I wanted to counterbore several 3/4" holes about an eighth of an inch deep in 3/4" plywood. I bought a set of Forstner bits at Lowe's, chucked the 3/4" one in a corded 1/2" drill, and made a practice swipe at a piece of pine. It was incredibly hard going. I really had to lean on it. I did manage to get down to about an eighth of an inch, both in the pine and eventually in the plywood, but I don't know what it would have taken to drill all the way through. I tried several diameters and they were all the same.
Did I get a crappy set of bits, or are they not meant to be used in a hand drill? I don't have a drill press to make a comparison.