The thrust force and torque produced during drilling contain important information related to the quality of the hole and the wear of thedrill bit . In this paper, the force and torque produced during drilling of carbon fibre using a ‘one shot’ drill bit is investigated. The signals in the time domain were divided into stages and common problems and defects associated with each stage discussed. It is also shown how tool wear and thickness of the workpiece affect the thrust force and torque throughout the drilling process. The findings of this paper are used to develop a mathematical model of the maximum thrust force and torque as described on Part II of this paper and are a valuable reference for future optimisation of drilling carbon composites with a ‘oneshot’ drill bit.