In the "good ole days" of the 18th c. these pin holes were probably drilled with a bow drill, typically held horizontally. Here's a link to a photo of one on Jim Bode Tools.
https://www.jimbodetools.com/products/9-1-2-inch-early-bow-drill-97380I own an antique one almost identical to this one. They were turned by a steel bow and a cord, and worked like the bow and drill fire making tools that many of you are familiar with. But they were usually held horizontally, with the work piece in the vise.
The bits in these tools turned slower than what you get out of an electric drill or a drill press, and they were also made differently. They were not "twist drills" with helical flutes. They were spade bit designs, which basically have a solid shaft and a flattened tip with cutting facets filed into the tip. Hardened, of course. Some had a slight twist in the tip that gave a slight increase in cutting angle. All of the antiques I've seen were designed to cut in only one direction. They cut on one stroke and just drag on the return stroke. So the workman also controlled the pressure in relation to whether he was pushing or pulling. I've made several spade bits like this over the years for various purposes. Since they have no flutes, they are not as vulnerable to breaking as are modern style bits with helical flutes. If making them yourself you can harden just the tip and leave the rest annealed.
Modern "twist drills" will work at slow speed, and they will even work if mounted in an antique bow drill. I'm not a machinist, but I've been told that they are more likely to break when turned too slowly, or too fast. Charts for machinists tell at what RPM they cut the best. As I understand it, they are designed for higher speeds than what can be generated by a hand-powered tool. This is especially the case with smaller diameter bits like we are talking about for drilling pin holes.
One hack that can help you avoid breaking bits (without having to make your own spade bits) is to cut off most of the fluted section of a long shanked bit, and then resharpen the tip. What I'm describing is a bit with a long shank, which is of course solid, with relatively little of the fluted section left at the front end. The bit maintains more rigidity that way, and if it does break, then usually it will just be the cutting edge that breaks away. A drill bit like that does load up quickly, so you have to pull it out frequently to clear chips.
Of course, if you want to modify a bit to this configuration, you need to be able to sharpen it. That's best learned on a larger bit, of 5/16" or larger size, so that you can see what you are doing. I sharpen mine on a cheap electric bench grinder, just holding them by hand and checking the grind with strong reading glasses or an optivisor. Sharpening them without a grinding jig and a good grinding apparatus isn't something you want to do if you need precise tolerances, but it seems to work for me for most applications. There's plenty online about sharpening drills, so I won't elaborate.
Update: repaired the link to Jim Bode tools
