right on the mark from the far side!  I was allowing myself about an 1/8″ leeway in hitting the mark, but spot on!  out of the 12 holes drilled, I was less than a millimeter off with 9 of them the other 3 were just inside my allowed limits. interestingly I had the most trouble with the holes on the left end of the pieces.  not sure why.

brings up the idea of when to use a power drill and when to use a manual brace and bit. in principle, I have no particular preference, I have both. but I think that if you’re particularly worried about getting it straight, (and being able to correct on the fly,) the brace is the only way to fly. not to mention it’s a lot quieter…