Drilling some holes, type of drill?

[steven c newman]

Need to drill some holes with these type of bits. Making a holder for them, so each bit needs to drill their new "home"
auger bits.jpg
Well, except for those two LONG bits. Since I doubt IF any of the ones in the "overhead" would work..
eggbeaters.jpg
So, I do have a decent selection that just might work..
braces.jpg
L-R: 14", a 12", a 10", a 8" and a 6" brace. The 6" might be a bit too small, and the 8" would be "pushing" things a bit. Might wind up using one of the larger braces.

Still will be a lot of work......

[steven c newman]

Wound up using all but the 8" brace....had issues with it's chuck. Smaller the bit, smaller the brace?

Those black handles are not plastic, they be Rosewood. Mainly Stanleys and Millers Falls, and one or two Pextos. Holdall chucks and even a Samson. 6" has a weird looking chuck.

Now, IF I can just learn to drill a straight hole with one of these.

[Steve Bates]

I'm curious, are you drilling vertically or horizontally? If vertically, drop a line with a weight (plumb) behind the drill so you can visually check.
Horizontally, use a ring on the drill shaft (large flat washer) to show when you're level. If the ring moves forward you're raising the pad too high.
Using a square adjacent to drill can show reference at 90 degrees from your point of view.

I feel your pain, I can't drill straight either.

[steven c newman]

Mainly like this..
start up.jpg
And, you can see how the first hole turned out. I had the block tilted at about 45 degrees towards me. Bit just followed the grain. Next ones I stood the block straight up....seemed to work better.

[Mike Holbrook]

Not sure if the issue is the type of drill or a visual orientation thing? This is always an issue drilling holes in Windsor chair seats which are at all sorts of angles. You can orient much better by using the typical method for getting fence posts etc. straight. With posts you check for vertical "level" at two points 90 degrees apart. You can set two sliding bevels and use them to orient in much the same way as the levels. It is easy to make simple bevels with two pieces of wood and a bolt. It "should" be easier to drill straight with a brace, particularly a larger one. Peter Galbert has a method where he puts mirrors in blocks of wood positioned around the hole, oriented to sliding bevels. This way the person doing the drilling can see the different angles better without having to move their head around as much.

I have mentioned this in several other posts, but it may apply here too. I have become a major fan of Wood Owl Ultra Smooth drill bits, made in Japan. These bits are made to a much tighter tolerance than the older bits. The steel is also amazing. I'm not sure what the alloy/heat treating process is used but it is very hard to heat them up and they cool very quickly. Even with a brace it is easy to over heat a bit which winds up dulling the steel fast. These bits cut much faster without needing sharpening nearly as often. The spurs are smaller but the fact that they do not heat up translates into them working much better, keeping the holes very smooth. Although these bits are designed to work in electric drills they work great in hand drills/braces too. I have 6 or so and use them in my braces frequently.

You might also check Drew Langsner, Peter Galbert's or Chris Schwarz's explanation of sight lines and finding resultant angles. Which are methods for marking the lines that allow the worker to drill holes at the correct angles. Typically chair makers drill a straight hole at the correct angle even if they plan to ream the hole into a tapered mortise for a tapered chair leg.

[Mike Holbrook]

I use the smaller braces and hand drills more for drilling for screws or bolts and running screws into holes or bare wood. The larger braces are better for making accurate holes with larger bits. If you are drilling lots of deep holes for things like chair legs/rungs/spindles you may want to go electric.

Another method for staying straight is to orient to a single bevel visually and place another person at 90 degrees to the bevel to let you know if you are getting off in that plain. Easy for 90 degree holes. Also pretty easy if you learn to draw sighting lines on your work. Using the helper can also help you develop a better "feel" for when you are straight and when you are not.

[steven c newman]

These are what I am trying to drill the holes for
auger bits.jpg
You can see where a couple went off line.