Cigar Drill Bit Question

[omb76]

Hi everyone. I like to consider myself a pretty good turner and have turned many styles of pens, but the Cigar pen is my nemesis. Seems to always want to turn out of round and the tubes move inside the blank and every other possible mishap. I think the problem is the hole is too large for the tubes. I use Epoxy to glue them in, but they alway seem to want to break loose. What size drill bit do you all use? The standard 10MM that is suggested? Maybe someone has another thought as to why these are so troublesome for me. I want to like the the Cigar pens, but they are not making it easy! :biggrin:

 

[hewunch]

I use 10mm and X bits. Both work fine for me.
Good bushings are sometimes hard to find. And try shortening your mandrel and turning only one barrel at a time. And about 3 times loosen the nut and spin the blanks on the bushings ~1/4 turn. This makes the blank out of round in more places which makes it more round.

 

[TellicoTurning]

I use the standard 10mm drill bits too and don't seem to have problems... check to make sure you DP isn't wobbling the bit a little and creating either a larger or an out of round hole.... I've had a couple where the chuck has loosened on the DP spindle and had the bit wobble... now drill all pen blanks on the lathe and lots less problems with that...

The cigar is one of my favorites to turn... I think it shows off the wood better than the smaller pens.
Also I've started turning between centers and have less problems with the out of round..

 

[Daniel]

I have varying results with the fit of the tube on any given pen style. anything from lose to tight. there is a point that I consider to loose though but it has come about from experience and judgment more than anything. I have not made a cigar pen in quite a while but it seems to me that in more than one case I went shopping for a different size bit. i cannot tell you just what I selected though sorry. It is just this situation that shows the greatest value in having the 115 pc drill bit set from HF. that bit set seems to always have anouther bit that is just a shade this side or that of whatever you are told to use.
I am ruling out any other problems realted to drilling since you seem to have this problem only with cigar pens. my next thought would be bushings. Do you have hte correct bushings for your mandrel? there can actually be a problem if you have Berea bushings and a CSUSA or PSI mandrel since BEreas A mandrel is just a tad larger than anyone elses there bushings are a bit sloppy on any other mandrel as well. Are the bushing actually true as well. they can just plain be slopy regardless of where they come from. A hole that is off center will tend to corect itself when you turn a pen as you will likely turn the bushing round was you make the pen. but a sloppy fit to either the mandrel or the tube will always cause problems. even if the tube is sloppy in the hole once you glue it in it becomes the center of the pen if everything else is doing it's job correctly. so even with gaps between tube and blank you should end up with an assembled pen that matches the fittings.

 

[Sylvanite]

I use a 25/64 drill bit for cigar pens. It is a little smaller in diameter than 10mm.

Regards,
Eric

 

[omb76]

Thanks for the advise everyone! I've been using PSI bushings on Berea kits. It's odd that it is only on the cigar pens that I have this problem. I will try the 25/64 bit and see if that helps any. Since the hole is too big (IMHO) the tube sits off center of the hole and makes for one side of the pen wall to be very thin down by the tip.

 

[Wildman]

Have not made cigar pens in awhile. Had no problem with 10 mm bit, did use polyurethane glue though.

Stopped buying drill bits for each kit. Picked up HF drill bit index set. Found the Decimal Equivalent Chart in Hut Catalog helps puts me in the ball park selecting best bit for any kit. Do test drill in scrap wood, to see how brass tube will fit. Do not like using polyurethane glue as much as CA or epoxy.

 

[nytefaii]

All I have turned so far are Cigar pens. Things I have learned about curing OOR.

Make sure you use berea bushing on berea kits. Not PSI bushings.
Don't overtighten the brass nut on the end of the madrel.
Don't overtighten the LC on the tailstock or it will cause the mandrel to flex.

Last, if I do notice a bit of OOR (using calipers) I take the blanks off the mandrel, reverse and flip them, and make a final very light cut using a skew is whatever you are comfortable with. This should cure any OOR you have.

Edit - I use the standard 10MM bit as well.