I want to cut a hole in my desk (3/4" furniture grade plywood with an oak veneer) to run cables through. I'll be using a hole saw and my cordless drill. Since this is going to be very visible, I want to be sure that the hole is perfectly vertical, and that I get it right on the first try.
How can I ensure that the drill is angled correctly? Should I even be trying this with a hand-held drill? If not, what tools should I think about using?
I saw a video online, that suggested a simple jig that will allow you to drill straight into a relatively flat surface.
Take a piece of stock that is square. From the end of the stock, cut a wedge section that is 90° in the wedge (the left inner face should be 90° from the right inner face) and the wedge vertex (the line in the middle of the removed area), should also be 90° from the bottom face of the block.
Place the jig flat against the surface you want to drill, snug the drill bit up to the inner corner (the cut out area), and drill away.
You may need to make several of these to accommodate different sized bits.
To allow for a forstner bit, cut a section from the bottom of the jig (see the side view image) allowing just enough clearance for the bit.
It is possible to make this jig with the vertex at a different angle. You can make the jig as above to get a perfectly square reference. Then run the bottom plane of the jig through a table saw (or whatever you have that will work) to shave an angled wedge from the bottom.
The notch has been removed in the side view to allow for a forstner (or similar) bit to have clearance.
In two words: Pilot hole
If you have a drill with the handy leveling bubble, this can be handy. Otherwise line up your drill bit using something akin to a speed square or carpenters square (checking more than 1 axis), then drill your pilot hole. Not only is the pilot hole beneficial, but I find it makes your accustomed to what arrangement/direction you will be drilling.
This will help most if you are using the kind of pilot hole with a center drill bit that protrudes from the barrel/shank.
Otherwise, they do make a jig of sorts that bolts to your handheld drill and provides a guide and baseplate. The creates a pseudo drill press-like device.
A drill guide will help you maintain the required angle, in your case, 90 degrees perpendicular to the desk. These are readily available at your local home improvement or tool store.
I saw an ad on a woodworking site and I was reminded of this question. These were touched on in other answers but I wanted to add something more concrete with a picture as an aid. The following is a picture of a drill guide. This would be used with your regular powered hand drill.
You can see that the underside has 45 degree angle to as so you could also use this for drilling on square corners and even on the surface of a cylinder.
This would have the advantage of being compact, reliable and reusable. I am not aware of any other manufacturers but i'm sure they are out there. The site where that picture came from is: Big Gator Tools
There are also called "Drill and Tap Guide Blocks"
Cheap like me?
Wont last as long but it would be real easy to make a facsimile of this with some scrap and a drill press.
Just get it close to vertical, and add in a cable grommet. With these you can be about 1/8" off in the hole size, and angled like a drunken monkey drilled it, and it still looks great.
I think I'd try making a guide block by drilling a through-hole into a piece of thick stock at the drill press. Use the same bit you plan to drill into your desk with. Next, locate the block on the desk where you want the hole (registration marks might help with this) and clamp or double-stick tape it in place. Use the hole in the block as a guide sleeve for your bit as you drill into the desk. Should work fine for any bit you can chuck into your drill press. The thickness of the block will limit your depth of cut, but once the hole is well started you should be able to remove the block and use the hole itself as a guide if you need to drill further.
Usually the cutting face of a hole saw is enough to give a good reference for verticality. If you're really concerned, google "portable drill guide" for some products that can help.
This won't work well with hole saws, but if you're using a simple twist bit, auger bit, etc. you can put two squares on the desktop at 90° apart as a visual reference.
Mount a bull's eye level on the back of the drill.
Requires setup once.
http://ideas.selfelected.com/2011/12/laser-and-level-for-drilling-in-right-angle/
