Basic Woodworking

WOODWORKING

Drill Press

Purpose: Drilling holes into the workpiece.

Warning: Workpiece must be safely secured before drilling.

Major cause of accidents: Loss of control of workpiece, failure to remove chuck key

Operating and safety instructions:

• Wear safety glasses at all times.


• Do not wear gloves, neckties, or loose clothing.


• Clamp all materials to the table.


• Do not drill material too small to be securely clamped to the table.


• Make sure the depth stop is set correctly before drilling. If not set correctly,
  
  
  • you may not drill the correct depth in or through your stock
  
  
  • you might drill into the drill press table which could damage the bit and the table.
  
  
  
  


• Always place a piece of scrap wood under the work piece so you don’t drill into the table and to avoid
  wood splintering on the exit hole.


• Use the correct bit for the job being performed.


• Make sure the chuck key is removed from the chuck and put away before starting the drill press.
  Otherwise it will fly out and may hit you when the machine is turned on.


• Round or irregular stock should be placed in a v-block before drilling. This will keep the wood from
  rolling or moving.


• Always keep hands out of the path of a drill bit.


• Never turn on your drill press before clearing the table of all objects (tools, scraps of wood, etc.).


• Let the spindle reach full speed before starting to drill. If the drill press makes an unfamiliar noise or if it
  vibrates excessively, stop immediately, turn it off, unplug it, and inform your teacher immediately.


• Make sure the spindle has come to a complete stop before touching the work piece.


• For safety and control, your hands and fingers should be as far away from the drill bit as is practical, with
  a minimum of 3”.


• When drilling a long piece of stock, place the excess stock to the left of you. By doing so, if you lose
  control the long end will rotate and hit the drill press stand and not you.


• When drilling a deep hole, raise the bit often so that chips can escape the hole and give the bit a chance to
  cool.


• When drilling begins to break through the underneath side of the stock, you should ease up on the feed
  pressure slightly. Do not punch the bit through the other side. If the workpiece is going to get caught and
  spin out of control it will most likely happen on your exit.


• Never wear gloves when drilling wood.

Power switch (^) Head
Quill Feed
Depth Stop
Platform adjustment
Drill platform
Chuck
Spindle

Safety