Bullseye Bore

Box, container, laser

Waiting time in crowdfunding is sometimes problematic. I forgot why I wanted this Kickstarter in the first place. In any case I was probably one of the last people to receive this. And it's been some years when it arrived, I've kept waiting to do more with it before posting, but it doesn't seem to happen.

The Bullseye Bore is a laser guide attached to a power drill, with the purpose of assisting straight drilling.

Bullseye Bore connects to the drill chuck with a strong magnet. The lasers are powered by two batteries. When the drill rotates, so does the device, emitting two beams projected as circles. Drilling straight, the circles are concentric. If not, their positioning is lopsided.

Easy to connect. The chuck has to be magnet-friendly, but aren't they all?

There's another version of the device, with three circles rather than two, but I chose this simpler one, "Core Red".

So, bullseye or BS? Ha, ha, I wonder how many reviewers made that joke. Am I being a bore? 

Before I even tried the Bullseye, I envisioned a few problems with the concept. Firstly, there are many drilling tasks where straight drilling might be desirable, but the circles might not be clearly visible. For example, drilling deep into the side of a narrow board.

Secondly, the tool has to rotate quite fast to see the lasers as circles. So I have to go full speed before I even start drilling the hole. This could be confusing.

Can't even photograph it just like that

A little disclaimer. Though I have some educamation on the topic of woodworking, I don't do it as a profession. I know that drill type, diameter, RPM go together with the target material and the task at hand. But currently I only use an ordinary power drill occasionally for small tasks, and go with whatever feels fine.

After inserting the batteries, I tested the laser functionality and was ready to go. There's a really tiny on/off switch in an easily reachable position.

My DeWalt drill has an automatic LED light, which casts shadows with the rotating part, but this isn't too distracting and the LED can be covered if I really want to.

The operation reminds me of the docking sequence in Elite. I watch these glowing circles while drilling, going closer in and hoping without any great assurance, that all will be well.

Looks sturdy enough.

In practice, I was able to drill even a weirdly-shaped piece of wood. The fast dry-rotating felt suspect at first, but it's something one could get used to.

I was surprised to find that even with the first try the result was quite correct, certainly less than 0.5mm off when measured from the edges of opposite sides. You can argue that's not a great achievement for a 21mm thick material, but believe me I've been able to botch comparable freehand drill holes.

As the drill gets closer to the wood, the circles become smaller and it's no longer as easy to compare them. But at that point the drill hole ought to be growing in the correct direction anyway.

It won't fit everywhere, that's for sure.

Bullseye Bore is well made, the magnet is strong enough and the lasers are a fun addition to the drilling process. It's not an universal solution, and as with any tool and drilling assist, it likely has a specific role. Perhaps a repetitive task where mounting a jig or assist would be bothersome.

Since this arrived, I've had a number of household-type drilling tasks, but I didn't really feel a need to use this laser. It's not that often I need a deep, accurate drill hole that couldn't be done with a dowel jig.