Drill Press Stops

[Hawkeye]

I watched a video by Joe Pie a while ago on the topic of drill press safety. He suggested making a pair of hooks for the drill press vise that would both prevent the work from spinning out of your grip and prevent it from jumping up the bit as it breaks through the bottom of the hole. Either action could do nasty things to your fingers. I made a pair of them.
   

I have often attached a bolt through the slots in the drill press table to prevent the work from rotating, but I got to thinking that it would be a good idea to also prevent the work from jumping up at breakthrough. I designed these to fit both my big floor press and the smaller benchtop press.
   

The lower section is only 1/8" thick to handle the common thin stock. The narrower portion of the upper part is the same diameter as the lower section. The wide flange can be screwed down to hold the work down to the table - not so much a clamp as a stop. For work less than 3/8" thick, the top part can be flipped over (good down to 1/8") or a shim can be used under the flange.