YS, I hold the plug with my hand. The left hand guides the plug onto the bit and keeps it from spinning, keeping the center fo the tail on the tailstock keeps the bit centered down the plug so the drill hopefully comes out the center. I slide the tailstock up the lathe bed because you can get far more stroke faster than you can with the hand crank, you can also slide the tailstock back and clear chips faster than you can turning the crank. I generally drill from both ends. I fyou wan tyou can put your drive center in the tailstock to help hod the plug from spinning.
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