nice holder you made for drilling the screws. i forgot to mention that also. a guy can do a lot without needing a mill or lathe, but in my opinion, a drill press is a must.
I did the same thing myself and also made a guide to hold the tap's straight while tapping the holes, being a machinist has it's perk's.
tap guides are a great thing to have also, and are easy to make as well. if you don't have one handy, or the tapped hole is at an angle in the piece, here is a simple way to do this.
take a drill that has a shank size that fits your hole to be tapped snugly. put that in the chuck of your press with the flutes in the chuck. [you don't have to tighten the drill as you would when drilling the correct way.] using the backwards drill to position your hole, FIRMLY clamp your work piece to the table of your press so it can't possibly move.
clamp your tap in the drill press chuck. lower the quill to your work. then using both hands, turn the chuck with one hand while applying slight, downward pressure to the feed handle with the other. this will allow you to get some starter threads in your work. after a few revolutions, hold the handle firmly in position. DO NOT allow it to move. using your free hand, loosen the chuck with the key, allowing the tap to stay in the work piece, while allowing the quill to be raised. you can now tap the piece by hand. it will be straight because it was lined up by the hole in the piece and the chuck.
a machinist does have it's "quirks".
