I don't believe you said how long the piece is.

Anyway, clamp the piece in a drill vise and be very sure that it is
vertical. Find the center accurately and mark it with a center punch.
Put a Fostner bit in the drill press chuck. Clamp the vise to the table
when you have located the punch mark under the spur of the bit. Then
drill as deep as you can, raising the bit frequently to clear out the
chips. Remove the Forstner bit, install an electrician's bit which can
be as long as 18 inches, in the chuck and keep on drilling.

I have done this many, many times when making lamps.

I just realized that you may not have a drill press and only an electric
hand drill. You can find some excellent guides to start the drill
straight.

Peace ~ Sir Edgar
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