Blank Drilling - The Journey

[MikeinOH]

I'm on my 8th pen since purchasing a lathe, and my challenge has been drilling a consistently centered hole. I started using my drill press and a Woodriver Pen Blank Centering Vice. The first five blanks were well centered and straight end-to-end. Then, my holes began starting to skew from end-to-end. The drill bit is perfectly perpendicular to the table and vice. The blanks appear to be aligned in the vice and parallel to the bit. I believe the issue is with the vice, but haven't been able to determine the cause. So, I purchased a two jaw chuck for my lathe. The first two holes are straight and centered, but due to limited travel, I need to stop the lathe halfway through to move the drill chuck tail stock closer to the blank. After that, the drill bit starts to squeal. The hole appears round. I'm sure moving the tail stock results in a little bit of misalignment. Question for the experienced pen turners: is a little bit of squeal normal and unavoidable?

 

[KenB259]

You're on the right track moving the drilling to your lathe. Do yourself a favor and get a set of centering bits. If you're using brad point bits, ditch them. I know lots of starter kits come with brad points. Brad points are not made for end grain and they will wander with the grain. Squealing usually means you're just not cleaning out the swarf often enough.

 

[egnald]

I use a blade and bit lubricant (Bostik BladeCote) to help with chip ejection but even with that I still get squealing sometimes. - Dave

 

[MikeinOH]

You're on the right track moving the drilling to your lathe. Do yourself a favor and get a set of centering bits. If you're using brad point bits, ditch them. I know lots of starter kits come with brad points. Brad points are not made for end grain and they will wander with the grain. Squealing usually means you're just not cleaning out the swarf often enough.

Thanks Ken. I've been considering getting a centering bit.

 

[MikeinOH]

I use a blade and bit lubricant (Bostik BladeCote) to help with chip ejection but even with that I still get squealing sometimes. - Dave

Could the bit lubricant degrade the adhesion of the brass tube in the blank?

 

[TonyL]

I use a blade and bit lubricant (Bostik BladeCote) to help with chip ejection but even with that I still get squealing sometimes. - Dave

I have using the same for over 10 years.

 

[NJturner]

I also use the Bostik product as well as simple WD-40 (when drilling resin) to keep things cooler and straight. I also use centering bits on all my initial drilling as suggested by @KenB259. I believe it helps, so worth the time. I also clean the blank thoroughly with DNA or an ultrasound prior to doing any assembly to eliminate any lubricant remnants.

You can minimize the wandering with sharp bits and potentially incrementing the size of your drilling process in a stepped fashion, but it will still occur in some blanks due to the inconsistent hardness of the wood. Oversize your blanks slightly and don't sweat it.

Kevin

 

[Woodchipper]

I used a machinist's vise on my drill press at first. I used a precision triangle to set the blank parallel with the bit. Later, I splurged and bought the pen jaws for my Supernova2 chuck. The other two weren't available if I recall, https://www.woodcraft.com/search?q=pen+jaws&options[prefix]=last&view=products. Jacobs chuck in the tailstock and proper bit. Low speed and take it slow. Once I had a bit freeze up on the drill press. Too impatient to let it cool.

 

[egnald]

Could the bit lubricant degrade the adhesion of the brass tube in the blank?

So far I haven't noticed any impact on adhesion, however, sometimes on "special" blanks I will swab the hole out with some denatured alcohol and let it dry thoroughly (like overnight) before gluing the tube in. - Dave

PS For gluing I always scuff the tube with sandpaper, clean it with denatured alcohol, and I use 5-minute epoxy.

 

[egnald]

If I didn't already have a wonderful, self-centering pen blank vise for my drill press, I think I would make up a parallel jaw pen vise using a faceplate, a 1"-8TPI Threaded Rod, and a set of pen jaws either chuck mounted or standalone. (Or I would check with Rick Herrell to see what it would cost for him to make some kind of 1"-8TPI chuck adapter that I could use on my drill press).

Dave

 

[alinc100]

Thanks Ken. I've been considering getting a centering bit.

Mike I don't know if you like to shop but I've picked 20-30 centering bits when buying machinist chests, estate sales, garage sales, etc. I'd like to say I paid pennies on the dollar.