Thickness Planer Drill Press

How to turn your drill press into a thickness planer and how to make a fine adjustable table.
Build article: www.jax-design.net

[@chrismarkert7673]

NICE "TOOL". WORKS VERY WELL! WHEN I READ THE TITLE, I WAS THINKING YOU WERE GOING TO MAKE A DRILL PRESS OUT OF A THICKNESS PLANER.WHAT YOU DID MAKES MUCH MORE SENSE!

[@dougpichler501]

Cool planer drill bit. I like the adjustable table too.

[@SuperBowser87]

Jack please do not worry about the naysayers and safety nazis please. You have one of the best imaginations on KZbin hands down. What you made is perfect for small work. Beats buying a 500 dollar planer. It's not like the drill press is spinning at 3000 rpm. If anybody sees your setup as a danger then they HAVE NO BUSINESS being around a machine. Please keep up the great work. As always thanks for your time and effort.

[@antmallett6065]

+Tom Wilcox How many rpm does it have to spin at in order to do to your hand what it does to wood? And in terms of 'small work' you are better off and safer using a drum sander jig in the DP to thickness small stock, even though it puts a radial load on the machine. I am so sick and tired of weekend warrior woodworkers like you commenting on safety issues that they obviously don't really understand. Am I a Safety Nazi? Maybe. Common sense Nazi more likely.

[@SuperBowser87]

+Jack Houweling I do not understand people anymore. Why are they so damn worried about everybody's safety? I don't think they are really worried about your safety it just gives them a good feeling trying to point out what they think you should be doing or not doing. The last guy who said he was a safe and smart safety Nazi does not have any videos posted but he and others want to tell you what you should do in yours. He should post a video showing the correct way to do what he thinks you are doing wrong. You keep doing what ever you want and do not worry about the safety police blowing there whistle at you. Thanks Jack!

[@SuperBowser87]

+Ant Mallett post a video showing what you just wrote. It would make things so much clearer. Weekend warrior ? You know nothing about me or what I do. I looked on your channel to see how many days a week you did this for a living but yet again no video. Take your wiener and have a go with your Saw Stop. I liked your video about your saw......oh wait you don't have one about it either. I think they call people like you Nazi Trolls. Have a blessed day.

[@DieselRamcharger]

+Tom Wilcox You mean common sense nazis? Telling people who don't know better to use a taper attached chuck as a milling head…come the fuck on. Its real fun when the chuck pops off and launches the fucking cutter at you.

[@SuperBowser87]

+Diesel Ramcharger they still make and sell cutter heads like this. Even in these days of big brother must look over my shoulder to keep me safe because I'm not responsible enough to do so. I still have one and occasionally use it. Dangerous? yep. But if you have enough sense to tighten the chuck up it will never just "fly off". If you think it's dangerous that's ok. DONT USE IT. Simple enough? Don't worry if it does fly off and takes your hand with it there is a lawyer out there that will sue the maker and it will be all better. I'm glad this generation was not born in the 1950's! We would never got anything done.

[@StraightThread]

The Wagner Safe T Planer! I have one that I ordered in 1974 to use on a radial saw. It worked well on the radial saw, and adjustment was simple since the arm could be adjusted up or down by crank. It wouldn't kick back as some might think, so it was actually quite safe to use, assuming you didn't stick your fingers under it while it was running. The last time I used mine was probably in 1979 or 80. I sold the radial arm saw and never got another, but the little planer is in a drawer in my shop. I think I even have the original instructions that came with it. Your adjustable table is quite clever and would have several applications. Good work, Jack.

[@daniellalor6244]

I bought one its $39 bucks and worth EVERY penny, never heard of it in 20+ years of woodworking before this video.

[@karlackdamack4238]

I just came across this video and I enjoyed watching it. Great ingenuity with the build of the lift box. Don't let the negative comments about safety bother you. Some people can't ride a bike without a helmet, shoulder pads, elbow pads, knee pads and special shoes. There are some of us who can work around equipment and rarely get a superficial scratch. Great video, great build.

[@57energon]

This high priced unit is ready for industrial use according to you. Call Grizzly to put a CNC on this value priced, sharp bladed, no guarded mill and no eyes for everyone. Besides the fact that eyes don't grow back and don't react well to sticky band aids. As for the electrical octopus behind his head everyone dying in a fiery blaze won't help either. Safety is not a technique as you think it is. Safety is a religion you practice to make each and every cut, join and work repeatable with all your 10 fingers and 2 eyes. We'll just call you "Lucky" from now on...

[@leefowble6333]

I've also had one of these for many years, before I finally got a planer. Your idea certainly makes more sense than constantly having to adjust the drill press table. I also ran across a similar tool for use on my old radial arm saw. Comparing the two, it looks like they are meant to rotate in opposite direction from each other. I never used it on the radial arm saw, because it didn't seem like it was worth all the trouble required to set it up. In fact the radial arm saw itself wasn't worth all the trouble to keep it in accurate adjustment on all its axis, so it was replaced with a quality table saw. I have never failed to learn from your videos. Thanks for doing such a great job.

[@WoodworkingManiak]

Jack, that's an awesome idea for anyone without a planer, or with a smaller planer.

[@1244taylor]

Great addition.. Have had one of these for probably 40 years.. they are designed to not kickback and are safe as long as you are aware that any cutting machine can cause you damage and act/use accordingly.. I will be making one of these this summer. thanks for a great idea...

[@ratty1950]

I bought a Safe-T-Planer a few years ago to help me in building guitars. Tried it on my drill press but found the height adjustment of the drill press table to be too hit-and-miss for reliable results so the Safe-T-Planer has lived in the back of a drawer since then. Until I saw this video! I made this adjustable table in an afternoon and now I can micro-adjust the height, turning my drill press into a very useful thickness planer. I'd already modified the drill press by grinding a groove in the MT2 chuck arbor and drilling and tapping a hole for a grubscrew in the quill, locking the arbor in firmly. Since I only use that particular drill press with a chuck the arbor doesn't need to come out for any reason, but it would be an easy job to remove it if I ever wanted to. To the naysayers, I say, 'Don't knock the Safe-T-Planer until you've tried it . . . ' Thanks for a great idea!

[@donalfredisaac]

Jack when, when I started doing carpentry some 40 years ago I purchased a rotary planer to use on my radial saw and I had a scary experience so I kept that planer somewhere, but seeing how it works on a drill press I´ll give it a second try, thanks for posting

[@lloydpittonet]

Literally JUST got a Wagner safe t planer this afternoon from a friend, and was looking at something of a table to boost up my work with, as a drill press doesn't always have a locking mechanism for the chuck itself in my pricerange. This is a great design, and I agree with adding something to lock the table. Gonna make one myself this coming weekend!

[@williamdawson3353]

I really like the table design, I probably build one tommorow. I'm always adjusting the Drill press and with the addition of some small leveling jacks I can achieve a degree of 0 degree level.

[@Joe-hv4xr]

I have to say it is probably one of the most under appreciated tools that you can find. They are immensely useful when doing any sort of small wood working, whether it is boxes or musical instruments. You can do certain things without them, but they sure do make them a lot easier. Great for truing up inlay and banding material that would be destroyed with most other tools.IIRC, the original was discontinued by Wagner a few years ago. Woodtek and a few other companies still make them though under the general name of a "rotary plane" if you are interested in buying one of your own.

[@Khalid.Al-Bahi]

Brilliant idea. I'm gonna use the same principle but with a small disc sander for taking those extra millimeter or two that may required a drum sander. For those with safety concerns (IF you are gonna build this some day) make a guard with some acrylic just like any other shop-made machine. Thanks for your out-of-the-box thinking, Jack.

[@matt_williams1015]

Very cool solution to the adjustable table, great idea. I didn't think those safety planers were available anymore either, so I figured yours was old. I tried getting one a few years ago as it was recommended for thickness planing a guitar back and they were no longer sold

[@MegaGuitarpicker]

I just bought a Safety Planer from Stewart McDonald with replacement cutters. I plan to us my milling machine and will clamp the wood down on the bed instead of feeding it through by hand. That just looks dangerous feeding by hand but I have seen others do it without issues. Nice job on your adjusting table!

[@maniyan_wanagi]

I've got the Craftsman version of that planer head. I use it in my radial arm saw and feel it's far safer because I've got an adjustable guard, a fence, and purpose-built push sticks. The BFD with this tool, is to keep it *SHARP* and to feed evenly and adjust your cutting depth and feed rate for the hardness of your material - far less aggressive for hardwoods than softwoods. I've never had it offer to kick back - but I'm damned cautious because, as we all know, while it's incredibly versatile and powerful, the RAS is the most dangerous tool in the shop. Thanks for the tutorial, Mr. Houweling - I'll be building a similar table soon, as I really like your design.

[@JonathanTaulbee]

I just came across this video, and I am super impressed with the plainer and your awesome table! Thank you for showing us!

[@toboggan44]

The table design is brilliant. It would make a great micro adjustable table on the drill press. I could have used this yesterday when I was trying to adjust the depth of a hole I was trying to get 0.02 shallower with a forstner bit.

[@peterfabricius662]

Nice idea, Jack, the table really does need a fence to guide the workpiece. After the planing you can add a sanding disk ( 6") on a shaft and do a great job sanding your work. This sander will go down to very thin pieces. Use two guide fences clamped to the table and a push stick the same thickness as you want your final thickness to be. Well done with the height setting table, put a lock screw on the side.Peter F.

[@TheLayla33]

Your ideas are ingenious. You are a very creative person. A pleasure for the eyes

[@Castle6064]

brilliant work. the table mechanism could be used for so many things I really love it. Thanks for the video

[@yuvallahav]

Love the sliding platform, and I was going to comment about the knob turning from the vibration, but you mentioned you need a lock on it.. :) great little jig!!

[@aarondcmedia9585]

Would be keen to see how you checked parallel / squareness of this device to the drill and bit before use? Fantastic sliding vertical adjustment mechanism, thanks for sharing.

[@DensShop]

This is extremely clever! Excellent Job, Jack!

[@tomx63]

great video, Jack. You'll be happy to know the rotary planers for drill presses are alive and well. Some other comments seem to think this is a very dangerous set up. Not sure I totally agree. There are plenty of other large power tools where your hands are equally close to a blade or bit.

[@philparrish6914]

And they are no safer to use. Extreme caution is warranted with the use of any power tool. I am equally concerned with the fact that eye protection was not used in this video. One splinter in the eye at such a high rate of speed will render an eye blind.

[@SkullyWoodMetal]

Cool design, I never saw a cutter like that. Great job and nice safety tips.

[@SteveCarmichael]

Well this was unexpected! Never seen anything like that before on a drill press. Cool Jack!

[@vat5Boeremusiek]

Always love your woodworking skills Mr Houweling.

[@BraxtonWirthlin]

That is an awesome attachment for a drill press. I had no idea those things existed!

[@kellyday8192]

Your the man Jack, I love to watch your builds. I'm not sold on the planer bit though. Keep up the great work.

[@LoveZick]

Very nice adjusting height mechanism you made in that table. That one is really nice. But I'll take a power hand planer for planning wood. Thank you a lot!

[@jfan4reva]

As I heard it, the company that made the Safe T Planer went out of business when the owner retired some years ago. It's back on the market now and available from Steward McDonald. They also carry replacement cutters.

[@NickFotopoulos]

That's awesome. Seems like a couple of adjustable guides on each side would mostly eliminate any kick back danger...

[@mfwoodshop]

Cool I thought that would toss the piece around. But it seem to work well. Awesome job Jack

[@steveschmor8674]

Cool little planer system Jack. Could use a fence. Then you could make small tenons quick for smaller projects like high end bird houses or small furniture. I'll have to make one of these.

[@arbiteramon]

Seems more like a thickness planer and shaper, nice man, very nice. will be building.

[@SMatthewsFilms]

Very inventive Jack. Im a huge fan of home build solutions. Only comment I'd make is that you should wear some form of eye protection when using it. Thanks for posting this.

[@SuperBowser87]

Safety alert!

[@SMatthewsFilms]

+Tom Wilcox That's it.. Cannot be to careful with the old eyes! ;-)

[@SMatthewsFilms]

+Alex McClure **Disclaimer** To include middle aged eyes too ;-)

[@MrGoatman07]

like the adjustment table. like the bit even better

[@TheShavingWoodWorkshop]

Good approach to this Jack.

[@belfordlancaster6818]

I think you’re a genius Jack.

[@johnbhumphrey]

I didn't know that type of planer head existed. I like how you designed your table height adjustment too. It would be cool to design a dedicated machine just for that purpose. That way one could design it with even more accuracy in mind. But great video, I'll have to find me one of those cutters.

[@aankivbay6668]

Cool planer. Very cool adjustable planer table

[@alkelvy4502]

Beautifully simple, I love it. I hope you don't mind if I borrow this for using my drill press for milling aluminum with a cheap harbor freight milling vise. This will be great for setting depth of cut then using vise to perform milling cut with end mill in drill. Thanks so much for sharing!

[@DoitselfInfo]

It is well suited for precision work. Thanks for sharing, Jack!

[@bmetal2]

This is really great, your designs always amaze me!!!

[@garychadwick1240]

Hi Jack. I like all of your videos. When you use this idea as a thickness planer then I think you'll need to put a lock on your adjustment knob. If you watch your video at around 8:10 you will see the height knob rotating with the vibration which is then defeating the object by varying the thickness of the wood. Great idea though. Thanks

[@roclo9927]

I liked your adjustable table mount great stuff!

[@hammockrooky]

Never before seen anything like that. Very ingenious.

[@-bdl2696]

That is pretty cool, never seen that bit for a press before, I wonder if adding a fence around the bit would make this process more reliable though?

[@ScrapwoodCity]

Very interesting, never saw that tool before! Awesome!

[@giancarlo4862]

Jack... lo sai che hai dato una gran bella idea ?? Bravissimo 👍👍

[@leehaire1300]

Hi Jack, your table is great. But let me tell you the problem I had with that planer attachment. Because the bearings on the spindle were not designed for sideways pressure, it ruined the bearings on my 11-990. Keep up the good work!!!

[@DesignBuildExecute]

Very cool, Jack! Reminds me of carbide facing cutter.

[@adisharr]

Hey pretty slick planing device. Never seen that type before. It is dangerous but we should treat all tools with respect.

[@DBYNOE]

I like the table, it needs a lock or maybe a stiffener for that adjusted, I watched it turning in your video. Also needs some sort of lock on the table as I watched moving up and down as you cut. Also seems to beg for a fence. For a 1.0 prototype, as always a shop of innovation. I like the table, but I think I would like to see what else you would use it for.

[@WoodNAOR]

Thank you I have this planer for some years and it is hard to use I will build a table as you did and it will be a lot easy now Thank you for your video

[@MikeWaldt]

Another brilliant design Jack. Cheers Mike

[@Dave51262]

I really like the micro-adjusting table height you can up with. The safety planer is still available. Search = Woodtek Rotary Safety Planer.

[@thomazneto58]

Hello, Jack, Liked the look of his work and I observed the disc that you used to flatten the small plank of wood. Could you give me more information about this record? Many thanks and a big hug.

[@mhaz49]

Pretty slick. I'd look at adding a gauge of some type to show how deep you're cutting or what height the table is set to. Without it, it is just trial and error until you hit upon the right settings.

[@lindaconn6522]

Add a sled under it with clamps for the wood . possibly giving more stability and control . All in all a great idea for the financial challenged woodworkers like myself .

[@akaiko1]

Greetings from Venezuela, great job

[@randyc5650]

I used one similar to that years ago on my old radial arm saw. It cut smooth if you didn't try to take too much off. I remember using it on an angle to make raised panels also. I also used jigs to hold the stock. I don't think I did any freehand work.

[@drail80s]

You make good videos Jack, could you add some sort of stop in order to make repeatable height adjustments for different bits of stock?

[@dasdasdatics420]

I'd build one but I'd fasten the riser to a 2 dimensional vice and clamp the workpiece to it so I could use it like a milling machine. Top idea

[@SAHBfan]

I don't have one of those safety planer widget things for the drill.... but the adjustable table mechanism is great, I can see other applications where I could use that.

[@Ibaneddie76]

hey, really like your ideas you are a true craftsman, one question though. Why is your table saw aimed at the wall? How do you cut down sheet goods or longer boards?

[@ToxicFlies13]

I really like that adjustable table

[@DerekCadmus]

Would a set of adjustable parallel guides help guide the piece through the work? This looks useful for shorter stock which you couldn't run through a traditional thickness planer. I agree with Linn in that the table itself has limitless uses. Clever as always

[@ziffa27]

Nice, i really like the lift table

[@vincemoser4636]

yes Jack they are still available just saw one on ebay for $55 used alot actuality for banjo making too

[@bonycells]

I would have put washers on the insides of the nuts with a spring between to hold them apart when removing and putting the top back on. The other thing I would have done was to cut all 4 angle pieces together to make sure they are parallel and straight with each other. Lastly I would make a complete test cut moving the unit underneath the cutter from end to end and side to side. This will show whether your entire top surface is completely flat. To correct any out of plane differences I would flip the whole unit upside down and plane the bottom side with this tool. Of course you need to make sure first that your metal drill table is flat before beginning the entire process. Then once you have established a flat table you can mill the bottom of the adjustable table unit to square it up. Once done, flip it back over to the right way up and make another test cut. You should be completely parallel at this point between top and bottom and your finished pieces will be also. Very useful to keep extremely thin pieces the same overall thickness.

[@keithmiller6583]

You are quite the craftsman!! That's awesome!

[@woodsprout]

The Wagner safe T planers are safe ! Especially when run at the recommended 3000 to 6000 rpm. The cutters only protrude about 1/64 inch, and are recessed 1/4 inch inside the outer diameter. Details I have noticed are that the little cutter heads are slightly conical on the outer diameter, and they are mounted in recesses that are angled slightly downward. and the machining is very precise on the aluminum casting. If you look at other rotary planers over the decades (check eBay) by Barron, Craftsman, Dewalt, they have far protruding cutters that CAN grab and kickback, and yes those ARE dangerous!

[@BushcraftBoy]

Interesting idea for a height adjustable table. It needs some way to lock the height setting in place. Watch the video and you'll see that as you use the table, the vibrations slowly lower the table height. You can see the handle turning. You're going to end up with varying thicknesses unless you can lock the height adjustment screw.

[@stevegleed5]

jack that thing looks lethal!!!

[@darbinorvar]

That is a very interesting project Jack, I can see a lot of uses for it.

[@plemieux7237]

Luv the table set up. For safety, try adding a low fence to help guide the stock. Also, please get yourself a pair of safety glasses. Thanks.

[@felixx1952]

Hello Jack, well done and looks fine.

[@gerardreynolds7616]

gerry I think u are verry verry good love to watch you on my tablet keep it up

[@Timinator62]

This is still made...but not by Wagner. StewMac and Woodtek make it now....highly prized by Guitar makers (Luthiers).

[@MRrwmac]

Very well built. Like the height adjustment ramp and adjuster bolt/knob idea! Will you be using it for something specific coming up or predominantly for your piano work? Thanks for sharing!

[@Yeahwereintherockies]

I could see this with some sort of a sliding sled working nicely for cheek cuts on tenons. nice.

[@shailchitri5308]

great idea, nice to see the whole video.

[@ma.irenesangalang2252]

hey,your sliding table was very nice.love it.:)

[@ExpatPhil]

I've never heard of, or seen this type of planer before, good idea for small pieces. Can you tell me Jack, what is the advantage of this table, over raisng and lowering the Drill Press' own support? whatever, I like the thinking on this.

[@moa376]

La verdad es que te curras los videos. Lástima que no los editas también es español

[@turningpoint6643]

Afaik Wagner is now out of business since the owner retired some years ago. I spent a fair amount of time on the phone with the business owners wife discussing it's invention, a bit of history about it, and the various cutting tip designs they'd tried over the years while ordering two of them and two sets of the replacement HSS cutting tips. Most good wood workers would rank me in the wood butcher class, but I don't need to do much woodworking and use mine in a 3/4 size Bridgeport milling machine clone. Locking the wood in 160 lbs worth of milling machine vises that are bolted to the table, the tables power feeds, and a commercial quality dro makes precision planing any wood to thousandths dead easy. And a high end sine bar will give me tapers to well under 1/100th of a degree.:-) If more woodworkers knew the capabilities of what a milling machine can do with wood over any conventional drill press, they'd own one instead of any drill press out there. The foundry pattern making industry uses them extensively and has for maybe 100 years or more. A lot slower to use of course, but clamping or fixturing the wood to be planned in some way to an X.Y axis table on a drill press makes these tools a real pleasure to use.Stock vibration against the working surface really spoils the precision. But drill presses aren't designed to take side pressures from the tool. Depending on the chuck retention method, using one of these could have the tool, drill press chuck, and morse taper shank dropping out of the female morse taper. Best would be drill presses with a center bolt inside the chuck that retains the chuck to the jacobs taper that's ground onto the end of the drill press's spindle. Adding semi flexible hold down fences something much like a tables saws hold downs but used to hold the work down to the table aren't really optional either if you work piece isn't fixed to the table or in a vise. There are items where this style of planer will beat any other tool on the market. Stopped or two opposite angle tapers tapering in together would be just one of them. I've used mine to precision machine wood for a scale model Napolean cannon where the wood has to match the metal parts exactly. You figured out a fairly clever way to set cut depths, but a dial indicator on the DP's spindle while setting those depths of cut would do the same with better precision and much less work.

[@roclo9927]

nice job on the sliding table

[@enriquecampuzano148]

excelente you work congratulations from Querétaro México

[@bertjankosters776]

Hello Jack, Nice design! Be aware, I just seen, the adjustment knob is moving quite a lot when you're working on it! Bert Holland

[@carloscuruxo7806]

Buen trabajo Jack. Un saludo!

[@TheLittleGardenShedWorkshop]

Brilliant Jack, cheers Harry

[@keithd3720]

That's pretty ingenious! These aren't exactly the safest devices (google "rotary planer safety")...but he has his fingers, so...

[@SawDustMakerRJM]

Jack, How about some low profile rails (one stationary and the other adjustable for different widths of wood) to make it a little bit safer. Other than that nice adjustable table.

[@stephenmelnichuk5347]

Neat! The jig I must build. Seems to me it would be great in truing the thickness of a 2x4 that would require a small extraction without much safety concerns. How about a fence to hold and slide against?

[@terryb5612]

Needs a locking device for the adjustment. You can see the wheel rotating when you are planing....

[@hubiehubco2400]

clever idea jack. i like the project keep up the insperational videos thanks

[@Justinger]

I sealed just the top work surface of the last jig I made (OSB), and it ended up causing it cup due to moisture changes on the underside. I'd recommend throwing a quick coat on the bottom, too, to avoid the headache it caused me.