Testing Your Drill Press for Squareness with Scrap MDF and a Forstner Bit

Using a Forstner bit to test drill press squareness

Mount a Forstner bit on your drill press and test it against some scrap MDF to see if it is square.

Any time you tip your drill press table off of 90° to bore an angled hole, you’ll need to square the table to the chuck again when you return to normal drilling. Here’s an easy way to check for squareness: install a large-diameter Forstner bit and place a scrap of MDF on the table. Start the motor and slowly feed the bit into the MDF until the outer rim lightly scores the material. As soon as the cutting starts, raise the bit and check the pattern it leaves in the MDF. A perfect circle indicates your table is properly square to the bit. If there’s only a partial circle, the table isn’t quite square yet and needs more adjustment.

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