Drilling Pen Blanks (Big Help Needed!)

[Skie_M]

...

For this being a CHEAP Setup, I have forked out more than $5,000.00 (and I still need to buy more items to clean this mess up!!!). Oh, and I have yet to sell a single pen! That's what just sucks about this Fabulous idea.

My shop is my living room ... the floor is covered in wood chips. I still need to get some dedicated shop space, and the kitchen is a no-go .... bedroom is just a bad idea, I gotta have someplace to sleep. Bathroom isn't big enough. I mean, I could just go outside, but the neighbors might start talking ... If you want cheap, I can tell you about cheap ...


Hmmm ... I paid $109 for my lathe (Harbor Freight mini lathe ... 20% off coupon and I caught it on sale for $125.

I paid $50 for my combination 1x30 belt sander 5" disc sander, and swapped the disc out for a buffer to maintain my lathe tools. Harbor Freight here too ...

I got a Drill Press and a Mitre Saw for christmas the past 2 years from my family, but they are around $90 and $100. Again, Harbor Freight.

I also picked up a Harbor Freight table saw for $120. It's still in the box, as I have no where to set it up and actually put it to use yet.

My lathe tools came as a set ... the cheapest one you can buy from Harbor Freight. $20 ... I went back and bought a second set just to grind custom edge profiles and still have the original ones to play with.

My dust collector is an old vacuum that has a broken agitator brush and no rubber band to run one anyway ... all I can say is, it sucks pretty good, though it's loud. Found On Ground, I believe, is the term .... someone was tossing it out, and I grabbed it.


The rest of my tools are lathe accessories .... 3-jaw mini woodworking scrolling jaw chuck from Harbor Freight, $40 after shipping... (had to order online).

MT#1 mandrel with mandrel saver (had to order a second ... dropped and stepped on the first one :tongue... These are from PSI and are around $30 apiece.

I also grabbed the Bottle Stopper chuck mandrel and the Grabber closed end mandrel, with a 3/8ths MT#1 drill chuck, also from PSI .... cost of this stuff is right about $60.


The rest of the money I've put into this are for finishing products ...

$8 for a bottle of PlastX, from the auto parts store ... another $6 for a bottle of the liquid turtle wax, from the same place.

Sandpaper from Harbor Freight tools ... I just buy the multipack with grits 220, 500, 1000, 1200. I don't really use the 1200, it just sits on a shelf just in case I ever need any or run out of 1000. It's $4.50 per pack. While I'm there I also grab the 10-packs of superglue for $2.99, and I use that for gluing my brass tubes and finishing my pen barrels.

My micromesh pads I get from Hobby Lobby .... about $10 for a pack of 6. 3200, 3600, 4000, 6000, 8000, 12000. They work great ... double sided for each grit, and generally last over 20 pens. Keep em away from horn, though ... that stuff loves to eat your grit right off the paper.


So, as you see .... getting into this for under $1000 pretty much requires you're shopping as cheaply as you can, and generally at Harbor Freight. I wish I had a budget like some of you guys ... Many of you own lathes that cost more than it would cost me to set up my entire dream workshop! (complete with BUILDING THE BUILDING). My next purchase will be a bench top band saw ... also from Harbor Freight, for around $90.

I have no idea why you're complaining with a budget 5 times bigger than mine, though some people say that I'm sacrificing quality in order to just get the tool. Well, I've never had any big problem with my harbor freight tools, at least not one I could just fix myself and move on.

Using a tool beyond it's limits is just not acceptable to me .... and using a cheap tool correctly and within it's limits should never pose a problem. Trying to force even a high quality tool to do something it wasn't meant to do is a huge problem, which is magnified my pushing a cheap too past it's limits to do something it wasn't designed to do either.

 

[VE5MDH]

Greg, my main complaint is mainly my own fault. We reside in the middle of NO WHERE! 100 mi just to go grocery shopping, which is also where I am able to score limited quantities for the trade. Some of which I have located only yesterday.

Further complaints would have to be attributed to the S&H fees tagged on to our USA orders, not to mention the amount of Customs Duties we are hit with for every American order placed, which also goes hand in hand to our failing Canadian Dollar! That truly bites!

Yesterday, I have found the Canadian equivalent to Harbour Freight, Princess Auto. Will have to do more investigative shopping there at future dates.

The majority of my MT1 tools (of which the lathe was a HF VS lathe!), was purchased on a vacation to Florida last January. Peachtree, Woodcraft, Harbour Freight & Hobby Lobby were focal hits along the way.

Oh, BTW, my shop is a 12 x 12 story & a half shed, which is valued to the tiny square CM! Not by the inch. So, on that note, I'm spades above you Greg (LOL).

Thanks for sharing your shop details. Oh, BTW... How far do you have to travel to get to your HF store? All for fun - Fun for all, eh!

Michael

 

[Skie_M]

It's across town from me, thankfully ...

Yeah, I can see how having stuff shipped to you adds to the cost, that really does hurt.

I did find that my mini wood lathe (same as yours) has an issue with the tailstock slipping ... I'm still working on it now and then, but it turns just fine. I just have to tighten it back up every 2 or 3 passes. If I work out a fix to make it rock solid, I'll let ya know.

Also, I've found the guys round here are great for tips and tricks and fixes ... if you have problems with your equipment, post about it! Provide pics and explanations, and people will bend over backwards to help you find and fix the problem!

 

[jeff3285]

drilling pen blanks

Mike I'm by no means an expert I'm new at this also,,,but I use the dedicated pen drilling chuck from penn state and I got it from amazon,,and I have not had any trouble drilling the holes,,I don't even take the time to center them,,using a pencil,,I just put them in the chuck and the drill bit in the Jacobs chuck on your tail stock,,,works great,,,,,,I have found out that if you do have wobble,,,push your blank back in the chuck till just a little is sticking out and use a shorter drill bit in your Jacobs chuck and go slow,,,turn your lathe speed down to its slowest and take small bites on the hole till it goes thru,,,pulling your drill bit out each time and cleaning it,,,,hope this helps
M

 

[VE5MDH]

Jeff, thanks for your insight! Trust me, every tidbit of information is wonderfully respected here! As well as wonderful information for those who have yet to trip upon this thread, or even become a Pen Turner themselves.

Outside of that, I must say that I'm having a blast drilling holes on the lathe (my MT2 one). Today after work, I was able to drill a margarine tub full of Antler! Each and every one exited the blank within 5% from where I thought it would exit from. There are no gaps in the blanks, everything is drilled right down the pipes!

I only had a side blowout on one, which was due to the amount of curvature on the blank (no doubt it may have been from a Prong Horn Antelope. Their antlers are much smaller, and lots of curve to them too!).

Now to glue in my tubes, Trim them down, Turn them down, Build up a Pen Kit (PSI Bolt Action Pen), I may even have a few left over that I just may sell on FeeBay.

I'm a happy camper with my Cheap-Ass Chinese 115 Titanium Drill Bit Set. They may not have a long life to them, but they sure are drilling Arrows down the Pipes!

 

[Skie_M]

Just be sure to keep them sharp and in balance .... a Drill Doctor will work wonders for standard twist bits like those.

 

[edstreet]

Would seem like drill doctor might be giving kick back


Some one should ask for details on how a drill doctor will sharpen TiN bits or carbide bits or forstner bit.

 

[Skie_M]

Drill doctor works fine on TiN .... the coating is for the sides of the bits, to keep them cooler for longer life. And as long as the profile of the bit will fit (like a standard glass cutting carbide bit), it will take care of those as well ... Drill Doctor uses a diamond grinding wheel.

You don't use a Drill Doctor for forstner bits ... but you knew that already, ed. Don't be dumb.

 

[edstreet]

Yea I did know that

I also know that TiN is for the cutting edge as well and drill doctor fubar's the treatment.

 

[VE5MDH]

Just be sure to keep them sharp and in balance .... a Drill Doctor will work wonders for standard twist bits like those.

Yes, I agree with the dressing of my bits. We will be window shopping for a Drill Doctor, to see if we can score one locally. I don't need the 750, just the 500, so that will save a couple bucks. Well looks like Canadian Tire has the XPC Model on sale!

Will have to get my Daughter-in-Law to use her discount for big savings! (he he eh!).

 

[jttheclockman]

If there is a product out there that works and makes a tedious job such as sharpening drill bits easier than why not promote it. It will sharpen Titanium bits just fine with no degrading. All bits lose their edge and to have them professionally sharpened which basically uses a diamond wheel too, cost a pretty penny. No one ever ever ever ever ever mentioned forstner bits being sharpened on a drill doctor. I did give a link to a diamond hone that I use often in another thread about sharpening carbide cutters, for forstner bits and saw tooth bits. By the way the drill doctor can not sharpen spade bits either. It can not sharpen saw blades, planer blades, bandsaw blades and just about any blade you can think of. Oh and router bits too and shaper cutters and mills.

 

[79spitfire]

If there is a product out there that works and makes a tedious job such as sharpening drill bits easier than why not promote it. It will sharpen Titanium bits just fine with no degrading. All bits lose their edge and to have them professionally sharpened which basically uses a diamond wheel too, cost a pretty penny. No one ever ever ever ever ever mentioned forstner bits being sharpened on a drill doctor. I did give a link to a diamond hone that I use often in another thread about sharpening carbide cutters, for forstner bits and saw tooth bits. By the way the drill doctor can not sharpen spade bits either. It can not sharpen saw blades, planer blades, bandsaw blades and just about any blade you can think of. Oh and router bits too and shaper cutters and mills.

I suppose that's why it's called a "Drill Doctor" and not the "Amazing Sharpen Everything Wonder Doctor"...

BTW, I have the 750 and wonder how I got along without it!

 

[BKelley]

I have experienced that a long drill bit will some times set up a viberation causing a slightly over sized hole. There are several factors to consider, type of drill bit, drill press RPM, rate of feed and type of material. If you must be right on the money, try an undersized drill bit and then use proper size reamer. I'm sure others will give you some helpful hints also. Lots of luck.

Ben

 

[robertkulp]

Assuming that the lathe and associated accessories are within tolerance, problems with holes are usually due to bad drill bits. Personally, I've used several different PSI bits and hate them all. I've tried Fisch brad points with mostly good luck - except for a 10mm bit.

When I found the Colt Pen Drill Bits, I never looked back They are excellent pits and I've never had any problems with them. Yes, they cost more, but it's cheaper than continuing to ruin pen blanks.

Regarding accuracy and stringent tolerances... I like to make pens from drum sticks. The problem with these is that the hold has to be perfectly centered since you're not turning down the blank. Colt bits are the only ones that I've found that will reliably do this over and over again.