I drilled six holes for the bolts that fasten the stretchers tonight. The first step is to put the doweling jig on the end of the board like this:

Then I drill a small pilot hole with the hand drill on the left there. The new brad-point bits I got are great.

Finally, after the pilot hole is all the way through, I take the brace with the auger bit (on the right in that photo) and bore the hole proper. Like my experience the other day, the newly-sharpened bit is about a million times better. I’d done two holes like this a while ago, and they took forever. Now it’s very quick, and the bit doesn’t heat up as much.

I have four more of these to go–the ones for the big stretchers. I will probably need to redrill/enlarge/(or something) some of the leg holes that I made a long time ago. No big deal.

After this, I can assemble the frame and attach the top.