Originally Posted by
mackie
The way I make sure my drill press is drilling perpendicular is to drill a hole in a 2x4 or thicker piece and then stick a rod in the hole and check for square. It has worked for me to get the pivot hole in pocket knives. Before drilling I put a prop under the front of the drill press table. When drilling steel, the table will flex forward just a hair due to lack of support on the front of the table. It is very slight but I built a small metal lathe from scratch once and accuracy was important. That is how I drill the end of a rod. I drill a hole the size of the rod and stick it in the hole and then drill the end. Mack