Archive of the former Yahoo!Groups mailing list: Homebrew PCBs

I etch then drill but then I'm not doing plated through holes.

To do a good drilling job you really need a drill press and carbide
bits. the HS steel ones just wear out too quickly though the aren't
as brittle as carbide. You can get a small drill press for well
under $100 and the dremel kits are reasonably priced, too. Because a
drill press has a lot of other uses, I see it as a no-brainer
acquisition.

I use a cross sliding vise with my drill press. once I have the vise
lined up and the board aligned to the vise it becomes very easy to
drill holes with in a few mils of the target.

Still, I hate drilling. Its the worst part of the process for me so
I bias towards surface mount components. Mixed through-hole and smt
works pretty well though you will have to do more vias.