Flattening and Drilling the Perch Seat

Here is the next installment in the perch making process. This video covers the hand flattening of the seat and the drilling for the legs. Of course you could use a planer and jointer to get this seat flat, but I use my handplanes, which only takes me a few minutes and teaches me a lot about the nature of the specific piece of wood that I'm using. I'm sure that there will be a few questions, so let me know if there something that I can clarify.

There are a few reasons that I drill the holes by eye. One is that the reaming process gives the opportunity to refine the angle of the hole, but most important to me is the speed and portability of the process. I could set up a drill press or some other semi-permanent rig, but then each time that I wished to change an angle I would have to adjust the jigging. Getting comfortable drilling by eye only takes a couple of practice holes and then you'll have a skill that you can take anywhere, at any angle, to any piece.