drilling hole in HF "metal"

[dumper]

I have a small HF vice that I am thinking of attaching to my tool cart-possibly without the revolving base. That means I would have to drill another mounting hole in this "metal" of unknown orgin. Would it be considered risky to drill thru this stuff? I don't want to crack it. After all, it does work fine with the rotating base, but I think it would be more solid without it. The picture on the right is of the vise before going to the "paint room." Thanks.

 

[pro-rallye]

I say do it. Anything HF should be modified and repurposed to fit your needs without making you think too much about it. HF is great for disposable tools. Just use a sharp bit with some quality cutting fluid and you'll be fine. If you somehow break it, drop 10 bucks for a new one.

 

[A_Pmech]

It is likely some grade of cast iron.

Drill dry at around 80 FPM, cutting fluid is not required for drilling cast iron and will only make the job harder. It should drill easily with swarf being "dust" to small fragmented chips.