drilling blanks with lathe

[aggromere]

My drill press sometimes wobbles when I'm drilling blanks and makes the whole irregular. I use a pen blank vice clamped to the bed of the drill press and it is rock solid. Are drill bits out of round sometimes, or is the chuck on my press crappy. I dont know.

I would like to start drilling my blanks on my lathe. I think that would be more exact and I would end up with better results. My lathe is a jet mini VS. What attachments, etc. would I need to get in order to drill.

Also, In looking over the lathe, how in the world do you put a drill bit in it and how do you advance it. Does it go in the tail stock and you just slide it along the base of the lathe?

One more question. I dont have a belt or disk sander and I true the ends of blanks with mills. I have bought a ton of them. I hate doing it. Is there another way or am i stuck with that till i get a disk sander. If I get one what kind should i get.

Lot of questions from a guy that doesn't know much.

 

[ldb2000]

Hi Peter . I personally think that drilling on the lathe is the best way and the most precise way . If you want to drill on the lathe you will need some way to hold your blank in your headstock , I use either my PSI Colet chuck or my Barracuda 2 4 jaw chuck , and a drill chuck with a MT 2 for the tail stock , I got mine from the vendors here in the classified .
As for squaring up your blanks , if you are drilling on the lathe then the best way is to also square up on the lathe with a sharp skew .
I turn all my blanks round between centers and then cut them to length and drill them out , then glue in the tubes , then remount them and square them up with my skew .

 

[aggromere]

more info

does a morse tape II fit into the tail stock. It seems perfectly round to me. I have a jet mini lathe.

Also, if you put the blank in the headstock does that mean it spins and the bit stays stationery?

I dont understand how you would true the end of a blank with a skew.

 

[ldb2000]

Yes the Morse taper 2 does fit the tailstock of your Jet lathe (I have a Jet1014vsi) . It is perfectly round but it tapers along the length . The fit is a friction fit and it holds very tight , but you should hold on to the the chuck while you drill with it to keep it from loosening up while your drilling .
Yes the blank spins and the drill bit stays stationary . You lock the tailstock and turn the handwheel to advance the bit into the blank (requires you to stop and reposition the tailstock to drill full length , several times for long blanks) .
You chuck the blank and trim the spinning face (end) with the skew .

 

[aggromere]

thanks

Thanks for the good info. I appreciate it. If i knew anything cool i would share it with you, but i dont.

 

[ldb2000]

Don't worry , you will someday . Pay it forward .

 

[Tn-Steve]

humm... I never thought to square up the end of the blank with my skew. I alway just chuck the pen mill up when I'm done doing all the drilling and square them off that way.

Steve

 

[jkeithrussell]

The hole could be irregular because your drill bits are dull. If that's the case, drilling on the lathe isn't going to solve your problem.

 

[wdcav1952]

Peter,

Another issue that I noted is that you mention you have a "ton" of pen mills. Do you mean you have bought alot of sleeves or pen mill cutting heads? If it is sleeves, you can very easily make your own. If, on the other hand, you are replacing dull cutter heads, they can be sharpened.

If you like, continue the discussion of your pen mill issue.

 

[jttheclockman]

My drill press sometimes wobbles when I'm drilling blanks and makes the whole irregular. I use a pen blank vice clamped to the bed of the drill press and it is rock solid. Are drill bits out of round sometimes, or is the chuck on my press crappy. I dont know.



I would like to start drilling my blanks on my lathe. I think that would be more exact and I would end up with better results. My lathe is a jet mini VS. What attachments, etc. would I need to get in order to drill.

Also, In looking over the lathe, how in the world do you put a drill bit in it and how do you advance it. Does it go in the tail stock and you just slide it along the base of the lathe?

One more question. I dont have a belt or disk sander and I true the ends of blanks with mills. I have bought a ton of them. I hate doing it. Is there another way or am i stuck with that till i get a disk sander. If I get one what kind should i get.

Lot of questions from a guy that doesn't know much.

You as the question about your drill press and the answer to that is maybe. To check if the chuck on the drill press is running true you need to put a piece of drill rod that is truely straight in it. Use a machinist square or a draftsman square to true up the bed to the rod. It should be perfect 90 degrees to each other. Now by hand rotate the chuck while the square is just touching the rod. If there becomes a gap inbetween the rod and the square or if the square gets moved because of the rotation then you know your chuck is or has runout. Does that mean your drill press is bad, not necessarily so. The chuck may not be sitting in the quill perfect. It is like the headstock and tailstock on your lathe. Press the chuck out and clean the inside of the quill and the shaft of the chuck and reinstall and check again. If this did not clean it up then it is possible the chuck is bent or there is a quill problem. Hope this helps. And all the other advice about drilling on the lathe is dead on so follow that. Good Luck. By the way yes sometimes drill bits are bent and out of round.

 

[seawolf]

pen blanks

I found a listing at pen making supplies.com for a super blank cutter they will make 1/2, 5/8,3/4 & 1" blanks and predrill them each size is 29.95. I have never used them but they used to sell them at woodcraft.
Hope this helps
Mark

 

[bitshird]

Gosh I wish I had a drill press, No never mind, although they are almost as good of a pen press as a 1 ton arbor press, just much more expensive.
Turn your blanks round like Butch suggested then drill them held in either a 3 jaw chuck or a Barracuda 4 jaw and you can also do small bowls with a 1014 and a barracuda!!

 

[aggromere]

drilling with lathe

Well my drill press broke last nite so I dont have to worry about how im gonna drill blanks. Lathe it is. I got all the stuff I need to do it today and began by turning as many blanks as I could between center. It was a lot easier than turning them round on a mandrill. I figure what I will do is turn all my blanks round and then when it is time to make a pen, a lot of the work is already done. I also always buy some extra tubes for any pens im making so I guess I could make the sleeves and store them till I get a kit.

Also, turning the blanks on center before you make the pen gives you a much better idea of how the blank is gonna look so you can pick the best looking ones for the higher end kits.

I have attached a scan of the blanks I turned on center today.

The idea to do that and drill on the lathe was the best tip I've gotten so far. I feel like it has advanced my pen making somewhat.

thanks.

 

[ed4copies]

Did someone TELL you to do it this way?

Yes the Morse taper 2 does fit the tailstock of your Jet lathe (I have a Jet1014vsi) . It is perfectly round but it tapers along the length . The fit is a friction fit and it holds very tight , but you should hold on to the the chuck while you drill with it to keep it from loosening up while your drilling .
Yes the blank spins and the drill bit stays stationary . You lock the tailstock and turn the handwheel to advance the bit into the blank (requires you to stop and reposition the tailstock to drill full length , several times for long blanks) .
You chuck the blank and trim the spinning face (end) with the skew .

Ok Butch,

Did you come up with this on your own? Or did someone tell you to do it this way?

I have never read this procedure before and it looks brilliant!

(As I thought about it for the last few minutes, made me think of Eagle. IF someone had taught you HOW to do it, probably never would have come up with this BETTER way!!)

Thanks for the info - I WILL use it - on difficult blanks.

 

[cnirenberg]

Also, turning the blanks on center before you make the pen gives you a much better idea of how the blank is gonna look so you can pick the best looking ones for the higher end kits.

Bingo. Not only that, but this method gives you the chance to dare I say it...Practice with your tool of choice. This is how I learned what to and what not to do with the skew. You will see very quickly, the quilting, burl inclusions, spalting lines etc. that will make a very cool and visually interesting pen or a so-so pen.
You have a nice selection of blanks to start from. Good luck.

 

[bitshird]

I did 6 pens at a show a few weeks back, all I had was my lathe,a live center a drillchuck and three cutting tools, I turned the blanks round between centers, then cut them with a parting tool, drilled them on my lathe, squared them with my little carbide scraper and turned them with the big one, If I'd had the square inserts then I could have done it with just a parting tool and my woodchuck II,
I'm not plugging or advertising just adding an option for us skew challenged dummies, a Skogger or EZ Rougher will do the same thing, as will a home made Carbide insert Rougher/Scraper.
Insert tools rule !!!

 

[themartaman]

I use my old drill press Just as accurate as lathe. It is a floor model but I would like a bench model. Thought about the one at lowes but saving for a pen wizard. I use my belt disk sander to square up ends. Faster than pen mill.