Retrofitting A Delta T2 Fence to a Craftsman Table Saw

Step 5 Drilling the front rail...

To simplify things at the drill press, I set up my makeshift fence. Its just a piece of aluminum angle that pivots on a bolt on one end and is secured by a c-clamp on the other. Its crude, but it works well. I actually drilled into the back of the rail since that's where my marks were made. I used a couple of blocks of wood to elevate the rail off the table and referenced the bottom of the rail against the fence (see the first pic for clarification).

I used a 7/16" drill bit for all the holes. Its roughly the same size as the pre-drilled holes in the rail, and it gives us a little wiggle room for fine tuning later. When drilling the holes, be sure to keep a can of WD-40 handy to keep things cool. Also, be sure you've got your safety glasses on as you'll be flinging around lots of metal shavings. After the first hole is drilled, just slide the rail down and drill the second hole.

Next, mount a 5/8" countersink bit into the drill press. Countersink the holes just until the screw heads sit flush. The front rail is done, just mount the guide tube to it and bolt it to the saw and make sure everything lines up as it should.

Comments

[UnstoppableDrew]

Small correction: you are counter sinking the holes, not counter boring them. Counter bore is for fasteners with a flat underside like a hex head cap screw. Counter sink is for slope-sided heads like wood screws.

[cornflake_81]

Noted & corrected, thanks.