How to use a drill press — picking the right speed, clamping properly, and getting clean holes exactly where you want them.
A drill press does three things a handheld drill simply cannot. It drills perfectly perpendicular every time. It drills to an exact repeatable depth. And it delivers steady power at low speed, which is what large bits and metal actually need.
If you have ever drilled a hole that came out at a slight angle, or blown out the back of a board, or watched a spade bit wander off your mark — a drill press fixes all of it.
But there is one rule that matters more than everything else combined, and beginners break it constantly: never hold the workpiece in your bare hands. When a bit grabs — and bits grab, especially breaking through the back of a hole — the workpiece spins with the chuck. A small offcut becomes a blade turning at hundreds of RPM, and your hand is right beside it.
Clamp everything. Then the rest of this guide is about getting good holes. 💡
Alt text: “Benchtop drill press with workpiece clamped in a drill press vise and a Forstner bit in the chuck”
- What a drill press does better
- The parts you need to know
- Holding the work — the safety rule
- Choosing the right speed
- Which bit for which hole
- Step by step
- Stopping tearout and blowout
- Depth stops and repeat holes
- Drilling metal
- Angled holes and the table
- Common mistakes (and how to fix them)
- Pro tips worth knowing
- What I recommend
- Frequently asked questions
- Your final checklist
What a Drill Press Does Better
A cordless drill is more convenient for almost everything. So why own a press?
| Handheld drill | Drill press | |
|---|---|---|
| Hole angle | ⚠️ However steady you are | ✅ Exactly 90° every time |
| Repeat depth | ⚠️ Tape on the bit, roughly | ✅ Depth stop, identical |
| Large bits | ⚠️ Wrist-wrenching | ✅ Controlled and safe |
| Low-speed torque | Limited | ✅ Ideal for metal |
| Portability | ✅ Anywhere | ❌ It stays put |
| Speed of setup | ✅ Instant | Clamping takes a minute |
The honest summary: keep using a cordless drill for assembly and general work — our guide on using a cordless drill covers that. Reach for the press whenever the hole needs to be square, deep, repeated, large, or in metal.
The Parts You Need to Know
- Chuck — holds the bit. Tighten with the key in all three holes, not just one, or the bit can slip under load.
- Quill — the sleeve that moves the spinning spindle up and down.
- Feed handles — the three spokes you pull to lower the quill.
- Depth stop — a threaded collar or scale that limits how far the quill travels. This is what makes repeat depths possible.
- Table — supports the work. It raises, lowers, swings around the column, and on most presses tilts for angled holes.
- Column — the vertical post. Its height sets your maximum workpiece size.
- Belt and pulleys — under the top cover. Moving the belt between pulley steps is how you change speed on most presses.
- Throat depth — the distance from the bit centre to the column. It determines how far from an edge you can drill, and it is the spec that most often limits what you can do.
Holding the Work — The Safety Rule
This section is short because the rule is short. Clamp the workpiece. Every time.
Here is what happens when you do not. The bit breaks through the back of the hole, catches on the thin remaining material, and grabs. The workpiece is suddenly rotating with the chuck. Anything that was in your hands is now spinning at whatever speed the press is set to, hitting your knuckles on every rotation.
Thin sheet metal is the worst case. It grabs almost every time on breakthrough, and a spinning offcut of sheet metal is genuinely dangerous — sharp edges at speed. Small pieces are the second worst, because there is nothing to hold except right next to the bit.
Other holding rules that matter:
- No gloves. Gloves near rotating machinery can be pulled in, taking your hand with them. This is one of the few jobs where bare hands are safer.
- Tie hair back, no loose sleeves, no dangling jewellery or lanyards.
- Safety glasses always. Metal swarf and wood chips come off fast.
- Remove the chuck key before switching on. A chuck key left in becomes a projectile. Make putting it back on its hook part of the routine.
Choosing the Right Speed
This is the most-ignored setting on the machine, and getting it wrong is why bits burn, holes go rough and drills wander.
The principle is simple: bigger bit means slower speed. A large bit’s outer edge travels much further per revolution than a small bit’s, so at the same RPM it is cutting far faster and generating far more heat. Harder material also means slower.
| Bit size | Softwood | Hardwood | Steel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (under 1/4″) | ✅ Fast | Fast | Moderate |
| Medium (1/4″–1/2″) | Fast | Moderate | Slow |
| Large (1/2″–1″) | Moderate | Slow | ⚠️ Slowest |
| Very large / hole saws | ⚠️ Slow | ⚠️ Slowest | ⚠️ Slowest |
| Forstner bits | Slow | ⚠️ Slow | — |
| Acrylic / plastic | ⚠️ Slow — heat melts and welds the hole shut | ||
Most drill presses have a speed chart printed inside the belt cover. Open it and look — the manufacturer has already worked out the pulley combinations for you. Use it rather than guessing.
How to tell you have it wrong:
- Burning smell, scorched hole, blue-tinted metal chips — too fast
- Bit squeals or chatters — usually too fast, sometimes too little feed pressure
- Bit digs in and stalls — too slow, or too much feed pressure
- Fine dust instead of chips in wood — too fast, or a dull bit
If the bit is smoking or the hole is scorched, the answer is almost never “push harder.” It is nearly always “slow the machine down.” Changing the belt takes two minutes and saves the bit, the workpiece and your patience.
Which Bit for Which Hole
| Bit | Best for | Hole quality | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Twist bit | General holes, metal | Fair in wood | Can wander without a punch mark |
| Brad point | ✅ Wood, accuracy | ✅ Clean | Centre spur stops wandering |
| Forstner | ✅ Flat-bottom, overlapping | ✅ Cleanest | Slow speed; needs a press |
| Spade bit | Rough large holes fast | ⚠️ Rough exit | Cheap; back it up |
| Auger bit | Deep holes in timber | Good | Self-feeding — hold on |
| Hole saw | Very large holes | Fair | ⚠️ Slow speed, clear the plug |
| Step bit | ✅ Sheet metal | ✅ Clean, no grab | Excellent in thin material |
Forstner bits are the reason many people buy a drill press. They cut flat-bottomed holes with clean walls, they can drill overlapping holes and partial holes at an edge, and they leave an almost polished surface. They need low speed and steady downward feed, and they are genuinely difficult to control in a handheld drill — the press is where they belong.
Step bits are the answer for sheet metal. They cut progressively rather than breaking through suddenly, which removes the grabbing behaviour that makes metal drilling hazardous.
Step By Step
Step 1 — Mark the centre
Mark with a pencil, then make a small dimple exactly on the mark — an awl in wood, a centre punch in metal. The dimple gives the bit somewhere to start and stops it wandering.
Step 2 — Fit the bit properly
Insert it fully, then tighten the chuck using the key in all three holes in turn. One-hole tightening lets big bits slip. Remove the key immediately.
Step 3 — Set the speed
Check the chart inside the cover, unplug the machine, and move the belt. Larger bit and harder material both mean slower.
Step 4 — Set the table height
Raise the table so the bit is close to the work but with enough travel to complete the hole. Put a sacrificial board underneath.
Step 5 — Clamp the work
Vise or clamps. Line the mark up under the bit by lowering the quill until the tip just touches, then lock everything down.
Step 6 — Set the depth stop
For a through hole, set it so the bit just clears the workpiece into the sacrificial board. For a blind hole, lower the bit to the depth you want and lock the stop there.
Step 7 — Drill
Switch on, let it reach speed, then feed steadily. Firm, even pressure — enough that the bit is cutting, not rubbing. You should see chips, not dust.
Step 8 — Peck on deep holes
For anything deeper than about three times the bit diameter, raise the bit out periodically to clear chips and let it cool. Packed chips cause heat, and heat destroys bits.
Step 9 — Ease off at breakthrough
Reduce pressure as the bit is about to exit. This is where grabbing happens and where the back face tears out.
Stopping Tearout and Blowout
The hole looks perfect from the top, then you turn the board over and the back has splintered out around the exit. This is the most common drill press complaint and it is entirely preventable.
The cause: as the bit breaks through, there is nothing supporting the last few fibres, so they tear away instead of being cut.
| Fix | How well it works | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| Sacrificial backer board | ✅ Best | Always — clamped tight against the back |
| Brad point or Forstner bit | ✅ Very good | Any visible hole in wood |
| Slow the feed at breakthrough | Good | Every hole, free |
| Drill from both sides | ✅ Very good | When you cannot back it up |
| Masking tape on the exit face | Helps a little | Veneer and plywood |
| Sharp bit | ✅ Underrated | Always |
The backer board is the real answer, and it must be pressed firmly against the workpiece with no gap. A gap of even a millimetre lets the fibres flex and tear.
Drilling from both sides works when a backer is impossible: drill until the bit’s point just breaks through, flip the piece, and drill back from the other side using that small exit hole as your centre.
Depth Stops and Repeat Holes
Repeatability is the drill press’s quiet superpower. Once it is set up, every hole is identical, and that is what makes shelf pin holes, dowel joints and hardware mortises possible.
Setting the depth stop
Lower the bit until it touches the workpiece, then lower it further by the depth you want and lock the collar. Simple, and accurate to a fraction of a millimetre.
Repeat holes in a line
Clamp a fence to the table. A straight batten clamped behind the work sets the distance from the edge for every hole automatically. Then you only need to mark the position along the length, not both dimensions.
Evenly spaced holes
Add a stop block on the fence, drill, slide the work along to the next mark, drill again. For shelf pin holes, a simple jig with a pin that drops into the previous hole gives perfect spacing with no measuring at all after the first one.
Stopped holes for dowels
Depth stop plus fence plus a brad point bit gives dowel holes that actually line up — which is the whole difficulty with doweling by hand.
Drilling Metal
The drill press is far better than a handheld drill for metal, because metal needs low speed, steady pressure and rigid holding — all things the press provides.
- Centre punch the mark. Not optional. A twist bit will skate across bare metal without a punch mark.
- Slow speed. Much slower than wood. Steel especially.
- Clamp in a vise. Metal grabs hard on breakthrough. This is the highest-risk material for spinning workpieces.
- Use cutting fluid. A few drops on the bit keeps it cool and dramatically extends its life. Even light machine oil is far better than nothing.
- Firm steady pressure. Letting a bit rub without cutting work-hardens the surface and then it will not cut at all.
- Step up on large holes. Drill a small pilot first, then the full size.
- Clear the swarf with a brush, never your fingers. Metal swarf is razor sharp.
Angled Holes and the Table
Most drill press tables tilt, which lets you drill angled holes — useful for chair legs, angled shelf supports and jigs.
- Set the angle with a bevel gauge or digital angle finder, not the cast scale on the table, which is often approximate.
- Clamp very securely. On a tilted table gravity is working against you and the bit pushes the work downhill.
- Start with a brad point or Forstner bit — a twist bit will skate down the slope before it bites.
- Consider a tilted jig instead. An angled block on a flat table is often more rigid and more repeatable than tilting the table itself.
- Return the table to square afterwards and check it, or your next “straight” hole will not be.
Check your table is actually square to the bit. Chuck a straight rod, lower it beside a small engineer’s square on the table, and look for light. Presses arrive out of square more often than you would expect, and everything downstream depends on it.
Common Mistakes (And How to Fix Them)
Mistake 1 — Holding the workpiece by hand
The fix: a drill press vise or clamps, always. This is the one that causes real injuries.
Mistake 2 — Wearing gloves
The fix: bare hands near rotating machinery. Gloves get pulled in.
Mistake 3 — Leaving the chuck key in
The fix: remove it before switching on, every time. Build the habit of returning it to its hook immediately.
Mistake 4 — Running everything at one speed
The fix: read the chart inside the belt cover and change the belt. Big bit, slow speed.
Mistake 5 — No backer board
The fix: sacrificial board clamped tight underneath. Solves blowout and protects the table.
Mistake 6 — Drilling into the cast iron table
The fix: line up over the table hole, or use a sacrificial board.
Mistake 7 — Forcing a dull bit
The fix: sharpen or replace it. Dust instead of chips means dull. Forcing generates heat and ruins the bit completely.
Mistake 8 — No cutting fluid in metal
The fix: a few drops of cutting oil. It transforms bit life.
Mistake 9 — Not clearing chips on deep holes
The fix: peck drilling — raise the bit periodically to clear and cool.
Mistake 10 — Assuming the table is square
The fix: check it with a square and a rod in the chuck. Adjust if needed.
Pro Tips Worth Knowing
- Build an auxiliary wooden table. A plywood top bolted to the cast iron table lets you clamp anywhere, add a fence, and drill into it without a care.
- Add a fence. A simple clamped batten turns a drill press into a repeatable machine rather than a one-hole-at-a-time tool.
- Keep a centre punch on the machine. If it is in a drawer you will skip it, and skipping it is why holes end up off the mark.
- Sanding drums fit a drill press. With the table lowered, a drum sander in the chuck smooths curves nicely — though a dedicated oscillating spindle sander does it better.
- Mark your speed settings. A small label on the cover reminding you which pulley combination gives which speed saves opening the manual every time.
- Wax the table. Paste wax stops rust on cast iron and lets work slide easily.
- Use a stop block for repeat lengths rather than measuring each piece.
- Keep the bit short in the chuck. Less bit sticking out means less flex and a more accurate hole.
- A dust shoe or vacuum nozzle near the bit keeps the table clear — and clear tables mean accurate setups.
- Do not use a hole saw at high speed. It is the single fastest way to burn a hole saw beyond saving.
What I Recommend
The most valuable accessory for a drill press is not a better bit set. It is the thing that stops the workpiece spinning — because that is the failure mode that hurts people and ruins parts.
VEVOR Drill Press Vise, 4-Inch Jaw Width
🏆 Best Safety Upgrade★★★★☆ 4.7 out of 5 on Amazon
A cast bench vise with a slotted base designed to bolt or clamp straight onto a drill press table. It solves the single biggest drill press hazard — workpieces grabbing and spinning — and at the same time makes every hole more accurate, because clamped work cannot shift mid-cut.
- ✅ Stops the spinning-workpiece hazard — the main cause of drill press injuries
- ✅ Slotted base bolts or clamps directly to a drill press table
- ✅ Essential for metal and small offcuts, where grabbing is near-certain
- ✅ More accurate holes because the work physically cannot move
- ✅ Useful on the bench too for filing, sawing and general holding
Price and availability change often — the button shows the live Amazon price.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I really need to clamp the workpiece?
Yes, always. When the bit breaks through the back of a hole it can catch and spin the workpiece with the chuck, turning it into a rotating blade right beside your hands. It happens with no warning, and it is worst with sheet metal, small offcuts and large bits. A drill press vise or a couple of clamps removes the risk entirely and improves accuracy at the same time.
What speed should I use?
Bigger bits and harder materials both need slower speeds. Small bits in softwood can run fast; large bits, Forstner bits, hole saws and anything in steel need to be slow. Most presses have a speed chart printed inside the belt cover — use it rather than guessing. If you see smoke, scorching or blue metal chips, the speed is too high.
Why does the back of my hole splinter out?
Because nothing is supporting the wood fibres as the bit exits. Clamp a sacrificial backer board tight against the underside with no gap — that is the main fix. Using a brad point or Forstner bit, easing off the feed pressure at breakthrough, and keeping bits sharp all help too. Where a backer is impossible, drill until the point just breaks through, flip the piece and finish from the other side.
Can I use a drill press for metal?
Yes, and it is much better than a handheld drill for it. Centre punch the mark, run a slow speed, clamp the work in a vise, and use a few drops of cutting fluid to keep the bit cool. Apply firm steady pressure — letting the bit rub without cutting work-hardens the surface. For thin sheet metal, a step bit avoids the grabbing that makes it hazardous.
Why does my bit wander off the mark?
Usually because there is no starting dimple. Twist bits in particular skate across a flat surface until something stops them. Use an awl in wood or a centre punch in metal to make a small dimple exactly on your mark. Brad point bits have a centre spur that solves this in wood, which is why they are worth having for accurate work.
Should I wear gloves at a drill press?
No. Gloves near rotating machinery can be caught and pull your hand in with them. This is one of the few workshop jobs where bare hands are the safer option. Do wear safety glasses, tie long hair back, and avoid loose sleeves, jewellery and lanyards — anything that can be grabbed by a turning chuck.
Your Final Checklist
- Safety glasses on, gloves off, hair tied back, sleeves rolled
- Mark and dimple the centre with an awl or centre punch
- Bit fully in the chuck, tightened in all three key holes
- Chuck key removed before switching on
- Speed set from the chart — bigger bit, slower speed
- Sacrificial backer board clamped tight underneath
- Workpiece clamped or in a vise — never held by hand
- Depth stop set for through or blind holes
- Steady firm feed — look for chips, not dust
- Peck to clear chips on deep holes
- Ease off at breakthrough
- Cutting fluid on metal, and a brush for swarf
- Fence and stop block for repeat holes
- Check the table is square before accurate work
Next in this series: how to use a cordless drill and drilling into brick and masonry.