Sighting in on centered spindle holes

To align the legs on a set of bunk beds, I came up with this method to precisely center a hole using a laser bore sighter for rifles (Bushnell item 740100C, 800-423-3537, bushnell.com). First make a plywood base with a nail or screw sticking up through it. Mount the bore sighter in your drill press chuck. Then position the base so the laser points straight into the point of the nail, and clamp the base securely in place. Replace the bore sighter with the correct drill bit. Mark the centers on both ends of the spindle and press one end, centered, onto the nail point. Now, by drilling into the top center mark, you drill precisely on axis and down the center of the spindle.
—Mark Lutz, The Dalles, Ore.