Machined slots in drill press base plate ?

[jpackard56]

So other than always collecting the small things I drop, what are the slots and machined flat in the round base of my Walker Turner drill press intended for?

 

[rwm]

Same question for my Clausing! I thought about using them to attach a leveling system.

 

[pontiac428]

On my Powermatic, the slots on the base match the ones in the table. I can swing the table 180 degrees out of the way, and theoretically drill into something really tall if I had some fixturing to use to hold it in place. At least that's what always made the most sense to me as to why those slots are there...

 

[MrWhoopee]

Clamping

 

[Mitch Alsup]

I have a couple of clamps that screw onto the underside of my drill press table.
They are adjustable like locking pliers except on side is the table itself.

 

[jpackard56]

On my Powermatic, the slots on the base match the ones in the table. I can swing the table 180 degrees out of the way, and theoretically drill into something really tall if I had some fixturing to use to hold it in place. At least that's what always made the most sense to me as to why those slots are there...

Sometimes the obvious just escapes me.... Yep, my slots are an exact match to the table slots. And of course this would be the real advantage of a floor length DP compared to a bench model. I'm feeling kinda stupid at this point. Thanks for the replies guys. I maybe slow, but I Iearn new things all the time (and sometimes I relearn things I seem to have forgotten), but I'm not likely to forget this learning nugget until the senility settles in completely !