Saving Your Table

 
Anytime you need to machine through your stock or drill through holes, you'll need a sacrificial piece of stock.  Most of us have tried a scrap of wood only to find it absorbs coolant then becomes soft.  Even if wood does work for you, you'll eventually find that woodchips and sawdust can introduce some strange happenings in the coolant tank.
 
Start with a poly cutting board, this one from Wal-Mart measures 15x20 for about $10.  

Look for the one without the handle to maximize usable space.
 
Cut into convenient lengths and widths, and just clamp under your work.  
 
Although it's hard to tell in this picture, the poly makes an acceptable fixture.  Just machine a couple of alignment pins into the table and the matching index's in the poly and you're all set.