And there's me thinking soldering was hard...

[Adji]

So when I first started soldering stuff about a year ago I thought it was hard, now I am getting much better at it with regular practice. But now I have a new worst enemy... dialling!

Good god it just does not work! I have read through about ten pages of topics after searching for 'drilling' but none of them seem to have fixed my problem. I want to mount my pedals in diecast aluminum enclosures and I am REALLY struggling to drill them.
I have a set of expensive-ish drill bits plus a set of the step bits that everyone was recommending but still no luck. I am using a decent hand-drill (can't afford and don't have anywhere to put a press drill). I have tried at slow speeds, fast speed, with a lot of pressure, with little pressure and still no luck. I have been attempting one hole for about 10 mins now on and off and have only gotten about half way through the enclosure. Surely there is something I am doing wrong.
Does anyone know a good video tutorial or something? Searching on google turned nothing up for me.

[Naz Nomad]

Don't take this the wrong way but ... your drill is turning clockwise?

[Adji]

Don't take this the wrong way but ... your drill is turning clockwise?

Hey man, no offence taken. I am asking for help because I am a n00b haha so ANY tips are more than welcome. Ermm now I am going to sound stupid. My drill can drill both clockwise and anti clockwise. Is clockwise the correct way to drill?

[kupervaser]

This might be something:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClexKXeLi5E&feature=fvsr

At 6:30 you can see how this dude is doing it.

p.s. you can alos drill very small pilot holes first and then drill them to the required size

[Adji]

OMG I feel like a foll haha! I switched my drill to clockwise and hey presto, its working much better. Please don't tell anyone of my stupid-ness  

I now of course realise that the way the drill bits are designed to cut into metal when they are spinning clockwise, I feel like an IDIOT! haha. Thanks again.

[Cardboard Tube Samurai]

OMG I feel like a foll haha! I switched my drill to clockwise and hey presto, its working much better. Please don't tell anyone of my stupid-ness  

I now of course realise that the way the drill bits are designed to cut into metal when they are spinning clockwise, I feel like an IDIOT! haha. Thanks again.

I love moments like these! It's good to feel humbled sometimes because we so often get caught up in believing how right we are. You still can't beat a good drill press for this kind of work though. You say you don't have space... I say 'make some'!

[Adji]

Haha thanks everyone for the support, this forum is already been so great to me!

The hand drill has actually worked fantastic! Got all 6 holes drilled in under five mins. If I ever move on to more serious work I will be finding a space for a press!

[sean k]

I was watching TV last night and a doctor had to use a cordless drill to drill a hole in someones head to relieve pressure and I saw immediately that the drill was going the wrong way... of course, it's for TV, but still... authenticity and all that.

Check out Archimedes... he started it all!

[Naz Nomad]

Well, I suggested clockwise because although it's second-nature to some people there is always going to be someone that's drilling for the first time ... It was just your comment about the amount of time it had been spinning without cutting that made me think it was maybe going backwards.

No stopping you now. 

[frequencycentral]

Yeah, only use anti-clockwise for filling in holes you previously drilled in the wrong place.