Working around blowout

No matter how careful you are or how sharp your drill bit, the bottom end of a blank being drilled for a barrel can blow out or chip when the bit exits the bottom of the blank. Unfortunately, a few woods and acrylics are more apt to blow out than others. While repairing a blown-out blank is difficult if not impossible, you can easily work around such stock by simply cutting your blanks longer than needed for the mating tube. For example, if the stock you are drilling is blowing out and you normally crosscut your blanks 1/16” to 1/8” long, cut them ¼” long. After drilling the hole simply re-crosscut the blown-out end to remove the damage.