The drill press is here. Naturally, I've decided to leave it for a while to immediately assemble the thing. It didn't arrive alone, however. The cross table also came in the same car, so here they both are.
Let's unpack the table first.
Other than a small brochure with instructions, there is little else there.
The table itself is pretty typical aliexpress stuff somehow having ended up on amazon. The company which makes these is supposed to be German, but I guess "making" can be a relative term. In any case, it's not badly made, and is totally serviceable. It also came with the clamps, something I thought I'd have to order extra. Not the kind of clamps I would personally need for my work, but hey, they will do for a while.
Now, onto the "main course"... The drill press has its own table, even if I'd rather call it "base". It has T-shaped grooves, so it can have stuff attached to it. It's made of somewhat flexible aluminium, but no matter. When I attach the table, it will be more rigid.
I did say those T slots were there, right? Well, that they are... but the size, or, rather, spacing, is a tad odd. Must be intentional.
No matter, not like I didn't know about this size difference. I have just the right stuff to attach it all together.
These are quite hard (stainless steel, after all), and the ones that will go into the grooves will need some trimming. Alas, I don't think I have the saw that will be able to easily cut them. Oh... wait, didn't I just get a fresh new angle grinder just for these kinds of jobs?
A minute's work, and done. Now, I'm not a pro with this tool, so the results aren't perfect. But they will do.
Oh, I also don't like raw aluminium handles. Let's use some heatshrink to improve grip. Also, while at it, let's add some litol for smoothness of operation.
Everything assembled together. Well, the main part is missing...
This part.
Installed and centered (in no small part thanks to the laser (which itself will, perhaps, need calibration, but that's not a question of centimeters).
Some delightfully offensive warnings on it...
And here's the place for the finished product.
Haha, fooled! It's far from finished. That wheel shall be replaced with a proper set of handles, and then there's the question of bearings... but that has to wait for parts to arrive. So, it's almost done, but still not quite there. Currently it isn't precise enough for the job, so more waiting.