Drilling with a hand drill

[gordo]

Just go the cheap route and get a hand reamer.  Not any more effort really and you can use it to clean up sloppy holes.

[davent]

The reamer is really the only way you're going to get truly accurately sized holes anyways as you can sneak up on the fit. Threaded bushings seem to always be some odd size that requires drilling an oversized hole, then there's  painting and clearcoating, the hole fills with those and shrinks in size so you have to clean up/resize the hole again... reamer, indispensible.

[hammerheadmusicman]

reamer, indispensible.

Agreed!

[TNblueshawk]

I've heard tales of holding one of these puppies by hand and if that bit grabs the pain it can offer up on one's hand/fingers/shin and God forbid BALLS  is not worth it to me. I just use one of those hand pump clamps. The downside of an accident one time (broken fret finger ?) for outweighs the 3 seconds it takes to clamp that sucker down.

[jimilee]

Sumbitch will spin around and leave its mark. I've done it several times. Since then I got a drill press.

[muddyfox]

ive got a drill press and still clamp them down hard. im very short on luck these days as it is, why push it when all it takes is one clamp...


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[twin1965]

I use one of these to hold the enclosure. http://mobile.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?moduleno=476517 I centre punch and drill a small pilot hole. Then use two more drill bits to make a 4mm hole. I then use a step drill. First step is 4mm so this fits exactly. From then on its easy. I then use a reamer to enlarge any holes that need it. Mainly plastic jacks and some power sockets.
The trick is to gradually enlarge the holes and don't drill too quickly. Make use of the drills torque setting (if it has one). Use low torque when using small drill bits and increase when using the step drill.
I get some very clean and accurate holes using this method. Haven't ruined a single enclosure yet. Or drilled any body parts!

[calciferspit]

Sumbitch will spin around and leave its mark. I've done it several times. Since then I got a drill press.

That's why i only use a cordless screwdriver. It doesn't have enough balls to grab and pull the piece out of my grip, but still enough to work through the whole step bit in about 10 seconds.

[rullywowr]

Great advice.  While a drill press is nice, you certainly can use a hand drill (cordless or whatever).  Speaking of Harbor Freight, I find that this T-Handle Reamer is one of the best tools for enlarging holes slightly.  Step bits are great too, however this guy is only $3.00 and works wonders when you need just a little wiggle room:

http://www.harborfreight.com/t-handle-reamer-66936.html

It even fits in a drill chuck if you wish.

[Bret608]

Hey, I'm sorry I didn't see this before! I appreciate it--there is a Harbor Freight right near where I live, so I will pick one up.

I love that they almost constantly have those 20% off coupons in the newspaper.