Need help to drill at an angle

[mklotz]

Problem #2.....the rod holder must be at 55 Deg meaning I have to drill the pilot hole through my Ali at 55 Deg, What is the "agreed" method of drilling a hole at 55 or any angle for that matter through a piece of steel? Fot this project it would not matter if the hole is a mm or so off as the drill is pressed to the side.

ps I know I can drill the hole in the boat square and then use the pencil grinder to get it to the desired angle that is not the point of this question.

Presumably you intend to do this with a handheld drill motor or something similar?

I would first prepare a 55deg angle guide block that could be clamped in place to guide the drill.

The biggest problem is getting the drill started. Once it's immersed in the material it can drill as usual but standard drills are not suited to starting hole at such an angle. A machinist would first use a (flat-ended) milling cutter to make an angled flat in the material so the (angled) drill could begin drilling on a surface perpendicular to its point.

If you don't have a milling cutter, perhaps you can grind a surplus drill such that it's a flat-ended cutter. This is done all the time to create flat-bottoms in holes drilled with conventional drills.