gt64155
Member
I've been making pens for several years and I have always drilled my blanks on a drill press. The results are certainly not real consistently. I've ruined a few really nice blanks. I need to find a way to accurately center drill my blanks. The blanks that I have consist of kind of round PR blanks, not real square rectangular PR blanks and wood blanks that are all different sizes.
I real curious how most of you drill your blanks. Should I try and square the blanks of my table saw, or do I just need to turn then all round first and then drill them? If I do turn them round before drilling, what do you use to hold the blank on the lathe? A dead center and a live center. Do I need to pre-drill the PR blanks for the dead and live center to keep them from splitting?
After I get that part figured out, how do I drill them? It seems the most popular way is to use a collet chuck. Are there any other good ways to hold them steady, like maybe using a 4 jaw chuck?
Any and all advice will be useful. I know that I can keep doing what I've been doing, but I think it's time to expand my skills and make some nicer pens.
Thanks,
Bill
I real curious how most of you drill your blanks. Should I try and square the blanks of my table saw, or do I just need to turn then all round first and then drill them? If I do turn them round before drilling, what do you use to hold the blank on the lathe? A dead center and a live center. Do I need to pre-drill the PR blanks for the dead and live center to keep them from splitting?
After I get that part figured out, how do I drill them? It seems the most popular way is to use a collet chuck. Are there any other good ways to hold them steady, like maybe using a 4 jaw chuck?
Any and all advice will be useful. I know that I can keep doing what I've been doing, but I think it's time to expand my skills and make some nicer pens.
Thanks,
Bill