Drilling those Holes

Holes have to be drilled thru many of the beams for the bolts to go thru that hold the mill together. It's important that the holes be square in the beams so that the final assembly will be square. Several of the beams are 7 1/2" wide and keeping a hole that deep square was a trick. I contacted Gerald Johnson, another mill enthusiast who had rebuilt a mill several years earlier with his father. He taught me very simple trick. Squarely mark both sides of the beam where the hole is to enter and where it is to exit. Start on one side and drill about half way thru. Then turn the beam over and drill the rest of the way from that side, the two holes meeting in the middle. If the holes don't meet exactly, you can waller out the hole in the center of the beam with assurance that the hole is square on both sides. With a little practice, I was able to drill free hand pretty accurately.

The bolts will be 5/8" in diameter. I drilled the holes 3/4" to have a little slack.

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