Drilling :

NEVER assume a drill is going to cut to size ( even brand new drills )
always test the drill bit on a scrap piece of the material you are going to use first,
Use paraffin ( Kerosene ) as a lubricant for drilling aluminium, this applies to turning and milling cutters as well, it prevents the aluminium bedding into the drill and ruining the hole or finish on the piece.
ALWAYS clamp the job down to the drill table firmly, you might hold on with a light drill press but heavier gear drive types have a lot more power and they will hurt you
In the engineering industry drills cause more accidents than any other machine !!!!!
 

   Transfer drilling :

when you need to  duplicate a set off holes from a cheek plate to the mast head for example, accurate measuring will do it but  clamping the cheek plate to the mast and following through with the drill is fine as long as the body is fully engaged in the hole another way is to use a transfer punch, this is basically a flat bottomed punch with a tiny pip in the centre the diameter of the body to suit the hole it sits in ,place in each hole to be copied onto the other part ,a light tap and then ready for drilling with the knowledge that they will line up .these can be made yourself from whatever diameter steel you need in a drill press and just bring a file up to the base with the drill running ,this will put a slight angle on the bottom of the bar, this is all that is needed to mark the job, if needed you can follow up with the centre punch .

Cross Drilling Round Tube :

Drilling holes at opposite ends of a tube that have to be in line with each other calls for accurate rotational positioning to be successful, fortunately it is very easy to do if you clamp the tube to a piece of angle stock or square section then clamp this assembly to the drill press table. Drill all the holes without removing the tube from the angle stock ,when all the holes have been done remove from angle and the job is done easily an accurately.

NOTE:
Most light drill press's have limited spindle travel which require the table to be lowered when changing from a centre drill to a drill bit ,if the hole is not deep using a STUB drill may help these are as the name implies just a shorter  version of a standard drill.

AN. Bolts

It is worth getting a few bolts before you start drilling to check the diameter of the bolts ,measure the threaded section as well because the thread is rolled in and although tolerances are usually held well within limit ,differences can occur, doing this allows you to adjust the hole size to suit if needed.