Drilling Blanls

[marshall1225]

Can I use a fractional drill bit to drill the blank for a Big Ben Cigar pen or is the tolerance critical. It calls for I believe a 10mm drill.

 

[jeweler53]

13/32 should be fine, especially if the blank is opaque. I would use epoxy to glue the tube.

 

[mredburn]

You can always do a test hole in a piece of scrap. Most of the tubes are smaller than the drill sizes that are called for. A lot of us measure the tube and pick the drill bit that will do the job best. A larger hole is needed for back painting the blank or if you paint the tubes.

 

[Edgar]

3/8" = 9.525 mm
13/32" = 10.319 mm

Of the two, the 13/32" would be the better choice as Dick noted. However, if you only have the 3/8" on hand, I would suggest that you test drill a scrap piece of wood and see how well the tube fits. You might have to ream it out slightly with a round file or sandpaper.

An index set of drill bits is a worthwhile investment for pen turning. Harbor Freight has this set on sale right now
115 Pc High Speed Steel Drill Bit Set with Index

 

[Cmiles1985]

If you have a normal drill index, also try the 25/64" = 9.923mm

 

[ed4copies]

The cigar kit (WCO145) originally called out a 25/64--I made hundreds using that dimension. I think the Big Ben is the same tube, but I am not certain.