Drill press and stand

An apparatus for drilling by a drilling means holes through vitreous sheet materials comprising:

• a stand having a base, a suction mounting means, a coolant reservoir, a drill press supporting collar, a plurality of leveling screws and a drill press means;
• said suction mounting means operably connected to said base, said suction mounting means constructed and arranged for holding said base securely against the upper surface of the vitreous sheet materials;
• said coolant reservoir including an opening for viewing the drilling operation and for the passage of the drilling means said coolant reservoir including a dam attached to said base;
• said dam forming a continuous liquid seal over the entire perimeter of said dam;
• said dam having at least a resilient contacting surface for contacting the vitreous sheet material over the entire perimeter of said dam when said base is attached to the vitreous sheet material by said suction mounting means, said contacting surface sufficiently sealing the perimeter of said dam to produce a liquid seal between the vitreous sheet material and said dam;
• said supporting collar connected to said base;
• said leveling screws connected to said base and operably mounted to provide proper alignment of said base and said supporting collar to the vitreous sheet materials being drilled, said leveling screws having lower ends that contact the vitreous sheet material;
• and
• said drill press means including a means for linearly positioning said drill press means axis generally perpendicularly to said base and for moving said drill press means toward or away from the upper surface of the vitreous sheet material;
• said drill press means having a motor, a drill tool means operably attachable to said motor, a motor support means interconnectable between said motor and said stand;
• said collar including a means for index positioning said drill press means in relation to said collar in one of two drill positions about the pivotal axis of said support mounting means for quick positioning:
• said two drill positions located to provide adjacent drill alignment within said coolant reservoir.
• said drill sized to cut a hole of a preselected diameter;
• said two drill positions located a preselected radial distance apart about said pivotal axis;
• said two drill positions, said preselected raidal distance, and said preselected diameter each selected so that by cutting said hole through said vitreous sheet material at each of said two drill positions the resulting holes are adjacent to one another.