Shop Manual Save "No welding content"

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I have been sorting and clearing my parents home and have come across many old paper back shop manuals that have come apart at the binding.  Some of these are quite useful as I also am getting all the yard equipment running and back into usable condition.  The problem is, keeping all the pages together.  The manuals are too thick to fit in my 3 ring punch, so I decided I needed to devise a method of drilling holes in stacks of paper so they can be stored in note book binders.After some experimentation on old phone books, this is what I came up with.I found that a forstner bit works great if the paper is clamped tightly, so I laid out at drill template using some scrap wood.The next step is to assemble the stack.  The drill template is on top, then the manual, and finally a piece of sacrificial wood.  Align all the edges and clamp.Clamped to the drill press table.  Ready to drill.  I ran the bit about 3,000 RPM and cleared the swarf frequently.  A 5/16" bit is ideal but since I don't have one I used 3/8".Three nice neat holes.  Fits the binder like a glove.This fixture also works for stacks of smaller booklets.  I have organized all the owner manuals for garage door openers, small tools, welder manuals, and such, that accumulate around the home and shop.  Having them in one spot makes it much easier to find when needed.The three ring binders were a garage sale find.RogerOld, Tired, and GRUMPYSalesman will call, Batteries not included, Assembly is required, and FREE ADVICE IS WORTH EXACTLY WHAT YOU PAY FOR IT!Dial Arc 250HFThunderbolt 225 AC/DCAssorted A/O torches
Reply:Excellent save - that was my first technical manual to use.I break things for a living...
Reply:That's funny you should mention 5/16" forstner bits.  I needed one last night since my set that I have jumps from 1/4 to 3/8".  Went back to Lowe's where I had gotten the set from and they had individual ones, but the smallest size was 3/8".  They make paper-specific drill bits, but unless you have a bunch of holes to do, you may not want to drop $20+ on one.  Looks like the forstner bit does the trick...