Introduction: Shopsmith Crossfeed Drill Press Vice Mount

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These directions are for my 10e model but will work for a mark 5 with minor changes

The shopsmith is a versatile multitool but in the process of building a tool that does so much compromises were made. So while the table surface is too small to be a really good table saw it is very large by drill press standards.

In fact the table is so large that it gets in the way of turning the crossfeed handles making it necessary to jack up the vice a bit for clearance

Step 1: The Parts

The parts list is pretty short

Drill press vice

Three pieces of 1/2 inch thick wood approx 10 inch x 10 inch

One piece 1/2 inch thick wood 3 inch x 3 inch

One piece 1/2 inch thick wood 4 inch x 6 inch

I used osb (oriented strand board) but mdf or plywood would work just as well

Four 1/4 20 t-nuts (three to mount vise and one to mount assembly to table)

Three 1/4 20 bolts 1 1/2 inches long

One 1/4 20 bolt 2 1/2 long

Four 1/4 inch washers

One inch sheetrock screws

Wood glue

Step 2: The Tools

The tool list is also very short

Table saw (The Shopsmith)

Drill press (The Shopsmith)

Drill bits 5/16 and 3/4 spade bit

Universal fix-it tool (Hammer)

Straight edge (I used a steel ruler)

Screwdriver or screw gun

Step 3:

Set vise on one of the pieces of wood making sure that the edge of the vise is flush with the edge of the wood and centered from side to side and mark out the mounting hole locations for the vise

Also with the vice centered on it's own base (The crossfeeds centered in both directions) measure and mark a hole location directly under the center of vise

Step 4:

Stack the 3 pieces of wood and drill the marked locations all the way thru with the 5/16 drill

Separate the 3 pieces and taking just the middle piece and using the 3/4 inch spade bit slightly countersink where the t-nuts will go (We want the wood to fit flush to each other when glued together)

Three of the countersinks will be on the bottom of the middle piece with the t-nuts facing up and one countersink on the top for the mounting hole with t-nut facing down

Step 5:

Set the t-nuts using the hammer then reassemble the 3 pieces with glue and screws (I used the vice mounting screws to make sure of the alignment)

Step 6:

Cutting the wood to fit the table insert

This is the only piece that has to be precise if we want the vise to be square when we rotate the vise platform 90 degrees

On the 10 e this size is nominally 3 inches and I used the sanding disk and fence on the shopsmith to make an exact fit (set the fence square and use the drill press feed with the disk to maintain square dimensions on the wood)

Step 7:

This is the only step that has to be done in a timely fashion or the glue will set before you are done so everything needs to be prepped ahead of time

Mount the vice to the platform and tighten

Set the assembly on the shopsmith table

Install the 3/4 inch spade bit into the drill chuck and set the shopsmith table to just allow clearance of the vice

Clamp the straightedge into the vice

Remove the assembly from the shopsmith table and install the 3x3 block of wood with a coating of glue and a 1/4 20 bolt and washer to act as a clamp

Reinstall unit on shopsmith table and using the crossfeed handle line up the point of the spade bit with the straightedge

Crank the other crossfeed handle from end to end and confirm that it is staying centered over the straightedge, if not rotate the platform until it does (must be done before the glue sets)

Once the vise is square to the table walk away and let the glue set

Step 8:

Finishing up

After the glue has set remove assembly from table and install screws in the corners of the 3x3 block

Drill a hole in the 4 x 6 piece of wood (It will be used as a clamp to the table)

I decided to paint my assembly as OSB and MDF tend to swell up if they get wet (drilling fluid) ,Plywood not so much

The final photo shows the unit mounted 90 degrees from how we set it up with the straightedge

This is the way I will use it most of the time as all of the handles are easily accessible I will only need to rotate it if I am drilling something long

Step 9: Construction Notes

I painted the top and edges before testing the fit with the straightedge as I didn't want to remove the vice and do the alignment again after painting. If you paint it after building you will adjust the alignment with the vise mount screws not the glued and screwed block on the bottom

Remember not to paint the bottom until after the 3 x 3 block is glued into place

The same instructions will work for the mark 5 but the mark 5 has had different tables thru the years so some dimensions may have to be adjusted (mainly the block that fits into the table insert)