Drilling with a Chuck in the lathe

[DannyHeatley]

I've heard of it done before, but I bought a lathe today and it came with a Chuck with a mt2 arbor ( I don't know if arbor is the right word can you tell I'm still relatively new at this? Haha).

I've heard if you get a Chuck it's a really nice way to always find the center. But how does it work? Do you need another Chuck to mount the blank on the dead center half of the lathe?

Sorry if it's been covered before but I couldn't find it in the archive!

 

[DannyHeatley]

Also on this note, I agreed to do kind of a custom dip pen using a 7mm tube but it would have to be about 5" long. does anyone know where to buy extra long 7mm bits?

 

[LarryDNJR]

Also on this note, I agreed to do kind of a custom dip pen using a 7mm tube but it would have to be about 5" long. does anyone know where to buy extra long 7mm bits?

Amazon.com: Colt 5 Star Pen Makers Bit 7mm: Home Improvement

Item Dimensions
Weight 2.08 Ounces
Length 9.50 inches
Width 0.50 inches
Height 0.50 inches



I use this.

LarryDNJR

 

[jmbaker79]

What sort of chuck did it come with? You will need something to hold the blank,Collet chuck 3 jaw chuck or 4 jaw... Psi carries a special chuck just for holding blanks but a 4 jaw chuck is more versatile. You will also need a drill chuck for the tail stock. Your bit remains still in the tail stock while your headstock and chuck spin as you advance the tail stock... Can't help you with the 5" bit but I'm sure someone will! Hope that helps some!

 

[Kretzky]

You would normally put the mt2 taper chuck in the tailstock. When drilling on the lathe the drill bit stays stationary & it's the workpiece that turns.
So yes you would need something to hold the workpiece in the headstock: faceplate, chuck (of some sort) eg collet chuck, 3 or 4 jaw chuck, these usually have a threaded hole in the back (3/4" or 1") to mate with the threaded boss on your headstock.
As for long drill bits I recently bought some Colt bits, they are amazing & longer than normal bits.
hope that helps
David
oops sorry! I more or less repeated jmb's post above.

 

[Donovan]

Pen Blank Drilling Lathe Spindle Chuck - R644.00 : Mr Woodturner, Pen kits, project turning kits and accessories Have a look at this chuck. Your blank must be square

 

[eldee]

Pen Blank Drilling Lathe Spindle Chuck - R644.00 : Mr Woodturner, Pen kits, project turning kits and accessories Have a look at this chuck. Your blank must be square

Actually, this chuck works well for any geometrically balanced shape and can work with some that aren't. I've definitely used it for squares, rectangles, rounds, as well as some odd shapes (carefully).

 

[edstreet]

Any chuck will work, the key is to position it properly so that it will spin so that the center is where it needs to be at.

I use my supernova chuck to hold the material, round, square, oval, hexagon, it doesn't matter just as long as the alignment from front to back is correct. I use the tailstock as a alignment brace to clamp the item in the chuck. That is with nothing in the tailstock as it is a perfect 90 degree's from the headstock.

The second key thing to look at is the wobble factor on the drill bit. If it wobbles then you have an alignment problem, some ever so slight wobble is not bad but a large one is a big problem, less wobble = better.

Easy way to check see if your in proper alignment. Mark the center of the black where you THINK it should be then turn on the lathe. clamp it in the chuck then turn on the lathe, look at the end and it will either be a circle or a dot. If it's a dot then you did good. If it's a circle then it's not in alignment.

 

[frank123]

Curious as to why you need an extra long 7mm tube for a dip pen?

Just curious, I'm trying to envision the design that would require one.

 

[Justturnin]

Made made this to use with my 4 Jaw chuck. It is freakin awesome!!!

Auxiliary Pen Blank Jaws

Here are some pics in action.

 

[George417]

I use the PSI chuck and it works great. Use this chuck with a drill in a chuck with a #2 and proper size bit and have no problems getting a hole in the blank.

 

[DannyHeatley]

Also on this note, I agreed to do kind of a custom dip pen using a 7mm tube but it would have to be about 5" long. does anyone know where to buy extra long 7mm bits?

Amazon.com: Colt 5 Star Pen Makers Bit 7mm: Home Improvement

Item Dimensions
Weight 2.08 Ounces
Length 9.50 inches
Width 0.50 inches
Height 0.50 inches



I use this.

LarryDNJR

Thanks Larry, I've been looking all over for one, I nevere thought to check Amazon.

 

[DannyHeatley]

What sort of chuck did it come with? You will need something to hold the blank,Collet chuck 3 jaw chuck or 4 jaw... Psi carries a special chuck just for holding blanks but a 4 jaw chuck is more versatile. You will also need a drill chuck for the tail stock. Your bit remains still in the tail stock while your headstock and chuck spin as you advance the tail stock... Can't help you with the 5" bit but I'm sure someone will! Hope that helps some!

You know I'm not exactly sure, i haven't examined it too much but it was used for refinishing pool sticks before. At the base those seem fairly thick... It's definitely the biggest chuck I've seen, as soon as I get home I'll have to try it out.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[DannyHeatley]

Curious as to why you need an extra long 7mm tube for a dip pen?

Just curious, I'm trying to envision the design that would require one.

I was going to do a custom one for a present for my aunt, she had some she bought that were about 6-7 inches in length and double sided, turns out the 7mm tube has almost a pressure fit with the nibs! Should be a fairly easy project!

 

[DannyHeatley]

Made made this to use with my 4 Jaw chuck. It is freakin awesome!!!

Auxiliary Pen Blank Jaws

Here are some pics in action.

Thank you! That's a great tutorial.

What kind of blank are you drilling there? It looks awesome!

 

[edstreet]

I should take some photo's of my lathe setup. I have some 1" bowl jaws on there with the drill chuck. No need for jaw inserts with my setup.

 

[Justturnin]

Thank you! That's a great tutorial.

What kind of blank are you drilling there? It looks awesome!

Yea, I really liked it, just for the record I did not come up with these. That goes to the owner of the website link I posted but I like them so much I try to share it when I get a chance because mine work great.

As for the blank, those are my Jumpin' Cholla Blanks cast in Alumilite. You can see them on my website in my sig below or one day I will get caught up and post some more on the IAP.

 

[Carl Fisher]

I have a set of pin jaws mounted up pretty much permanently on my Nova. They clamp down small enough for any blank I've tried to turn to date.

 

[TellicoTurning]

You can buy overlength tubes from PSI, Packardwoods, Wood n Whimsies and CSUSA or at Woodcraft stores.. I buy them in 10" lengths and cut to length.

And for drilling on the lathe, almost any chuck will work, you only need to make sure - as was stated - that the blank turns relatively true so that the drill bit will traverse the center or near center of the blank.... I use a PSI mini CMG3 mini chuck Mini Grip 4 Jaw Lathe Chuck System: includes 3 sets of jaws at Penn State Industries with these jaws to hold the blank... works pretty well for me.