Homebrew PCBs

DJ Delorie wrote:
 >
 > If you want the adventure, you could still try gEDA/pcb ;-)
 >
 > > I also have a Mac but it doesn't get used much.
 >
 > If it's OS/X, you can run gEDA/PCB on that.
 >

I may try gEDA/pcb but probably not the first thing I try :)
The Mac is OSX but has no printer. I couldn't figure out how to get it 
to print on my little network :(

 > You could try Kicad; it is often recommended for beginners.
 >
 > > Eagle by Cadsoft or Express PCB or something else?
 >
 > Neither of these are free, unless you're willing to accept some (I
 > think unreasonable) limitations on what you can do with them.

I will check out Kicad and give it a try. I am just going to be doing 
simple stuff for a while or maybe thats as far as I will progress. Thats 
why I thought Eagle or Express would work for single sided boards with 
less than 100 connections etc...but I guess once I got better and needed 
the limitations removed, the free part goes away.

 > > Isn't there 2 or 3 sizes of drills that are most often used so I
 > > could buy a bunch of those sizes?
 >
 > I don't know what sizes *you* use, so I can't say. I'd buy the random
 > selection and see what you use the most. I use the 13, 25, and 35 the
 > most, but that's just because of the parts I use, and I eventually end
 > up using pretty much all the sizes anyway.
 >
Sounds good. Get a kit then buy individuals of the ones I break first :)

 > > I have a drill press so I am set there.
 >
 > Beware that large drill presses may have too much runout (sideways
 > motion) for those small bits; they're quite brittle. You'll have to
 > try and see.
 >

I got one of those radial bench top Craftsman ones but I agree the 
run-out can be an issue and needs to be checked. I also have that mini 
drill press adapter from the flea market I will see if my dremel will 
fit and how the run-out is on that.
Thanks,
Dave