As soon as you get yourself a great drill press for woodworking projects, the next thing to do is learning how to use it with safety precautions. There are some standard safety practices in drill press machine that you must work with to keep things risk-free. And it’s not just about your own good, but also for the sake of people you’ll be working with. The accidents that can take place due to improper operation and less cautious behavior are often heavy. You definitely don’t want those to ruin your work.
So, let’s talk about all these critical parts that need your attention on this fabulous tool’s safe operation.
Start With Proper Training
Yearly, the injuries that take place due to not having proper training of workers are huge, close to thousands actually. And so, I cannot enough emphasize the fact that proper training is number one thing you must think about.
You should know the proper process of drill press operating. There are several offered courses on this that you can purchase those for a practical experience. Also, it helps to learn the nitty-gritty of whole process. By engaging yourself in daily training, you’ll be following the safety practices proactively plus learning several operation tips to become an expert soon.
Safety Rules to Keep in Mind.
The safety rules associating with drill press machines are several actually. Take your time to go through each protocol and understanding those completely. Here are a few of them to keep in mind.
- Get proper safety glasses that you’ll be wearing all time and also pay attention to your clothes, make sure those are appropriate for this process.
- Before starting any sort of operation, you should ensure both the start and stop buttons are within your reach comfortably.
- Pay extra attention when learning about all the controls, you want to take notes on each of them before starting any sort of operation with this machine.
- There should be a drill bit or cutting tool working with the machine, make sure it is properly locked in chuck for secure operation.
- Spindling with your hand while trying to stop the drill chuck is very dangerous, don’t try such things.
- Always use clean and properly sharp drill bits when operating.
- Tools that are in poor condition must be replaced when it’s time. Don’t use worn-out gears when operating with this machine.
- The surface that you are working on should be clear and clean.
Pay Attention to Safety Maintenance.
There are a few maintenance habits as well that indirectly fall under safety precautions. If you are not taking care of the tool properly, it can become dangerous to operate due to a lack of necessary maintenance. It’s not just going to slow down the entire process but also make people working around fall in severe danger risks.
The most important one is regular cleaning of cuttings available from drill press. Make sure operators are using a good vacuum or brush for getting rid of those things.
After using, the drill bits should also be kept in their storing position and not left unattended along with machine. Also, cleaning the drill table as well as floor to get rid of all unnecessary scraps is important.
Never Do These Things.
- Any sort of loose clothing or ties is a big no when working with a drill press machine.
- Don’t wear any sort of accessories while working.
- Setting the speed or any type of adjustments cannot be done midway through an operation.
- Never apply additional force on the drill.
- Leaving the chuck key after adjustments cannot be a case either.
- Don’t work without clamping the work, especially when hand drilling holes.
- While drilling stock, don’t let your hands go beneath it at all cost.
- Avoid using any hammer or center punch for getting broken drill out.
Safety Tips to Follow While Operating.
Never work with the variable speed without knowing about it, ask your supervisor first.
You should always consult with the supervisor about which drill bit for a specific job needs to be selected.
Use the key only for tightening chuck, no other way is recommended. Make sure you do this from all three sides. And also, it should be tight enough to not cause problems while operating.
Some clearance for the bit right on working piece’s bottom side is necessary. Especially when there’s a good chance of the hole going all way through stock. It’s clearly going to touch the vise, clamp, or even table. So also add a scrap beneath to keep things safe.
The bit should be right above your working piece. If there’s too much distance here, then there are chances of injury.
The bit should be free from any pressure, it must cut at its own pace.
Ease while cutting through piece as well as when it starts coming through the bottom side.
Don’t let drill press run once the working piece is seized by bit and starts coming off. Stop it immediately.
If you are working with a material that is pretty thick or drilling very deep holes, then stop occasionally for clearing all the waste. Also, allow the machine to cool down a little bit.
Trying to get scarp away while the material machine is on shall never be the case. It’s very dangerous.
When removing metal shaving, don’t use vacuum or dust collection. Also, avoid using your hand for this.
Wrapping Up.
And those were some safety practices to know about drill press machine. There are several aspects to this machine that makes it quite dangerous to work with. This is why the whole matter of maintaining overall personal safety when working with it is a mandatory thing to know before starting operating.
Thank you for taking your time to learn the basics as I tried to explain it today. However, consider learning more about the safety precautions if you are an absolute beginner with handling such a machine. Stay Safe!
