Drilling and turning machines

The drilling machine is mainly made for drilling metal but is also used for wood. It consists of a base plate, a column and a console mounted on it. The console slides up and down the column by a rack feed: if the wood is thick, the console is moved away from the plate. The console carries the electric motor and the spindle; a chuck is fitted to the spindle and holds a drill bit with a cylindrical shank of the needed diameter. The spindle is brought down with a lever to drill. A stepped pulley lets the spindle speed be changed. The motor and pulleys must be covered by a guard. Safety rules: keep the pulleys covered; never change the belt while the machine runs and never stop the spindle with the hand; put a backing board under the wood so the bit does not drill into the plate; clamp the wood firmly because at high speed it can fly out of the hand and injure. Work at the machine only on the teacher’s instruction, with goggles, long hair tied back, no loose sleeves or ties; never wear gloves, as they can wind onto a turning bit.