On Tue, 30 Oct 2007 22:40:12 -0400,

"Will" wrote in message
m...
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.

"Tony" wrote:
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.

I have a cheapo YingTong drill press, 2MT, 16mm chuck, 16 speeds.
I only run it at 200 ? rpm ( lowest speed), no matter what size drill
bit, 3mm to 25mm in steel or wood, 6mm to 70mm in Forstner bits (wood)
or up to 150mm holesaw in steel or wood. I am just too lazy to
change the belt on the pulleys. Works for me.
Most important is to check runout on the chuck, mine is negligible.

Alan