Drill press = Pen Press

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Dana Fish

Dana Fish

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Joined
Jan 27, 2011
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Location
Portland, ME
What do you guys use for a bit or pressing block to turn your drill press into a pen press? Can I buy it or make it?

Thoughts
 
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I used a bolt with a piece of leather glued to the head for my press.....Then I got a 1 ton arbor press from Harbor freight...ultimate in presses everything fits...lol
 
I turned a scrap piece of hardwood (ash) that's about 1 inch in diameter and turned a 3/8 inch diameter stem on it to place into the drill chuck. I use different pieces of scrap wood to bring the pen parts up to the correct height. Easier than adjusting the table location on my cheap drill press.

Dave
 

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Dave Turner said:
I turned a scrap piece of hardwood (ash) that's about 1 inch in diameter and turned a 3/8 inch diameter stem on it to place into the drill chuck. I use different pieces of scrap wood to bring the pen parts up to the correct height. Easier than adjusting the table location on my cheap drill press.

Dave
Click to expand...

Same for me, but mine is Cocobolo.
 
Dana Fish said:
What do you guys use for a bit or pressing block to turn your drill press into a pen press? Can I buy it or make it?

Thoughts
Click to expand...


I used a scrap of wood - actually, the 1/2" that is cut off of a pen blank. Using a forstner bit, I drilled a shallow holes on both end-grain faces. Then, I glued the head of a bolt into one hole (two-component epoxy). The hole on the opposite side helps center the pen when I am using it.

I also put a scrap of MDF on the drill press table to protect the other end of the pen.

When I first started making pens, I used a quick-grip clamp to press pens together. While that theoretically works, I found two problems. One is that I am handicapped by having only two hands, and it struck me that having three or four would be better when trying to use a clamp. As a result, I didn't always get the pen lined up exactly right, which meant that the force applied to the pen was not exactly axial, which often meant that the parts didn't come together right with the result that I cracked the side of the side of the pen. #@^%&*

The other problem was that with BPs, the nib end would embed itself into the plastic foot on the clamp.

Using a drill press avoids these problems.
 
I just use my woodworking vise with its oak jaws. Although it's getting soft from cut fibers in a couple spots now, so I may be looking at a different wood for the next set.
 
I use a 3/8 hex bolt in the drill press. I just chuck it in upside down and use the head to press the parts together. You can hold the parts in line with one hand while you slowly press them together.
 
I was using a small screwdriver with a concave profile on the end of the handle. Chuck it in handle down of course and the dimple in the end would help hold the pen in place. Also if you clamp a scrap of plywood to the bed and drill a very shallow hole then you will have a perfectly aligned set of dimples to line the pen parts up with for pressing.
 
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