Reamer bit guide

[Bruce Johnson]

Well, one can also go too slow, so there is a happy medium. A little experimentation will quickly show the way.

You and I know that Joe, but the class of drill presses that these guys are talking about are all inherently designed to fry drill bits. And the owners come to believe that shrieking and smoking are just the way drills work.....

[David King]

Well, if you follow the recommendations for surface feet per minute on a 1/8" HSS drill you end up with a "recommended" speed of 3000 rpm in mild steel which is top speed on most drill presses...
The recommended speed for drilling wood is over 9000 rpm, that's fire-starting territory.
http://www.wisc-online.com/objects/MTL8202/MLT8202.htm

[Joe Gwinn]

You and I know that Joe, but the class of drill presses that these guys are talking about are all inherently designed to fry drill bits. And the owners come to believe that shrieking and smoking are just the way drills work.....

Yeah, but drilling 9/64" holes ought to be easy, even with a flea weight drill press, and there will be an optimum speed on the drill press. Quickest way to find this optimum is to experiment. It will likely be the fastest speed the the drill press doesn't bog down at. Nor should there be any drama when the drill press is set up correctly.