Drill Press Has No Hole In Center Of Table, Drill One?

If you decided to drill or hole saw say, a 2" hole in the table, what are you going to do to handle small holes in small parts? You also would lose close support for thin stock. Of course then you would/could deal with it with a sacrificial tooling plate or a vise. Why not just start off the way the manufacturer intended?

All things aside, it belongs to you for as long as you want to keep it. Do whatever you want to do.

Ray, about threading the drain hole in the corner of the table, could we see what the underside of the table looks like?
I am generally a fan of leaving good old stuff alone since a lot of thought has gone into making it the way it is.

Take into consideration how the table is secured to the column. In most cases there is a tube welded to the bottom of the table that fits onto an arm secured to the column. If you drill a hole in the table large enough to accommodate what ever drill sizes you intend to use, you may be getting close to the inside diameter of the tube. You could stress the weld and eventually cause it to crack. Also take into account the webbing under the table. If it all comes to a center point you'll probably diminish the strength by drilling a hole. If the webs run parallel to the sides and there's nothing in the middle it'll probably work out fine.

I have a couple drill presses. The larger one has the column mount cast into the table and webbing runs parallel to the left and right sides. This one has a hole through the middle from the factory. A second smaller drill press has a round table with a separate arm and tube cast into the table to hold the table in place. In this case all the webbing runs from the outer edges of the table to the tube in the center. There is no center hole. I wouldn't drill a hole in the center of this one for fear of ruining the rigidity of the table.

The obvious solution is to buy another drill press that already has a hole in the table. We all know one drill press is never enough.

I've always held my pieces in a vice or used parallels or used my drill vice opened up like parallels.

I vote no hole.

I vote no hole.

Look underneath.
Are there support webs under the table? If there are and they cross in the center, then I would vote with those advising not to drill it. If not, then owner's choice.

That is way to nice of a table to be drilling on and possibly weaken its integrity and maybe destroy it.

I would use a thick aluminum plate and bolt it to the table instead. At least that way you can remove it if needed.

Modifying a machine such as drilling a hole is like getting a tattoo. If later you change your mind, you can fix it. But it will never be the same. That said, I do have modified machines. These are rules that I follow by. Is it really necessary? Is it some project that you will only do once? If so, can you do it some other way? Will it effect the strength of the machine? Would you be able to put it back the way it was? My advise is use the machine as is for a while. If you find that you real need that hole, then go for it. Mark

TOOLMASTER said:

drill it

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If you ever take a machining class you'll quickly learn a hole in the table is a mute point. One of the first rules of using a drill press we learned was to have the material in a vise, the vise secured to the table and a stop block in place in case the bit caught on the stock and moved the vise. If the instructor caught anyone drilling free hand they weren't allowed to use they machine again until the could display the proper technique and the instructor felt comfortable it would be followed.