Rick,
I look down at the board at about 45deg in subdued room lighting. When the beam is hitting copper you don't see any thing. when it shines on etched areas you see a spot. When it is under a pad with an etched hole you will see the spot. Then adjust the board in the horizontal plane with tiny movements for the greatest spot intensity; then drill.
This drilling setup is not an original idea. I came across the concept from a forum post using a cigar box. I use a Proxxon drill stand with a Proxxon hand tool and there wasn't enough room for the cigar box so I adapted it to a smaller box (4" x 3" x 1 1/2"). I am using a $5 dealExtreme red laser module directly hooked to 3 AA cells. A $2 Staples steel ruler was cut to fit in the bottom of the box and glued. The laser is held with a large paper binder clip which is fastened to the the ruler with small button Neodymium magnets. The 45 deg mirror was fashioned from a piece of 1/2' 90 deg extruded aluminum stock with a craft store 1/2" strip mirror glued to one face. The mirror is held in place perpendicular to the laser with double sided sticky tape. I used magnets to secure the laser to make it easier to adjust it relative to the mirror and the hole in the top of the box. This is a real jury rig, but it seems to work ok.
Baxter
> I put my drill press rather high and sat on a low chair so my eyes are about
> even with the pull handle. How do you sit so you can see the action?