Can one of you guys....search a link for through drilling please.....my computer is a wreck....dying slowly a little at a time....so now I can't search for some reason....I think there was a thread or a how-to before....but I can't search.....if I ruin 1 more body...I'm going to lose my mind!! Thank You!! Jay

r u using the good bits that Mike sells?

drill before turning if it's that bad for you

I use good Dewalt bits to start......didn't know I could drill first...I thought the wood may shatter...I may have to try that. Thanks Slip. Jay

drill before turning if it's that bad for you


I probably mess up 2-3 out of 10 say......don't know if thats common or not, but I think it sucks....just aggrevating, I'm still fairly new to this..and when I get a body just the way I want it....and then screw it up drilling...makes me mad....thanks again for the help...Jay

I do my thru drilling on the lathe
chuck the bit in the headstock and start with a short bit. I slide the plug and the tailstock all at once into the bit clearing the chips often.

I am no expert but I have drilled a zillion holes in thing's, that's my career.:doh: IMO drilling on the lathe is the only way to go. The benifits are you can let the plug rotate on the drill bit every few seconds by letting go of the grip slightly and see if it is drilling straight. The most important thing is the start of the drill. If the thing is not dead nuts, machinist lingo, from the start than it will probably not turn out good. Use a short lenght drill so it is ridgid to start and go on from there. Also make sure you clear the drill bit of chips every few seconds. That is another reason for run out. The heat builds up and the chips clog the flutes with nowhere to go, thus the bit wanders. If I ruin 1 in 30 I get pissed. Practice makes perfect. Good luck.