Yes, absolutely avoidable, especially with oil, patience and a slip clutch
The tapping process is a direct result of your hole drillin'.....get your pilot hole straight and tapping takes seconds for these M3 diamaters. Drilling is the tedious part of the process.
If the tap starts to jam, back it up 1 -2 turns to clear waste and start again, this is where a slip clutch is nice....imho.....
Most drills these days have them. I use a 9.6v Black & Decker cordless with a slip, $20 special....
The community, all put together a Tapping Thread a bit ago, check it out for more of the procedure.....
http://rollitup.org/t/a-thread-on-tapping.856745/
I use a level on my drill to get straight holes, but a drill guide or tapping block can also help, especially if using a tap wrench. but either could be used with a drill as well.
If you search youtube with Cree CXA3070, you can find GreengenesGarden, where he has a great little vid on "get er' done" hand tapping done with a drill.....good little vid, except again I recommend the Spiral Flute not Spiral tip, that is important.....Spiral flutes are also good for beginners who make oval holes,they slack out a lot of skipping when you pick up an edge. Another way to jam up too, so this is a plus.