I was at Maker Faire Bay Area in 2017, sitting at the hotel bar where all of the staff and makers stay, trying to charm my way to free drinks and a few free tips for this book. I had just bonded with friend and toy inventor extraordinaire Bob Knetzger over our mutual love of Jack Daniels and we were sipping some Gentleman Jack that he had just ordered. I asked him if he had any tips for the book and he responded: “Close your eyes before blowing the dust out of drilled holes.” I laughed, thinking he was joking. It seemed like a tip so obvious it wasn’t even worth mentioning. But when you think of it, this is just the kind of thing you could easily forget (and why you should always wear safety glasses when working on projects where anything can threaten your precious peepers). As I thought more about it, I decided this was one worth sharing. “Great one, Bob. Thank you. You rock,” as I wrote it in my notebook. “Would you like another Jack?” he asked. “Sure,” I enthused, suddenly wondering how many tips I was going to manage to collect before tips turned to tipsy.

Tape Your Bit to Mark Drill Depth

To drill to a precise depth, measure that depth on the bit, and wrap a piece of masking or brightly colored tape there. Then, drill to the bottom edge of the tape. You can also mark the depth directly onto the bit with a Sharpie. [JD]

Add a Wooden Drilling Guide to Your Drill

Create an easy jig for drilling perfectly straight holes by attaching a small piece of wood to your hand drill (on the top or on one side) and place that against a flat surface, perpendicular to where you want to drill your hole. When attaching the wood, make sure it’s perfectly parallel with the bit. [JD]

Tape a Level to Your Drill

To make sure you’re drilling a hole perfectly straight, tape a small level onto the top of your drill. You can remove it when you’re done. [MC]

Save Your Drill Press Chuck on a Key Ring

Tired of losing the chuck on your drill press? Use a retractable magnetic keyring to store it close at hand by mounting it on the press itself. [SMR]

Catch Drill Dust with a Coffee Filter or Post-it

If you are drilling a hole in a wall and don’t want the sheetrock dust everywhere, use painter’s tape to attach a coffee filter below where you’re drilling to catch all of the dust. You can also fold a Post-it Note and stick it underneath where you’re drilling to do the same thing.

Catch Drill Dust in a Coffee Cup

Drilling a hole in the ceiling? Feed the drill bit through a paper coffee cup and let the cup catch the dust. You can also cut the bottom off a two-liter soda bottle and use that.

Make a Simple Jig for Drilling Straight Holes

One method of drilling a straight hole without a drill press is to create a drilling jig by either cutting a 90-degree notch from a scrap piece of lumber, or offsetting two smaller pieces to create a 90-degree corner. Place your drill bit in the crevice of that 90-degree angle and drill. You’ll end up with a near-perfect hole, perpendicular to your lumber. [IS]

Use a Nail as a Pilot Hole Bit

If you need to sink a pilot hole for a screw, and you don’t have the right size bit, or you don’t want your nail to split your board, you can use the nail as the bit to create a predrilled pilot hole. Simply snip the head off the nail, chuck it into your drill, and drill as if it were a normal bit.

Use a CD to Help You Make a Straight Hole

Lay down any old Clay Aiken CD (or equivalent) reflective side up. Position the drill bit in the center hole and line it up with its own reflection in the CD for a 90-degree angle.

Punch Before You Drill

To keep your drill bit from roaming around when you’re drilling, always cross measure and use a center punch to make a dimple in the wood. It will act as a guide to get the bit started.

Water-Cooling Acrylic Drilling

If you’ve done any cutting or drilling into acrylic material, you know that, as the saw or bit gets hot from the cutting friction, it begins to melt the plastic. You can help prevent this by lubricating the hole with water, similar to the way you would use oil in metal cutting. The water will act as a coolant and prevent the plastic from melting. [BK]