13. ALWAYS keep this next to your drill press #shorts

Among all the tools in your shop that are dangerous, the drill press…well who worries about a drill press? Most of the time these spinning mechanical tools are completely harmless. With woodworking, they get dangerous when we don’t respect steel bit diameter to wood mass ratios. For example: If I use an 1/8th inch drill bit on a 2 by 2 foot wide board, no one bats an eye. But if I take that same bit and try to drill a 3/8’s by 3/8’s inch scrap, suddenly it becomes much more difficult as the decreased mass is much easier to manipulate with the drill bit. This is where the danger comes in. All drill bits are relatively danger free, so long as the stock we drill into has enough mass to offset the energy and friction of the spinning bit.

Some will tell you that it’s because of this that you should always clamp stock to the table when drilling. While there is definitely a lot of good advice that comes with clamping, it’s not always possible. The lazy among us, will also resist this practice. If you want to even the mass of your stock, simply add a lever to it. Grab a clamp, clamp it to your stock, and now you’re giving that spinning steel a little bit more resistance. It’s for this reason why you should always keep a clamp next to your drill press.

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[johncarey]

Being able to control the workpiece has nothing to do with mass, and everything to do with the size.

The larger the work the more mechanical advantage you have to stop the work from spinning.

Mass certainly helps, but it's torque that's the more important thing.

[MarkMcCluney]

Definitely a good 'un. Cheers Rob.