Drill press now a day is one of the most common yet vital tools that could be found in a wood workers shop. For all those who have just began this work, you may have bought a drill press as part of your first significant wood working tools kit and must be really excited about starting work right away. First you need to set up your drill press properly in order to keep your tool safe and to get desired precision results with it. This guide here will give you detailed information on how you can set up your drill press safely. Just follow few simple steps for safe setting up of drill press and consider all the aspects that are significant for using this tool.
Set up Your Drill Press:
Setting up a drill press encompasses of only a few simple steps. But before you try your hands over setting up the tool itself you need to set a safe surrounding for your drill press.
- Prior Considerations for Environment:
Your drill press may not be safest tool if you do not have a safe environment set up for this tool. For wood workers it is important to set up an environment that is safe. Working in a safe environment would not only protect you and others around you from fatal accidents and injuries but it would also give you improved results in terms of efficiency of work.
Before starting your work with drill press, make sure that you have placed the drill press in an environment that is safe. Remember that it is important that this area should not have any pets or children around. Also if you have a co-worker at the shop, try to keep him at a good distance in order to avoid any accident or injury. You may set up your tool close to a storage area or at a place where there is no traffic of people around. Moreover you should place drill press in a position that makes it easier to operate. There should be considerable amount of space all around the tool. Also keep all the equipment that you may need during a process within a reachable range.
- Set up Drill Press with a Firm Support:
Varied supports are offered with varied types of drill presses and thus which one you choose would really decide on performance and safe use of your drill press. Having a firm support is important and there will be reduced risk of accidents in any job you perform with your drill press.
For setting up your drill press on a support, consider following points:
- A solid support would surely give you improved performance and experience of work.
- If you own a bench style drill press, prefer steel made support.
- Support techniques would vary with the type of floor you will reside your drill press on. For wooden floors, it is best to use lag bolts to fix the base of support. For floor made up of concrete, you should prefer using masonry bolts.
- Check Supply of Electricity before Running your Drill Press:
One of the most common issues that has been responsible for failure or damage to your drill press is improper supply of electricity. Sudden increase or decrease in supply of power could be fatal for your machine, thus before beginning to start your drill press always make sure that proper supply of electricity is provided.
Important Tips:
- Always be sure about power supply required for your equipment. You can refer to your machine’s user manual to check the power rating of your equipment.
- It is recommended that your drill press must be used over a dedicated electric circuit in order to ensure safety.
- If for instance you are connecting your drill press with an extension cord, you must make sure that the cord is grounded well and has the same electrical rating as your drill press requirement.
- In order to avoid electrical shocks, you must make sure that your drill press is grounded.
- Proper fuse and good quality power equipment must be used.
If you fail to follow these instructions mentioned above, your drill press may experience changes in voltage that could result in damaging the motor.
Note: Any power tool mishandling can result in a serious harm to yourself or to your instrument. Thus in order to avoid any inconvenience, we recommend you to go through owner’s manual of your equipment before setting and starting up your drill press. There would be some specific instructions related to setting up, using and maintenance of your drill press and these should be strictly followed.
Conclusion:
Proper setting up of a drill press along with proper use and maintenance would give you a long lasting trouble free working with your equipment. Just like other power tools, you should keep a close watch on maintenance and care of your machine. Avoid rusting and dirt. Clean the machine well after each use. Make sure that your machine is not over-burdened with work more than it has the capacity to handle. Having a safe working environment with a properly maintained fully functional drill press would have a direct impact on your working precision and performance. Strictly follow all the safety guidelines to prevent yourself from serious injuries.
About The Author
