drilling woes

[dachemist]

Hi everyone,

I purchased a pen drilling vise from CSUSA
http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/cgi-bin/shopper?preadd=action&key=379-2005 several (maybe it was 4 or 5) months ago and have not had much sucess drilling straight holes with it. The two "centering" jaws as well as the threaded rod that runs through them to open and close them are quite loose. The handle to tighten the jaws moves at least a 1/4 in up and down. Perhaps this is normal, I don't think it is but I've been know to be wrong once or twice.[] When I drill a hole it's reasonably centered at the top of the blank but goes down through the blank at an angle (off to the right, the direction the jaw assembly goes when pushed down). I've ruined many blanks this way because the wood was too thin to turn without cutting through to the brass tube. I don't think it's caused by too much force due to a dull bit because a)I haven't used any of my bits that much and b) I have the same problem using new bits. I've checked several times and as far as I can tell the DP table is square to the bit. I used to grip the blanks with nothing beneath them for support so as not to drill into the metal base of the vise. When it finally hit me that that wasn't perhaps my brightest idea I proceeded to put some small waste blocks under the blanks. The waste blocks worked once or twice and then the problem continued. I also tried jamming a block of wood under the threaded rod the handle is attached to. Since I only tried that once I'm guessing it didn't help (a couple of months is kind of far back to remember things).

Thanks.

 

[DCBluesman]

Mike--just emailed a fellow member who I know uses the same jig. I'm sure he'll respond tonight. If you don't get an answer this weekend, I'd call Nils at CSUSA and see what his response is.

 

[ctEaglesc]

1. What method are you using to check square to the table?
2. Are you able to move the blanks once it is clamped?
3 Although I don't clamp my drilling jig to the DP table if you aren't , have you tried that?
4 New bits don't mean they are sharp.
5. Are your blanks square? If they are tapered then the hole won't be "plumb"

 

[WoodChucker]

Mike, I use the same type of vice and it works great. Check to make sure all the lock nuts are tight, mine started backing out on me once and I couldn't make it grip the wood blanks. Also, don't drill very fast, take your time and go slow. Good luck!

 

[woodwish]

I also use the same vise with great results. My guess is either the table really is not square or you may have a defective vise. Mine is out in the shop ans we are just starting to get the outer bands of Hurricane Dennis so I am not going to go get it right now, but I don't think mine has an abnormal amount of play. One suggestion to see if it is the vise or table. Cut four pieces of something cheap, like pine or poplar scrap, put oen in the vise and drill it. Notice which way it seems to be off, then turn the vise 90 degrees and repeat, then two more times. If it is always off the the same way in relation to the vise it is the vise, if it's always off the same way as the drill press it is the table. If it varies each time it is a combination of the vise or technique. Is the play still there after you tighten? Maybe you could send me your drill press, vise, and drill bits and you could just buy new ones? []

 

[woodbutcher]

Mike,
Inspect the end play on the tensioners. Sometimes they become loose. I had the same problem with mine. You shouldn't have to turn those lock nuts but very little. When that adjustment is correct most of that 1/4" up and down movement should be gone. So far I have only had to make this correction once. Let us know if this helps,
Jim[]

 

[timdaleiden]

One last thing to check on your drill press. Extend the quill to it's limit, and see how much play is there. Just try wiggling the chuck when fully extended.

It seems more likely that the table is not squared though.

 

[C_Ludwigsen]

Mike, I recently purchased the same jig from Lou. It has worked great for me. I use the trim piece from the blank I'm drilling to keep the bit from drilling into the vise base plate. Other than that, I think Eagle might have hit the nail(s) on the head - 1. Check square on your DP, 2. Clamp the vise in place.

 

[dachemist]

Thanks for the replies. I made a slight error in guesstimating the amount of travel in the vise, it's more like an 1/8" in either direction. After posting the question I went downstairs to fiddle with it a bit more. I cut a piece of scrap wood to prop up the handle with while drilling and also increased the rotational speed of the bit (from 500 or so rpm's when using a forstner bit to around 1600) figuring the greater speed would "tighten" up any wobble at the end of the bit. It seems to be working much better now. It seems the year of physics I had to pay for in college wasn't a total waste after all.[] I going to try tightening the lock nuts as well as Ray's suggestion for checking the DP table. I checked the squareness with a square on each of the 4 sides of the table with a drill bit in the chuck and all seemed in order (but I may have been looking at it wrong).

Thanks again.

 

[airrat]

I have the self centering from woodcrafters. I have some of the same problems, I have verified and reverified that the DP table is square to the bit, the bit does not wobble. I found out there is play between the centering plates and below the plates. I run it at 1600 rpm and put something under the plate to keep it from going down when drilling. Still end up with some off centering.

 

[ctEaglesc]

Originally posted by dachemist
<br />Thanks for the replies. I made a slight error in guesstimating the amount of travel in the vise, it's more like an 1/8" in either direction. After posting the question I went downstairs to fiddle with it a bit more. I cut a piece of scrap wood to prop up the handle with while drilling and also increased the rotational speed of the bit (from 500 or so rpm's when using a forstner bit to around 1600) figuring the greater speed would "tighten" up any wobble at the end of the bit. It seems to be working much better now. It seems the year of physics I had to pay for in college wasn't a total waste after all.[] I going to try tightening the lock nuts as well as Ray's suggestion for checking the DP table. I checked the squareness with a square on each of the 4 sides of the table with a drill bit in the chuck and all seemed in order (but I may have been looking at it wrong).
Thanks again.

A drill bit doesn't have any sides.A combination square is next to useless in squaring up a drill press when a more accurate method is a bent coat hanger or a "peg board hook"
Chuck a coat hanger (Or peg board hook) that is bent to an offset into your drill chuck.
Raise the table so something like a credit card can be used as a feeler gauge between the table and the end of the "offset".
When you revolve the chuck by hand, the clearance between the end of the coat hanger and the table should be the same in all directions 360* .
If you have a regular set of feeler gauges, that would be the best to use, but anything uniformly flat will work.
There is no measureing or eyeballing involved.
LAstly as I mentioned in my other post,if your blanks aare "tapered" (as might happen when cut on a bandsaw considering drift) you may wind up with an off centered hole or even the grain of the wood can throw you off.
Let us know how you make out.

 

[C_Ludwigsen]

Eagle, best tip I've read in a while. Smackin' myself in the head for how simple that is.

 

[ctEaglesc]

Originally posted by C_Ludwigsen
<br />Eagle, best tip I've read in a while. Smackin' myself in the head for how simple that is.

[]
" A smart man doesn't know all the answers,he knows where look them up."
I don't know where I read that tip, but I remember it was before I got my first drill press.I filed it for later use.

 

[Old Griz]

ON top of eagles suggestion to make sure the table is square.
Also make sure the jig is squared to the quill... I found on one jig that I had (and no longer have) that when clamped to the table it was out of square to the rest of the setup... enough that I could never get a blank to drill straight... my somewhat feeble mind finally decided that maybe the jib was off and sure enough it was... I put a piece of drill rod in the jig and realized it was at an angle to the drill bit, which I knew was square to the drill table... HOW KNEW... but it can happen...