Drilling on the lathe..I'm lost

So I've been reading here a bit and I finally thought I had everything I needed to turn stuff at home. I have a Turncrafter Pro VS, barracuda2 chuck, and a drill chuck. I was thinking with these items plus a sander I have already, I'd be able to drill my blanks, square them, and turn them.

I'm a bit confused on drilling with the lathe. Do you lock down the tail and advance the bit in with the wheel on the back (I'm horrible with what things are actually called), or do you just keep the tail unlock and push it in. I thought I was doing well, until today when a 7mm HSS bit snapped inside of a blank and blew it out. It also managed to unseat the drill chuck which also went flying (luckily in a safe direction and not very far, with no damage to anything). I guess without actually seeing it, I'm just a bit confused. I tried both ways, but I get a horrible squeal when I am taking the bit out of the blank to let the accumulated drill shavings off the bit and not clog up.

I've seen reference to people using a skew to true up the ends of the blank as opposed to using a sander or a barrel trimmer. I tried, but of course without seeing how to do it, I know I'm doing it wrong as I had multiple catches and just couldn't do it.

Anyone willing to impart some knowledge on what I'm doing wrong?

Thanks!

Eric

Yes, lock the tailstock down and use the hand wheel to advance the bit. I'm sure there are things you can do to reduce the squealing, but it's pretty much inevitable. It's not a sign you're doing anything wrong. As for squaring the end of the blank, I use a pen mill and that works good for me. I think that's the easiest and quickest way to do it.

Make sure the drill chuck is seated firmly in the tail stock. If its loose, the chuck will likely be pulled out of the tailstock when you withdraw the bit. Make sure the MT on the chuck and the tail stock are clean and free of lubricants. Then seat the chuck in the tail stock with a mallet.

For a really critical blank, I start drilling with a center drilling bit and then switch to the properly sized bit.

John

Yes you have the correct way of doing it but I think you might be running the lathe at too high a speed , that's one of the reasons for the squeal (there are others). For a 7mm drill bit I would slow the lathe no faster then 1100 rpm slower would be better but you will most likely have to change the belt setup . Don't force the bit into your work (another reason for squeal) , let the bit do the work , advance it slowly and back it out often to clear away the chips (a third reason for squeal is the bit is clogged) . When you reach the end of your quill travel you will have to slide the tail stock and bit into the work till you get to the spot you stopped at and lock the tail stock and continue as you were doing . ALWAYS keep one hand on your drill chuck to avoid it working its way loose and spinning or worse what happened to you . Also cut your blank a little longer then needed and drill the hole to just slightly longer then the proper depth for the kit you are using then cut off the extra length on the saw , band saw works great for this , this way you won't blow the backside of the blank out when the bit breaks through . As for facing the blank , glue in your tubes and place back in your chuck (you should mark the position of jaw #1 so you can put the blank back in the same spot) then move your tool rest up to the end of the blank and use the skew as a scraper to clean up the end even with the tube . Use a very light touch to avoid cutting too deep and avoid catches .
Hope this helps , feel free to ask about anything your not sure of .

You can put the drill chuck in either the head or tail stock. I've tried both and it seems easier in the tailstock. That means the workpiece spins and you advance a stationary bit. The tail stock is locked in place during the operation. Use the lowest speed of the lathe for drilling until you are more comfortable. 500rpm is plenty fast for drilling, even with the 7mm bit. You could run faster but if the blank is a bit on the wacky side, it could start flapping around.

If the blank is poorly cut, consider putting the chuck in the headstock and the blank and 4-jaw in the tail stock. In this case, use a pair of pump pliers to hold the blank steady as you advance it into the spinning bit. Once you get the bit an inch or so into the blank, you can evaluate the need for the pliers. With the drill chuck in the headstock you can use a drawbolt to hold it in place so it can't walk out.

You can keep one hand lightly on the chuck (in the tail stock where it is stationary, not in the headstock) as you move in and then extract. You should be moving the bit in and out continuously over the quill length to eject the swarf. Move in about 1/2 to 3/8" then back out until the chips fall out the end of the blank. Go slow. If you are spinning the bit and moving the blank, the same applies, eject the chips.

When you reach maximum travel, back all the way out and stop the lathe. Then with the lathe off, unlock the tail stock and slide the bit into the workpiece (or the workpiece onto the bit). Don't bottom it out, leave a little room. And if you think there might be a lot of chips caught inside the blank, go ahead and remove it from the lathe and empty it before re-inserting the bit. Clean out the flutes of the bit too. A small soft brass bristle brush is great for this.

The squeeling is more or less normal but the less squeeling the better. It means you aren't rubbing the sides of the blank with the side of the drill. More squeeling means more rubbing and that means more heat buildup. Heat = bad.

Above all, go slow and remember to keep backing out the bit a little bit after each advance to move the chips out. Wood or acrylic, heat is bad for the blank.

As for squaring the blank to the tube, get a barrel trimmer kit. For most of the intro pens we all do, it will have the right size center. Later you may need to get additional sizes or fabricate spacers. Again, a light touch is all that is required with the end mill. If you trim the blanks close, 1/8" to 1/16" over the tube length, there won't be much work for the mill to do. But if you really miss-cut one or cut long intentionally (acrylic blanks are a good time to do this so the inevitable chip-out as the bit exits) you might consider using a handsaw or band saw to trim close to the tube before using the mill.

ldb2000 said:

Yes you have the correct way of doing it but I think you might be running the lathe at too high a speed , that's one of the reasons for the squeal (there are others). For a 7mm drill bit I would slow the lathe no faster then 1100 rpm slower would be better but you will most likely have to change the belt setup . Don't force the bit into your work (another reason for squeal) , let the bit do the work , advance it slowly and back it out often to clear away the chips (a third reason for squeal is the bit is clogged) . When you reach the end of your quill travel you will have to slide the tail stock and bit into the work till you get to the spot you stopped at and lock the tail stock and continue as you were doing . ALWAYS keep one hand on your drill chuck to avoid it working its way loose and spinning or worse what happened to you . Also cut your blank a little longer then needed and drill the hole to just slightly longer then the proper depth for the kit you are using then cut off the extra length on the saw , band saw works great for this , this way you won't blow the backside of the blank out when the bit breaks through . As for facing the blank , glue in your tubes and place back in your chuck (you should mark the position of jaw #1 so you can put the blank back in the same spot) then move your tool rest up to the end of the blank and use the skew as a scraper to clean up the end even with the tube . Use a very light touch to avoid cutting too deep and avoid catches .
Hope this helps , feel free to ask about anything your not sure of .

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Thanks, this clears it up a bit on the facing. So the tool rest should be perpendicular to the blank as if I was hollowing out a bowl as opposed to turning a pen. This makes a lot more sense than what I was trying to do. Everything is a learning experience it seems.

esears said:

It also managed to unseat the drill chuck which also went flying (luckily in a safe direction and not very far, with no damage to anything).

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Set your belt to the slowest speed - alt least to start with. Stop drilling and back the bit out often. This means that you will need to loosen the tail stock and slide it back until it clears. Back sure all the chips are off the bit - you may need to "pop" some of them out of the flutes in some types of woods and acrylics.

Use sharp bits. USE SHARP BITS. If you don't have a center bit, take that 7mm bit you broke off today and sharpen it and use it to at least put the first dent in the blank when you start to drill it. Depending on where it broke, you may even want to shorten it until it has only one inch or so of fluting left on it. The idea is to have something short and close to the chuck to reduce the wobble that exists otherwise.

Keep one had on the drill chuck when withdrawing. I had one instance where the wood slipped, bit down on the drill, and yanked it out of the tailstock. The jacobs chuck flew off the lathe and dug a good hole in the wall.

Since then, it's been much safer Just go slow, if anything goes wrong, turn off the lathe first. Also, since that incident, I am sure to use my face shield while drilling.

Chris

lathe drilling

I just started drilling on the lathe a few days ago. First round your blanks, cut to length and chuch them into the head stock. Put the drill bit chuch in the tail stock. Run your lathe slow. I run mine at 500 to 700. Lock the tailstock down with the bit next to the blank. turn on the lathe and then slowly advance the bit using the wheel on the tail stock. I stop about every inch or even less, withdraw the bit and clear it. I then loosen the tail stock and push the bit into the hole in the blank, then start the lathe and advance again and then repeat.

So far i've had no blow outs or problems of any kind. Occassionally the bit will bit into the blank and start spinning. When that happens I turn off the lathe and hand turn the drill chuck and back it out of the blank.

ldb2000 said:

Yes you have the correct way of doing it but I think you might be running the lathe at too high a speed , that's one of the reasons for the squeal (there are others). For a 7mm drill bit I would slow the lathe no faster then 1100 rpm slower would be better but you will most likely have to change the belt setup . Don't force the bit into your work (another reason for squeal) , let the bit do the work , advance it slowly and back it out often to clear away the chips (a third reason for squeal is the bit is clogged) . When you reach the end of your quill travel you will have to slide the tail stock and bit into the work till you get to the spot you stopped at and lock the tail stock and continue as you were doing . ALWAYS keep one hand on your drill chuck to avoid it working its way loose and spinning or worse what happened to you . Also cut your blank a little longer then needed and drill the hole to just slightly longer then the proper depth for the kit you are using then cut off the extra length on the saw , band saw works great for this , this way you won't blow the backside of the blank out when the bit breaks through . As for facing the blank , glue in your tubes and place back in your chuck (you should mark the position of jaw #1 so you can put the blank back in the same spot) then move your tool rest up to the end of the blank and use the skew as a scraper to clean up the end even with the tube . Use a very light touch to avoid cutting too deep and avoid catches .
Hope this helps , feel free to ask about anything your not sure of .

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Good advice there^^^^^ I'm a convert to lathe drilling, my drill press is now a handy place to put pens I'm working on, and hold my eye-protection and dust mask from the handle. I don't have the very top end chuck (actually it's a "wood river" model from WoodCraft, but I can tell you that the very worst hole I've drilled on it is better than my best efforts on the HF Drillpress and a vise.

His Technique pretty much mirrors my way of doing it, I mark one of the edges of the blank so that I can get registered back in the same way. I crank the bit in 5-6 turns of the tailstock, slide it back to clear the bit, repeat as needed. If I'm doing a number of blanks, or acrylics, I keep a paper towel in a cup of water, just wrap that around the bit to take the heat out while I adjust things. I find 650 - 1000 RPM is fine. It may take just a bit of time, but I'm not doing more than 5-6 at a time.

I've never had a problem with blowout, I put a piece of tape or a rubber O-ring on the bit to show when I'm coming up on the end, and just ease it thru. The one time I did cut the blanks long and drill short of the end was a piece of fugured Mesqite that was getting 33/64th inch holes in a 3/4 inch blank. Didn't have much to spare, so I went the safe route. Even with just a hand miterbox and backsaw it only adds a minute or so total to the job.

Haven't tried using the lathe to square up the blanks, you had mentioned it before, but now that you give the technique I will have to give it a try.

Steve
Drilling on the Lathe, Turning On the Lathe, Buffing On the Lathe, Assembling on the Lathe

This YouTube video shows drilling an antler but it works for wood and acrylics also:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAEEaF8z2jM&feature=PlayList&p=BEC185985C31C5C5&index=26

Most people are used to using either a pilioted end mill (pen mill) or a sinding disk to get the ends of the blanks at right angles to the tube (axis of the pen is the tube). There is nothing wrong with using a shoulder cut to trim the ends. A shoulder cut takes either a very long finger nail grind gouge or a sharp skew. If you have turned the blank round using a dead center in the headstock and a live (cone) center in the tailstock -- both set into the pen tube, you can then. mount the blank in small jaws (think the pin jaws that fit the baracuda chuck. and let the end ot the blank extend a small distance from the jaws (note that you have turned the blank round with the mounting in the tube so the blanks is very close to concentric to the tube) ---- Otherwise use a cone center in the tube to keet the tailstock end concentrick with the tube and do your shoulder cut.

I can be a clutz, so I put the cone of the live center into the tube regardless.

Note that there are a lot of different ways to get pen blanks prepared, to mount them, to turn them, and to finish them. Everyone has favorites, but you get to try different ways and pick your own favorite,

I suggest you do adopt rule 1 --- try anything new and different with common wood so when it does not work, you have purchased a cheap lesson and have not lost a special blank. When it does work, you have a model to remind you of what you learned and the skill you gained.

Go slow, take your time, and have fun.

Butch gave a very good treatise with the exception of speed. As others have pointed out, the speed should be low, around 500 rpm. This reduces heat and is plenty fast to do the job. Do withdraw frequently to clear chips.

I just picked up some pin jaws for my SN2 chuck last week to try lathe drilling. Can you get a center bit at HD or Lowe's or Woodcraft, or is that a more special order kinda thing?

GouletPens said:

I just picked up some pin jaws for my SN2 chuck last week to try lathe drilling. Can you get a center bit at HD or Lowe's or Woodcraft, or is that a more special order kinda thing?

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I couldn't find a center drill at either Home Depot or Lowes. They looked at me like I had two heads when I asked.

Brian -- Center bit is a machinist tool that you will generally find at a machinist supply (or harbor freight) -- ENCO is a good source amongst others,

GouletPens said:

I just picked up some pin jaws for my SN2 chuck last week to try lathe drilling. Can you get a center bit at HD or Lowe's or Woodcraft, or is that a more special order kinda thing?

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Try and find a machine tool supply in nearly any medium size town or city near you, in Lieu of that try this page http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRIT?PARTPG=INSRAR2&PMAKA=369-1845&PMPXNO=16770032 from Enco this is for a # 3 center drill, it's a good size for most things you might also want to get a # 4 they are very cheap from these guys, and they ship fast, look through their catalog, there's a bazillion things that come in handy for pen turning,
the center drills are like .70 each or less depending on quantity

Rifleman1776 said:

Butch gave a very good treatise with the exception of speed. As others have pointed out, the speed should be low, around 500 rpm. This reduces heat and is plenty fast to do the job. Do withdraw frequently to clear chips.

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As I said the slower the better . 500 rpm is the right speed but some of us are too lazy to change belt positions so my lowest speed on my jet where I have the belt set is 1100rpm which I find to be slow enough if I take it easy with the feed rate to drill almost all of the blanks I drill . If I need slower rpm I have started using the metal lathe which gives me infinitely variable speed .