Quote:
Originally Posted by thingstodo
How did you line up vertical for the hand-drilling with a hole saw?
45 minutes is pretty darned good for drilling that, in my opinion!
I have attempted hand drilling with hole saws ... and failed ... with hole saws MUCH smaller that what you are using. Plus the aluminum looks like it was used as a grenade shield (deep gouges when the pilot bit breaks and the hole saw skids across the plate)  |
My drill has a bubble level on the back of it, so I can tell if I'm leaning in any direction. I actually have two drills, but I went and fished out the one with the built in level so that I could be relatively accurate.
I used a punch (ahem, screwdriver) to leave a tiny indent at the exact points to drill holes, including there. I drilled them out with a small drill (1/8") and then a larger (1/4", same as the pilot drill built in to the hole saw). With the pilot hole already drilled, the pilot drill was just there to keep it centered(and I still managed to break 1/2" off the pilot drill, but it's easily replaced). You want to get the pressure down on it just right, and straight up and down, so it doesn't bite in hard. Being clamped down is pretty much required too, to prevent it grabbing, wandering, or anything else...
Besides which, the lip is only 1/8" tall or so, so after the first few millimeters (yes, I measure both in metric and imperial!), it wouldn't matter if I was less then straight.