Drilling holes in cast iron with portable drill

[Jerome Hanby]

I would think you could use your drill press to drill a thick piece of wood for use as a guide with the hand drill. That's not a "just a hand drill" solution, but close

[Chip Lindley]

James, I did just that, to mount a PF on my old Moak shaper. I laid out the holes accurately, and used a center punch to mark them. A 1/4" hole was drilled with a Black & Decker "Bullet" bit, which has a self-centering point. Then I drilled progressively larger holes, until reaching finished diameter; 27/64". I tapped the table holes 1/2-13. Drill and Tap the holes dry; no lube for cast iron.

Hang onto that drill! Lots of torque at work there. Enlarging the hole by only 1/32" each time will minimize the bit hanging up. Easy Does It!