depends what diameter drill your spinning, but metal drilling needs to go
slower than wood.
bigger drills, more slower, once you go past 1/2" dia. drilling in metal,
you really need to slow down. Drill presses made for woodworking are
generally unsuitable for holes in metal larger than 1/4" dia, unless you
like sharpening & replacing drill bits alot.


"Will" wrote in message
...
Should a drill press used for drilling holes through 1/4 inch stainless
steel have any different characteristics than a drill press used for wood
work? Our applications are fairly trivial: maybe once a month we would
need to drill new screw placement holes in thick stainless retaining
plates. So we need a small drill press, but I want to make sure we don't
overlook any specific characteristics that a drill press intended for
metal use should have.

--
Will