Drilling on the lathe... this thing shakes!

[Quality Pen]

I took the advice of a number of people here and started my penturning by drilling on the lathe. It's ok -- well it has gotten better. But my big problem is that when I drill and its even slightly off center the tailstock (with the drill bit) shakes a LOT... it's not like it moves in a completely rigid, fixed path. There is a little give side to side.

If you tighten the talk stock down there is no give, but I cannot do that since I need to slide the bit into the rotating wood.

I'm just wondering, is this normal? Is it a poor lathe to do this sort of drilling? Is my technique off?

The lathe is a shop fox w1704.

 

[Beedeejay]

I took the advice of a number of people here and started my penturning by drilling on the lathe. It's ok -- well it has gotten better. But my big problem is that when I drill and its even slightly off center the tailstock (with the drill bit) shakes a LOT... it's not like it moves in a completely rigid, fixed path. There is a little give side to side.

If you tighten the talk stock down there is no give, but I cannot do that since I need to slide the bit into the rotating wood.

I'm just wondering, is this normal? Is it a poor lathe to do this sort of drilling? Is my technique off?

The lathe is a shop fox w1704.

Just did a quick google image search of the lathe, it looks like it would work normaly but just to check, if you lock your tail stock down to the bed you should able to wind the hand wheel to move the quill forward, most midi lathes would travel about 50mm, that is how you should be drilling it, then you just wind it in slowly then back it out , clean and so on,
Does that make sense?
Cheers Ben

 

[Dalecamino]

Do you face the end of the blank and, start a hole with a center drill first?

 

[Quality Pen]

I took the advice of a number of people here and started my penturning by drilling on the lathe. It's ok -- well it has gotten better. But my big problem is that when I drill and its even slightly off center the tailstock (with the drill bit) shakes a LOT... it's not like it moves in a completely rigid, fixed path. There is a little give side to side.

If you tighten the talk stock down there is no give, but I cannot do that since I need to slide the bit into the rotating wood.

I'm just wondering, is this normal? Is it a poor lathe to do this sort of drilling? Is my technique off?

The lathe is a shop fox w1704.

Just did a quick google image search of the lathe, it looks like it would work normaly but just to check, if you lock your tail stock down to the bed you should able to wind the hand wheel to move the quill forward, most midi lathes would travel about 50mm, that is how you should be drilling it, then you just wind it in slowly then back it out , clean and so on,
Does that make sense?
Cheers Ben

Damn I never thought about that. I really don't think the tailstock portion and move in and out enough, but maybe I could flip the blank around?

 

[Quality Pen]

Do you face the end of the blank and, start a hole with a center drill first?

I found it helped if I drew an X pattern on the blank and started the lathe just as the tip of the drill bit was barely touching the center of the blank.

It wasn't 100%, but it improved things a lot rather than just trying to aim for dead center.

 

[JohnGreco]

I started with that same lathe, there is definitely some slop in the tailstock and you will likely have to stop, reposition, and start again for any longer tubes. It's a good lathe to learn on and see what you want in a bigger lathe but it will have limitations. I was personally never happy with the tailstock and couldn't find a way to remove the play. The entire unit has side-to-side wiggle where it sits on the rails and the spindle will shake side to side if it is not locked in place. Mine sits as a dedicated buffer now

 

[awood6971]

I always start the bore with the tail stock locked and advance the quill slowly until it is at it's end. Then I back it out, clean the bit and advance by hand the rest of the way through my blank. I have found that if I go slow and use just enough hand pressure to keep the bit in contact with the blank, I get a good clean straight bore. Just make sure to watch the back end of the blank for signs of the bit coming through and go extra slow to prevent break out.

 

[monophoto]

Like John, I started with a ShopFox and I was unhappy with the tailstock. It was stiff, and the knob was hard to turn making drilling a difficult chore. And there was some side-to-side slop.

But as others have said, it's really helpful to face off then end of the blank and turn a small dimple to define the exact center of the axis. And I found that using a brad-point bit helped center the bit in that dimple and minimized the wobble. If you don't have a brad point bit of the proper size, at least drill a pilot hole using a smaller size brad point bit.

 

[StuartCovey]

Like everyone said, lock your tail stock down and use the wheel to advance it. This will ensure it starts drilling dead center, when it reaches the tail stocks end unlock it and finish by hand. The reason it is wobbling is because it's not starting centered, by doing this it will start off perfectly centered and eliminate all wobbling for the rest of the drilling.

Best of luck,

 

[Krash]

Happened to me also. If you are using a brad point bit, some of the brad points are not centered. If it isn't clamped down, the blank will shake, rattle, and roll. Ditch the brad point and get a normal twist bit. Easy squeezy and if you start segmenting with aluminum, it'll go A LOT easier.

 

[Cmiles1985]

What they said! I'd assume that you're chucking the blank to the head stock (don't know of any other ways to attach it). Your blank should rotate so that the bit will nail the center every time. Advance your tail stock so that the tip of the bit almost touches your blank, then lock it down and use the hand wheel to drive the bit in. Back it out, advance the tail stock by hand until the bit almost touches wood again, repeat these steps until you make it through the blank. Your bit should be long enough to go through the blank. Again, I'm assuming you're cutting your blanks before drilling.

 

[Charlie69]

Damn I never thought about that. I really don't think the tailstock portion and move in and out enough, but maybe I could flip the blank around?

If the quill doesn't travel far enough there is no need to flip the blank or drill by hand.

Advance your tail stock so that the tip of the bit almost touches your blank, then lock it down and use the hand wheel to drive the bit in. Back it out, advance the tail stock by hand until the bit almost touches wood again, repeat these steps until you make it through the blank.

I drill the same way as Cmiles1985. This way even if the quill only travels minimal distances you can go through any length wood accurately and consistently. I like to leave the lathe running and lock the quill when I advance the tail stock, ymmv.

Charlie

 

[Dan Masshardt]

You may already do this, but please keep a hand on the chuck as you are pulling the bit out with the lathe running.

 

[KBs Pensnmore]

What Dan said, make sure that you keep hold of the chuck as you withdraw the bit. They have been known to come out of the tailstock and cause damage, broken bits and ripped skin DAMHIKT.
Kryn