What safety tips can you think of for operating a drill press?

The common, eye protection, hearing protection & mask are a given.

0 How close do you let your fingers get to the spinnig drill bit?

0 What speed level do you choose for the following
-Softwoods
-Hardwoods
-Plywood
-Plastics
-Sheet Metal
-Thick guage steel

Whats the general rule for when you should or should not clamp something?

Just curious to hear any other tips or tricks people have for drill vises

Fingers , if you want to keep them, should not be close to the
chuck or bit at all.
Small pieces should be held with something other than hands.
In general ,clamping in a drill vise is safest.
Slow for soft materials & faster for harder materials.
Boring large diameter holes in wood except for spade bits or Forstner bits are best done using pilot holes to avoid chatter & splitting.
Slow drilling w/ light pressure for plastics since heat will just weld material to the drill & cause sloppy holes
Metals are drilled at higher speed w/ the proper bits.
Cutting oil helps keep the drill from binding in thick sections.& clears chips.
Basics...
Sharp bits., "piloting", no undue pressure, center punching , patience & a good work light.
Best regards

* Securely fasten work materials to prevent spinning. Never use your hands to secure work materials.
* Use a center punch to score the material before drilling.
* Run the drill at the correct speed. Forcing or feeding too fast can break drill bits.
* Never attempt to loosen the chuck unless the power is off.
* Lower the spindle before removing a chuck.
* Never use a regular auger bit in a drill press.
* Frequently back the drill out of deep cuts to clean and cool the bit.

all of the above.... and the smaller the diameter of the bit the faster the speed.... larger bits equals slower speeds... and drill a pilot hole before using larger diameter bits... and make sure the drill press is secured to the floor

The biggest problem and the one causing most injuries from the drill press is not securing the item being drilled, doesn't matter if wood, plastic or metal. If the drill bit bites onto the item and starts to spin it out of control what use to be a hand with 5 fingees has now become a bloody stump. Secure it and don't chance holding it with hands and pliers. Keep Hands away, wear eye protection and watch you clothing. Know what speed and drill to use, for the item being drilled. If you don't know ASK. Asking won't hurt, fingers and hands can.

all good answers, another BIG safety tip is NEVER wear gloves while working drill press. I was a machinist for 14 years and saw two people loose fingers because they wore gloves.

To the two who answered never wear gloves-bravo. This applies to all rotating/oscillating tools. I will add-remove rings. I have seen fingers lost that way also.

I learned the hard way...NEVER EVER !!! wear gloves while using a drill press...this is what happened to me ....I was drilling holes in stainless steel plates, and we all know stainless steel is soft metal, so as I was drilling the and the slivers of metal.. razor thin... was wrapping around the drill bit spinning at a very high speed, not wanting to get sliced up I put on some gloves(wrong) any way I looked away for a micro second, by that time the drill bit caught the very tip of my leather glove at the pinkie finger, and started to wrap my finger around the bit, then my other fingers, my hand,my wrist,and arm just above the wrist, before the drill stopped, and I hit the emergency stop button too.it took 4 men to unwrap me from the drill chuck, broke my pinkie finger,ring finger in the 2nd nuckle,my wrist,and snapped one of the 2 bones in my arm in half closest to my thumb....so if anyone ask you to drill anything and wear gloves instead of using clamps tell them to %$#%^&*)+%#@~!^%$+=(*%#@#!!!!!!!!

Always clamp never use your hand