this, I used an interference fit, similar to how I did it on the edge clamp. A lock nut would work also:

Making A Drill Press Leveling Base

This is inserted into the foot from the bottom and a pair of washers and two jam nuts are tightened on from the top. Enough space is left for the rod to move freely:

Making A Drill Press Leveling Base

The top end of the threaded rods is slotted for a standard screwdriver. This makes it possible to adjust each foot from above. I did this with a zipcut blade in the grinder, but it can also be done with a hacksaw.

When the glue has dried, the feet are sanded to the mark and rounded slightly. The feet are now finished, ready to thread into t-nuts installed in the frame.

When the glue has set on the frame, it is sanded smooth:

Making A Drill Press Leveling Base

The t-nuts are inserted into the 7/16″; holes and #8 x 3/4″; screws with washers hold the t-nuts in:

Making A Drill Press Leveling Base

The washers provide a bit more surface area to grip the t-nut flange.

The feet are threaded into the frame:

Making A Drill Press Leveling Base

The drill press is put on the stand to line up holes for the bolts that hold it in place. Three holes are drilled through the cast iron base and through the wood frame of the stand. These are big enough for 3/8″; threaded rod “bolts” that hold the base on the stand:

Making A Drill Press Leveling Base

The stand looks good natural, but I think it looks better painted black:

Making A Drill Press Leveling Base

It’s quite a lot more stable, no more tipping and I could easily adjust it to level the drill press. It also lifts the drill press up to a more comfortable working height for me.

When the glue has set on the frame, it is sanded smooth:

Frame is sanded

The t-nuts are inserted into the 7/16″; holes and #8 x 3/4″; screws with washers hold the t-nuts in:

T-nuts are pressed in and secured with screws.

The washers provide a bit more surface area to grip the t-nut flange.

The feet are threaded into the frame:

The feet are threaded into the frame.

The drill press is put on the stand to line up holes for the bolts that hold it in place. Three holes are drilled through the cast iron base and through the wood frame of the stand. These are big enough for 3/8″; threaded rod “;bolts”; that hold the base on the stand.

Holes are drilled for bolts.

The stand looks good natural, but I think it looks better painted black:

The stand is painted black.

Just one brushed on coat was enough.

Finished and installed on the drill press:

The stand is finished.Closeup of the front foot.

It’s quite a lot more stable, no more tipping and I could easily adjust it to level the drill press. It also lifts the drill press up to a more comfortable working height for me.