JonathanF1968
Member
Suddenly, I've destroyed three blanks in a row while drilling them out. I've also successfully made three pens from the same wood.
All the ones I'm ruining are 12.5 mm holes for Jr. George tops going through rosewood. The blanks are on the thin side; they are cut from a 7/8 inch board (22 mm).
I'm using a drill press and a new bit.
I'm noticing that my bit is heating up up a lot more than usual with this wood. So, I've been going about 1/4 inch at a time, then waiting for the bit to cool completely before continuing. Which is quite the snail's pace.
The point of failure happens at the very end of the bore. I'm thinking, maybe I should cut the segments longer, and not drill all the way through, and then cut/sand off the end to expose the hole.
It's rare that I've destroyed blanks like this while drilling. It happened once before with cocobolo. But this is a pretty big hole and a relatively thin blank. And maybe something about the wood heats things up more than usual.
Any advice? I'm wondering if it's time to start drilling on the lathe instead of the drill press, for a more perfect center. Not sure if that's where my problem lies, though.
All the ones I'm ruining are 12.5 mm holes for Jr. George tops going through rosewood. The blanks are on the thin side; they are cut from a 7/8 inch board (22 mm).
I'm using a drill press and a new bit.
I'm noticing that my bit is heating up up a lot more than usual with this wood. So, I've been going about 1/4 inch at a time, then waiting for the bit to cool completely before continuing. Which is quite the snail's pace.
The point of failure happens at the very end of the bore. I'm thinking, maybe I should cut the segments longer, and not drill all the way through, and then cut/sand off the end to expose the hole.
It's rare that I've destroyed blanks like this while drilling. It happened once before with cocobolo. But this is a pretty big hole and a relatively thin blank. And maybe something about the wood heats things up more than usual.
Any advice? I'm wondering if it's time to start drilling on the lathe instead of the drill press, for a more perfect center. Not sure if that's where my problem lies, though.