Holddowns, Again!

I was unable to drill the holes to tap 10-32 with the vertical mill.  I was able to make pilot holes with a center drill.  Not enough power?  My first guess.   But because I need to start the tapping in the drill press anyway to get a square hole, I decided to put the tilting plate on the drill press, where I discovered the .156" drill bit was too dull.  But I already had to use the drill press anyway.  (UPDATE: The mill can drill at 1 ipm when it has a drill bit, not a confused cylinder.)

The plate is just too large for the drill press vise so I decided to build some hold downs to slide into the attachment slots on the drill press table.  I had a dental appointment today over on Home Depot side of town, so I picked up a collection of washers, bolts, and lock washers that I thought would do the job.

No.  This is harder than it looks.  Then I noticed the plate that needed perforation had two 3/8" holes in it.  I have no idea for what.  Attaching lefthanded veeblefeetzers?

So I put a 3/8" bolt and 1/2" washer in the attachment slot, the plate on that and a lock washer and nut on the bolt. Tightened down, it was going nowhere.

While not as convenient as an X-Y drill press vise, moving the table relative to the quill and moving the plate to various rotations around the attachment slots allowed me to drill and tap both the holes.  (Somewhere, some sadistic geometry teacher is assigning a proof of this to some suffering 9th graders.)

I have every length of 10-32 SHCS except 1" which by some antimiracle is the one that I need to get a good grip of both clamp and plate.  Not another trip today.

Also, while 3-in-1 Oil has a pleasant odor, TapMagic does not.  It is not repugnant but it has no positive memories for me either.  

A brief plug for Sherline.   When I asked them what lubricant to order for the mill I was expecting some hideously priced, Sherline-labeled version of 3-in-1 Oil.  No they just said to use 3-in-1 Oil.