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Brad,
For the pads where the holes are obliterated, us a center punch with a very, very light tap to mark the hole site. The impression will let you see where the hole goes, and also keep the bit from walking when it hits the pad. You should be using carbide bits. The steel bits don't last very long in the fiberglass boards, and as they wear, they make ragged holes.
Harvey
So I’ve etched my boards for my TV Typewriter reproduction. I’m quite happy with the result, however now comes the hard part – drilling and cutting.
For drilling, I have a dremel press with 1/32 and up bits. I did some experimental drilling with it and managed to drill fairly accurately where I can see the holes. However, some of the holes were obliterated during my efforts to enhance the PCB artwork, and especially for ICs I’m finding it hard to keep them aligned. I know I have a tiny bit of flexibility there, but I’d like to keep em straight. I find it very hard to gauge where the bit is. I was tempted to get a full drill press for this but reasoned the sight laser probably was going to be too big anyway. Anyway, advice?
The next thing is cutting – I found a fiberglass jigsaw blade and man, it cuts like butter. But keeping it straight is another matter.. wondering if there’s a better avenue?