For a half inch drill bit in stainless you want a drill press that will go
as slow as 300 rpm. Most better quality woodworking drill presses can go
that slow.
A gearbox driven drill press gets very expensive but for half inch and
less you could get by with a vee belt driven drill press.
1/3 horsepower motor would be on the weak side.. look for an honest half
horsepower motor.
Randy


"Will" wrote in message
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"Tony" wrote in message
...
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.

That is great information. What are the specific characteristics I
should call out? 1/4 to 1/2 inch diameters would be a very typical range
for us.

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