By the way, at 2.5" thick that shelf is probably hollow or filled with a
honeycomb paper material and not solid. If it were solid it would be
extremely heavy.

Take care drilling, do each side separately.

"orangetrader" wrote in message
...
I have a piece of melamine board which is part of a shelving system. I
need
to drill a hole 2" diameter through it so that I can pass electronic
cables
from one side of the shelf to the other.

The problem is this board is about 2.5" thick and I only have a hand
drill.
I practice drilling a hole this big on solid wood and each time when I am
done the hole is not straight, it is skewed or slanted because I can't
keep
my hand steady and my penetration is not at perfect right angle. Also I
worry about when drilling through particle board will be even harder, and
when it is almost all the way through the drill will "rip" through the
other
side and the laminate surface will be messed up.

Any suggestions?

O