Originally Posted by
Kees Heiden
When drilling I aim right in between the angle of the bed and the wear. That seems safest to me, because those drillbits like to wander a bit.
Kees, I have to agree with Stewie. You'll get better results (on a drill press) if you drill at the wear angle or very close to it. Use a brad point bit and you shouldn't get any wander at all. Reducing the angle (making it closer to perpendicular) will reduce the wandering.
For more steeply angled holes, this is what I use:
IMG_3413.jpg
Peter Galbert calls this a "bismarck" grind, and has some good info on his blog. He starts with a twist drill; I start with a brad point and just grind the wings off. Takes about 3 minutes, and I can drill straight holes at 45° no problem.
"For me, chairs and chairmaking are a means to an end. My real goal is to spend my days in a quiet, dustless shop doing hand work on an object that is beautiful, useful and fun to make." --Peter Galbert