Bolting a drill press to the floor?

Hey all, I'm not an expert at this, so I want to run this idea by some more experienced brains. I just bought a drill press (https://www.harborfreight.com/12-speed-floor-production-drill-press-39955.html) and I'm looking at the assembly instructions. The first step is to bolt the base securely to a flat floor that can handle the combined weight of the press and the work-pieces. I think I've used a drill press that was bolted down, but I'm also sure that I've used one that could be moved around.

I've found a couple of sources that seem to absolve me of the need to do so, but there's some talk about how if it's above a certain weight, it's more important (without giving actual numbers):
- https://toolsarchive.com/does-a-drill-press-need-to-be-bolted-to-the-floor/
- https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?218667-Does-a-drill-press-need-to-be-bolted-down

So what I'm currently thinking is I can try to assemble it free of any floor-mounting and, assuming it never seems insane, put it together like that. If at some point I can't get the head on or whatever (seems like the most likely point of failure) without the awkward top-heaviness putting me in peril, then I can back off, bolt it down, and finish. And assuming I can get it assembled like that, I can use it unmounted on reasonable-sized work. Being able to move it around from time to time is a big advantage.

What factors should I be considering? What's your advice? Is them telling me to bolt it down just some crazy thing they have to say to avoid being sued?

Bolting the press down would be more of a safety issue than an operational one.  They tend to be top heavy and 'tippy' and don't take to things bumping around a shop.  However a press is not a precision piece that needs the stability of bolting.  You're call on that, unless you are in an area that has seismic issues.  

I believe you have it right when you attribute the caution to liability issues.  You're shop.  You're decision.  If you are assembling the head it sounds like you are quite aware of the stability issues you may encounter.

I'd probably bolt it down myself, but looking at the product review photos, looks like there's plenty of folks that didn't.

Could take the middle ground and put a couple hundred pounds on the baseplate? Couple sandbags or that sort of thing...

I'm guessing it's mostly liability.  If you're moving stuff around the shop with a forklift it would be easy to tip it over and crush someone's leg.  Mine isn't bolted down and it's on a non-flat wood floor and I'm happy with it and it's mobility as is.

I don't know if you have the option of canceling the order for your drill press, but I'd recommend a magnetic drill press. I still use my drill press once in a while, but the magnetic one is so much more versatile that I rarely use my conventional one anymore.

Christopher, I've owned and used a drill press for forty plus years.  

I've never bolted one to the floor.

I do mostly woodwork, once in a while for light metal work.


Peace

As usual, it depends. If the foot is light and the motor is heavy, probably a good idea to restrain. If vice versa, probably no biggie. It is hard to tell from the Harbor Freight ad image about the weight distribution.

I did wonder about your seismic zone, though. While rare in my neck of the woods, earthquakes tip things. I believe you are in MN, which is a sleepy seismic zone per the maps I find, but I have never done calcs there. Sandbags were a decent suggestion if concerned about general tipping/bumping, but in a seismic event, all the mass moves together, and hard mounts matter (and before natural building people flame me, I add an earthbag building caveat here: that structure has huge damping with almost no rigidity, and is seismically sound for that reason, a different problem entirely).

On the flip side, (and depending on your toolkit) you might not find it hard to anchor with two Simpson Titens or equivalent, 10min with a rotohammer and a driver should be about all it takes. Is it a rearrangement option that you want to keep? If so, there are flush anchors that bed the female thread in the floor, so you drop in a bolt. But it's your shop, your rules, your risks, your time and money. I would summarize anchoring as a good but not necessary step.

Tangent becauee it was suggested: I have a Milwaukee mag drill press myself, and while it is useful, it is nowhere near as rigid as a proper shop tool. I bought it to do steel on jobsites off generator power, and it did that well. Now, when I want to use it at home, I have to set it on a welded beam structure to have a magnetic grip, and I can still tip it against the magnet if I don't go easy on feed rates. Unless space is ultrapremium or you have to have a mobile shop, I think the floor press is a good choice. Plus, it is a heavy and tippy sonofagun, and there is a reason the manual talks at length about safety chains on the tool.

Happy hole-drilling!
Mark

Ours doesn't look much different than the one linked to. We actually have it on a wheeled shop base with levelling feet for when it's stationary.
1. We have roller stands so we aren't tempted to change the centre of gravity by hanging something off one side.
2. We generally haven't been doing really heavy stuff.
3. We're usually working in typical house hold garage/basement, so the liability issues aren't there, nor the issues of a vehicle colliding with it.

For us, being able to move it out to get more space around it, when we have limited shop space was key to the decision.

I asked the woodworker in the family.  His suggestion is the legs might try to splay apart if it's not a good design so the bolting could prevent that.  In which case, bolting to a hefty sheet of plywood and putting locking (and leveling?)casters on it would be his chosen path.... although it might change if he saw the machine in person.  

I just wanted to pop back in to thank you all for the replies! I think I'll try to assemble it without fixing it to anything, and bolt it to plywood or 2x stock if I need stability for assembly. And then I'll play it by ear from there. If anyone has more comments, I'll still be following this.