> You'd be less likely to break the drill if you hand drill instead of machine

Not necessarily.  The drill (a little Dremel) is held in a drill press, so I've got good control of the drill movement, and can keep the can pretty steady.  You won't get that level of control with a hand drill (because you can't keep your hands perfectly steady as you drill).  A jeweller's drill might work better.

I've broken the bits by being careless when moving the workpiece and not lifting the drill clear first, or when removing the bit from the chuck, or once when drilling the holes in the inner baffle; I moved the workpiece which twisted the bit.

As I said, I don't think HSS bits are as fragile as cobalt steel bits; the latter are very hard, sharp and brittle.

I was thinking more of holding the drill in a pinvice and rotating it between thumb and forefinger, you'd need a punch mark to start you off.

You wouldn't blunt a HSS drill in a very long time, I've got some I've used in Ali for years, still going strong and never sharpened them.

> I was thinking more of holding the drill in a pinvice and rotating it between thumb and forefinger

I still think a drill press gives you more control, but a pin vice or jeweller's drill give you more fine control than a hand drill.

> you'd need a punch mark to start you off 

I use a thumb tack for this; a punch is far too brutal.

> You wouldn't blunt a HSS drill in a very long time

I agree; I use a 0.8mm HSS drill at home.  The only reason I've used cobalt bits is that we have them at work (down to 0.5mm), for drilling PCBs.  The glass in the PCB shreds HSS in no time.  Carbide or cobalt is the only answer.

CP, cobalt drills are very hard and brittle, I've broken loads.

I have a dremel copy that lives in my tool box, it's come in handy a few times but the battery life on it is rubbish.

At first when making stoves I was just sticking the drills in a pin vice and using any old cordless drill at work, to be honest though, I've found spinning the pin vice in my fingers as described by Shuttleworth to be much easier and more accurate. Also I havent bothered with a punch/tack just a pencil mark as I havent found the drill bit wandering snce I switched to doing it by hand.

I've been playing with burners that don't use holes.  A bit like the Tealight and Frumlight stoves, only made with 250ml cans, and still with a vapour chamber.

They seem to work just as well as those with drilled holes, only the flame ring is a beautiful cylinder, and it seems to regulate itself nicely, and not produce soot.

I've moved on to other things to design, though, including a portaledge (inspired by the Krustyledge), a thing for climbing (hush hush), and now a bivvy tent...

Hi CP.

Maybe I've missed something, but what is a Krustyledge.

 Also been busy here (but sadly most of my time has been taken with setting up a new company). One good thing I have made recently is a wooden spoon. I went on a green woodworking day, and made a nice new boil in the bag spoon out of lime wood. It's lovely to use a spoon I made myself (out of a fresh chump of lime) It weighs in at 10g

The Krustyledge is a portaledge made from plumbing pipes.

My design has a few cunning tweaks that I think improve it, and make it easier to assemble.

I don't need a portaledge.  I don't do big wall climbing.  I'll probably never make a portaledge.  But it keeps me busy...