Drill Press question

[big0mike]

I'd like one but I'd like one that will plunge through a 4x4, roughly 3.5", and to get that much stroke it seems you're looking at $500 or more.

On a scale of 1 to youareadumbass how unsafe is it to take a 10" with 2.375" stroke and plunge it in, stop it, raise the drill, raise the table, turn it back on and continue plunging the rest of the way through?

Obviously, the solution is to flip your board but if your ZERO point isn't exact there may be problems where the two holes meet which may or may not be a huge problem, depending on the project.