Drilling blanks

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Stugots

Stugots

Member
Joined
Mar 11, 2011
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22
Location
Midlothian Virginia
Good morning all,

I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel just looking for some solid advice on drilling blanks and how some of you all are doing it. Currently I am using my lathe to drill my blanks after chucking them up and I know that its a slow tedious process using the lathe and doing it this way I find that my blank is heating up even though I am going slow. I have a drill press and would love to use it because of the ease that I can lower the bit into the material a little at a time. Is it worth buying a jig to use n my drill press? Also if any of you all have made your own jigs can I get some examples?

Thanks,

Tony
 
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Greetings
IMH inexperienced O, drilling in the lathe is the best drilling option. It is a little slow, but l have better results drilling on the lathe. When I drilled on the DP I made a simple jig with a screw clamp. My mill has better drilling capacity than my DP had but I prefer the lathe.
Disclaimer, this is a hoody for me, I don't sell pens so I don't need "high" production set ups.
Good luck.
 
Once I went to drilling on the lathe, I never looked back. I drill at around 400 RPMs, and yes, the blanks can heat up if you're aggressive. And yes, backing out is more of a pain. But, I can pretty much guarantee a straight hole though most anything. Are you using any sort of coolant? That makes a huge difference in how fast you can go.

Regards,
Michael
 
You won't know until you try. I think most people use the drill press, but for those that DO their drilling on the lathe, most do it because of the control.

Overall, for me it is easier to control the entry - exit point of a segmented pen on a lathe. But this can be done on the DP. I think there are two problems with the DP, both of which can be overcome. The lathe alignment is set; the DP blank alignment is manually set. I think most people don't realize how vitally important it is to CLAMP hard on both the blank AND on the blank holder. 1. Loose blanks cause blowouts. 2. Minutely clamped blank vise will wiggle and cause blowouts. 3. Hand feed on a DP is far more inconsistent than on a lathe.

These 3 items on the DP give the lathe an advantage. If taken into account and a quality blank vise is used (such as a Paul Huffman vice) then you can accomplish great drilling on the DP for most. I think that on delicate blanks as well as segmented ones, the lathe would be better.

Summary: DP is more hand alignment and clamped (error creeps in), while the lathe takes some of this out.
 
Tony

My view is that if you setup your drill press for precision it will do well. If you use it for different activities and uses, the hassle of resetting it up for precision makes the lathe look better. I tend to do batches and up to about 10-15 pens, the lathe is easier. More than that, the drill press gets trammed, and the Chuck gets checked. Low end drill presses tend to take more setup than those built for machine shops. If I have not reset the drill press for other uses since the last pen run, it is only a fast check.

Most of the heat is drill bit turning in the blank. Most blank failure is trying to go too fast and forcing the bit. Sharp bits are important. A " could be sharper" bit means more heat and more blow outs.

Sharp bits and consistent process.
 
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Tony; Drilling on the lathe is slow, but if you are (over) heating the blank, check the sharpness of the drill bit. Bits get dull and drilling in end-grain makes them dull fast. A drill doctor is a good investment. Some will disagree, but this keeps my bits SHARP!

Pen Vises run the gauntlet from ultra simple, to needlessly complex. I started drilling on a DP with a woodworkers clamp (wood) attached to a piece of plywood and with 3/8" hole drilled in the jaws to hold the blank. Drill clearance holes parallel with the face of the jaws for screws, screw the clamp to a piece of plywood, lock the jaws together and drill a 3/8" hole on the joint line between the jaws.

If you want a vise for the DP, the Paul Huffman Pen Vise is the "gold standard". I am a tool junkie, (addicted, accepted) and I have a mini-milling machine to use.
 
Like others here, I drill on my lathe too, using pen jaws on the scroll chuck after several years of pen turning I have had two blowouts (in wood blanks) and one meltdown (in acrylic). All three were my own fault, due to not clearing the chips often enough, resulting in them getting compacted in the drill bit flutes, so I have to force myself to be patient. What I have also have though are perfectly drilled holes with perfectly aligned grain, which I get a bit anal about, I must admit.

To save swapping chuck jaws back and forth I try to drill several blanks at a time. I take a fresh cup of coffee and the radio with me, so that the time spent doesn't seem as long and therefore it isn't as tedious, incidentally.
 
I do all my drilling on a drill press. I have no problem drilling straight, centered holes when I take my time to make sure that the table is properly aligned & that I'm starting in the center of the blank. In most cases, that degree of precision isn't necessary, but when it is, it can be achieved on a DP as others have noted.

I now use a pen vise to drill pen blanks, but when I first started, I built this simple & dirt cheap jig to hold my blanks. I still use it for stoppers and other larger blanks.

Also as noted previously, it is important to clamp both the vise or jig to the table as well as blank itself. When I use the jig, I put clamps on the two exposed sides of the blank and clamp the jig to the table.

Whether you use a lathe or drill press, make sure the bit is sharp, drill at the slowest speed possible, advance slowly & clear often. When drilling acrylic, I only drill about 1/8" to 1/4" at a time, then I turn off the DP after every 1/2"-3/4" for a couple of minutes to let the bit & blank cool down. Others use a light water spray other other means to keep things cool. I just go work on something else for a few minutes.

There's lots of ways to approach drilling blanks - this is what I've settled on, but you should experiment with different techniques & see what works best for you.
 

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I always drill in the lathe. I go no more than 3/8 " at a time, pull the bit out and hit both the bit and the blank with air. Blanks still get warm so I let them set to cool before gluing the tubes in.
 
One thing left out but alluded to by Ken, Edgar and Randy is your purpose and production rate.

Lathe drilling basically works best in drilling one or two pen blanks at a time. Of course you can do more.

With Drill presses set up to do blanks properly, one can do as many as one wants at a time and still use the lathe for turning. For those who make a living or good income supplement at turning pens, it would be hard to do without a drill press.
 
I moved to a city that has a restaurant called Steampunk. Now let's see which pen I bought kit to give the owner...

I purchased a three pen sampler from a dealer and it included a 3/8" drill bit. I bought a nice - easy to drill alumilite blank and set to work. I drill on the lathe and usually have zero issues, especially very few blow outs. This time I used the "free" drill bit. I managed to finish the hole, but it took forever and caused a blowout on the trailing hole. Luckily, the blank was over length so a trim made everything perfect. That bit will be replaced by the Colt pen bit from Amazon that is on the way. To be sure it was the bit I drilled a Sierra which has a much bigger hole with a well used Colt bit. Same material drilled out quickly and the exit hole was perfect with no chips missing. The cuttings were smooth ribbons of material, just like the ribbons from turning plastic when your tools are sharp.

This thread asked about drilling and the bit to me makes a huge difference. I drill on the lathe as that works for me every time. When I buy a real drill press I may try drilling there, but for now I am sold on this method.
 
Tony, I use both the drill press and the lathe to drill out my blanks, I have had no problem with using either. What has made a big difference, is that I started cutting my blanks into two pieces before drilling them out. I find it so much easier to stay on center, by doing it that way. The only blanks that I can't do this with, is the ones for long single body pens. By drilling the blanks at half length, you don't have to content with so much heat. Which is a big bonus, especially, if your working PR blanks.
Len
 
I started with a drill press and it worked fine, but once I started drilling on the lathe, the drill press has been gathering sawdust at the end of the bench. Good bits and patience make all the difference.
 
leehljp said:
One thing left out but alluded to by Ken, Edgar and Randy is your purpose and production rate.

Lathe drilling basically works best in drilling one or two pen blanks at a time. Of course you can do more.

With Drill presses set up to do blanks properly, one can do as many as one wants at a time and still use the lathe for turning. For those who make a living or good income supplement at turning pens, it would be hard to do without a drill press.
Click to expand...

I agrew with the point about production rate. I found that even for a batch of 5 pens the drill press is better. But I find that I prefer to do one pen at a time from start to finish because it's more enjoyable to me. However, I only make fountain pens as gifts, and this allows me to consider the recipient during the entire process.
 
Lathe drilling question

I have always drilled my pen blanks on the lathe, but have a question. I have a PSI dedicated pen chuck, but wonder if I might get better results with a Teknatool Pens Plus jaw.

Has anyone used both that would care to comment?
 
I had both. And had good very good results with both. I did sell my PSI pen chuck because I did needn't both. I don't see how one or the other would improve your results - but I am probably one of the least conversant with the technical merits of either.

My experience doesn't mean that it won't cure the issues that you are having.

In addition to using sharp bits, and stay aware of the blank heat, I use this on my drill on my lathe or drill press. I know others use other forms of lubrication - some use none.

https://www.amazon.com/Bostik-Dri-C...dp/B0000223UC?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0
 
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Here is another perspective, I use the drill press for 90% of my drilling. It is much faster and set up is actually faster once you get the hang of it. The only blank I do on the lathe are those I need to be dead on center and some longer pepper mills. I have noticed that my acrylics and PR get hot and the hole gets oversized on the exit when I drill on the lathe. I agree with the paul Hoffman vice recommendation as well. I have been using mine of for a year or so and it is very high quality. One thing you need to do when drilling on the drill press is the make sure your blank is backed up be a piece of wood which will prevent blow outs and prevent the force of the drill from making the vice from dipping. I usually leave my drill press set up with the pen vise so its ready to go and I can do 10 pen blanks under 5 minutes. To do that in the lathe will take me 20 minutes or more. So here is one more tip, I use a nice round transfer punch or metal rod and clamp it into the drill chuck and then clamp the vise to other end of the rod while still in the chuck. Than I lower the quill so the vise is on the able and clamp it in place. This takes a minute and the drill and vise and always centered.

So I say long live the drill press!
 
I have used both the PSI chuck and the Nova pen jaws. When the PSI chuck is new, there is very little difference. However, after using the PSI chuck for awhile, I found that the jaws moved a little out of parallel - the tips opened, and closed, a little wider than nearer to the chuck - didn't grip quite as securely. So far, after a few hundred blanks, the Nova jaws have stayed parallel.
The PSI is a great idea - I just like the Nova combination better.
I'm not a production pen turner and my drill press just doesn't stay truly square, so I only drill on the lathe. It sure is accurate, especially with segmented pens.
Gordon
 
I use both but probably 95% on the drill press. I tend to do more antler or curved pieces on the lathe because of the ability to absolutely control entry and exit point. I use the DP with a Hoffman pen vise for most everything else. I was doing most of my segments on the lathe but heat build up did create a few problems. I found that with a little set up checking, sharp bits and a good vise the DP was the best answer for me. When drilling on the DP I always use my shop vac to pull chips away while drilling. I also "feel" like this is pulling heat away from the blank.
I generally leave the Hoffman vise centered on the DP table but I think I will check our RAAR25's method for aligning!
 
I don't think anyone has mentioned High Speed drill bits yet, but you can get them 3 times as hot as carbon steel with no damage. Keep them sharp, keep the shavings out of the flutes and check for overheating when you do.
It's not likely you'll get it over a dull red which you'd have to do to hurt the High Speed drill bits.
Most importantly, keep them sharp. It takes more skill than you might think to operate a Drill Doctor to get a perfect bit. Pay attention to the flutes to see if one has no shavings coming out. If so, resharpen it.
 
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Thanks to those who use my vise. I am a bit one sided on this issue, but that being said my reason I drilling on the drill press is I drill on the lathe at work quite a bit (metal). and the metal lathes are made to be pretty exact on tail stock-chuck alignment. Wood lathes are not. But even in this, when drilling metal, you tend to get a slightly larger hole at entry and close to size on exit. Some times even when using a center drill to start (Which I always do). Like said above, a little work on the set up will take you a long ways. So anyway, what works for you when you figure it out may not be the same thing that works for another. That's what makes life exciting. :)
 
Paul in OKC said:
Thanks to those who use my vise. I am a bit one sided on this issue, but that being said my reason I drilling on the drill press is I drill on the lathe at work quite a bit (metal). and the metal lathes are made to be pretty exact on tail stock-chuck alignment. Wood lathes are not. But even in this, when drilling metal, you tend to get a slightly larger hole at entry and close to size on exit. Some times even when using a center drill to start (Which I always do). Like said above, a little work on the set up will take you a long ways. So anyway, what works for you when you figure it out may not be the same thing that works for another. That's what makes life exciting. :)
Click to expand...

I guess I forgot to mention that I use my ancient Craftsman metal lathe for drilling. And ALWAYS use the center drill first (for the very modest cost for a set, why not?).
 
TurtleTom said:
I don't think anyone has mentioned High Speed drill bits yet, but you can get them 3 times as hot as carbon steel with no damage. Keep them sharp, keep the shavings out of the flutes and check for overheating when you do.
It's not likely you'll get it over a dull red which you'd have to do to hurt the High Speed drill bits.
Most importantly, keep them sharp. It takes more skill than you might think to operate a Drill Doctor to get a perfect bit. Pay attention to the flutes to see if one has no shavings coming out. If so, resharpen it.
Click to expand...

I worry less about the drill getting hot than the blank getting hot. Some woods tend to split when overheated.
 
Tony

...and Gordon. You both went exactly to the point of my question, and I appreciate it. I have wondered if the Teknatool (or similar jaw that would fit on my lathe) might be a bit less flexible (if that makes sense) than the PSI chuck. I thought the additional mass of the chuck might help. From what I hear from Gordon, it might be. I have had a problem with the PSI chuck (reported here on the forum) which was taken care of by PSI, and it was exactly what Gordon experienced; a bit sloppy after a year or so use, and I just do this for fun. My problems were just what Paul mentioned; a slightly bigger hole at the entry point than the exit.

Tony, when you use the dry coat, what do you clean it out with so the epoxy or CA adheres, or has that been a problem with it?

Thanks again!
 
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