Drilling a straight hole through 6 inches of aluminum when your drill press only has a 2 inch stroke is challenging but possible. Here the 3/8 inch pilot is drilled. I had to drill it from each end. The two holes were only off by a few thousandths in the center. Cutting the ends perfectly square was a challenge as well but that's the only way I had to make sure the holes were straight.

Owner caption February 2014 · Photo 99 of 429