DoN. Nichols wrote:

Yes -- and get your 1" drill bit with a MT-2 shank instead of a
Silver & Demming reduced shank.

Only one choice -- MSC #01520642 -- import -- black oxide
finish, 118 degree point angle. $26.75 ea (get at least two, so if
you dull it part way through, you aren't stuck with nothing to do
until you sharpen it.

If you had a MT-3 spindle (neither do I, except in the lathe
tailstock) you would have 17 choices in the same size drill bit.

Hmm ... does your new drill press have enough stroke to drill
through both sides in one setup? That would save you some trouble
with the dowel fixturing. Put some 2x4 under it so you don't drill
into the table. Mine still has no "oops" holes in the table. :-)

Hi Don, and thanks, I appreciate it. The new press has a respectable 3-3/8"
plunge, which is considerably longer than my last press, and you bring up a
Very Important Point that has an effect on the drilling operation for my
current project.

First, I may end up using 2-1/2" square steel tubing instead of 3" (for a
number of benefits), which would entail switching over to a 3/4" hole
(instead of a 1" hole).

The new press obviously has the plunge reach to push the bit through both
sides of 2-1/2" square tube, but will that the right procedure?

I will obviously spot drill one side of the tubing, and start drilling
through that side, but then if I continue on through the tubing to drill out
the other side, the bit will be starting in flat "un-spotted/un-punched"
metal.

My concern is that the bit will wander, but perhaps the size of the bit
(3/4") means it is stiff enough to resist skating. Also, perhaps the top
hole will serve as a drill bushing and keep the bit aligned all the way
through.

It would most certainly make my work a lot easier, more than twice as easy,
actually, and even a little more, since it would eliminate the second
spotting procedure for the other side.

Thank you for bringing this up,

Jon