Drilling segmented blanks

[cdwrrtx]

I have done a couple of segmented blanks, nothing fancy, just playing around with scraps. I worked really hard to get things lined up and square on both, only to drill and have the segments not perpendicular to the tube. I drill on the lathe.

Is there something I should do in preparing the blank to get it all in line?

 

[jttheclockman]

I have done a couple of segmented blanks, nothing fancy, just playing around with scraps. I worked really hard to get things lined up and square on both, only to drill and have the segments not perpendicular to the tube. I drill on the lathe.

Is there something I should do in preparing the blank to get it all in line?

Yes work with square material if doing specific designs. If using oops pieces make sure they are the same dimension all around. You can stack your pieces on the tube and build the segment like that or you can build the blank and drill all at once. If you stack build then you drill each piece individually and this is the easiest way to avoid blowouts. But some designs can not be done that way and thus you need to always work from a square stock. Every piece or design you add needs to be square to the main body. After all this is done you need to find the center of the design and drill it. Many times this is not exactly the center of the blank. But if you build the design on a square blank many times you can just find center of the blank and drill. I hope this is clear. I will show an example of a stacked segmented pen first and then one that is not. But to answer your question square is the key. and keep that way throughout the build. The last thing if drilling on the lathe you need to chuck the blank square. Again the type chuck you use needs to allow for descrepency of off center drilling. I prefer a pen chuck, one similar to PSI but I use a Vicmark version.

 

[TonyL]

I am a novice/simple segmenter; so wait for better advice . I joined 2 pieces of 3/4 plywood at a right angle. It is about 12 inches long. I line it with plastic wrap to keep the glue off it I use CA to I only glue 3 or 4 segments. If my blanks were square and I managed to hold the segments in place while the CA dried, I get square segmented blank. Sometimes I trim any irregularities on my band saw. I mostly drill using my lathe, but I will use my drill press if the blanks is not square. Remember, to wait for better advice...i can barely spell segment. LOL

 

[leehljp]

Different situations require different approaches as has been mentioned above.

1. Starting off with a precision squared blank is the primary key for me in most situations.
2. Precision alignment of components of the segments are the next most situations.
3. And in other situations, I drill holes in segments and then slice them thin as needed and then stack / layer them onto the tube with epoxy to allow for time to do the whole blank
4. Choose your entrance and exit hole. This one is about the need of having a precise entrance and precise exit point. Not necessarily aiming at segments, but sometimes it is helpful with segments.

Again, the alignment and squaring method will depend on the kind of segment you use. John gave some great views of his segments and I will give you two of my old ones:
In this one, I just simply drilled holes in individual pieces and then sliced them to the thickness wanted and stacked them:

30 Pieces of Silver

Elegant Beauty TI Gold Bloodwood, BOW, Holly core solder CA finish

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IN this one, precision alignment and squaring was absolute. I did several in which the alignment was off by less than 1/2 of a MM and it showed. This perfect pen was a pen of pure luck!

Imported Photo from leehljp

Imported Photo from leehljp. Please edit title and description.

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[KenB259]

Great advice given so far. Only thing I would add is to get some stubby centering bits. The other thing with drilling segmented blanks is the fact that all drill bits are not created equally. Don't buy cheap bits, they are cheap for a reason. Never use a brad point on any segment that includes any kind of metal. I personally try to stay away from brad points. As J T pointed out starting square is always always always a good idea.


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[Madman1978]

Looks like the pool cues I once made.

 

[cdwrrtx]

Thanks all. I like the idea of drilling then cutting/sanding the segments to size and building on the tube. That would let me check alignment before glue up.

 

[KenB259]

Thanks all. I like the idea of drilling then cutting/sanding the segments to size and building on the tube. That would let me check alignment before glue up.

As noted, that method will work on some designs, but not all. Personally, and this is just me talking, I don't like that method, but you will find your own comfort level, you'll do fine. Looking forward to seeing your results.


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[wouldentu2?]

I agree with using the stubby center drills, there is no flex when making initial contact with the blank. The ones from Harbor Freight are good and inexpensive.

 

[cdwrrtx]

Not afraid of sharing mistakes. Here are a couple of pics of the blank. This is the type of work I am looking to do. Don't really have enough precision yet on my tools to do much more. Enjoyed working on this one and like the look. You can see the flaw. It is too subtle to say I wanted it that way.

 

[leehljp]

Not afraid of sharing mistakes. Here are a couple of pics of the blank. This is the type of work I am looking to do. Don't really have enough precision yet on my tools to do much more. Enjoyed working on this one and like the look. You can see the flaw. It is too subtle to say I wanted it that way.

That is the specific type in which drilling and stacking has its advantage. However, one must make sure everything is square. Making it square is done with larger pieces and then slicing them with a precision saw. ON occasion there are posts here concerning a precision mini table saw. They are not absolutely necessary but they do help in many cases. I made my own years ago and below are an overview / two photos. Therefore my "slices" are dead on accurate and square. I drill holes in squared blanks, measure how thick I want each section and then slice.

That is my method for the type in your photo

Imported Photo from leehljp

Imported Photo from leehljp. Please edit title and description.

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Imported Photo from leehljp

Imported Photo from leehljp. Please edit title and description.

www.penturners.org

 

[jttheclockman]

Yes the photos you shown are examples of an easy build on the tube segmented pen blank. As I said there are a few ways of doing this but you need to use square stock and always work from square stock. Now the photos I shown here of the black and white pen were done differently than what many may think. I do this because I have the ability and tools to work with precision. The stripes were made from one blank of holly turned down to 1" perfect the entire length. That is easy to do and again calipers play a part. Then using my router and placing the blank between dead centers, I slotted the black stripes and filled in the ebony. Now I again turned it back down to an even 1" or 7/8" cylinder still between centers. Now I took that blank and used a collet chuck and drilled appropriate hole size needed. I could have done one of 2 things and parted off the pieces I needed or I could slice them off on my 10" table saw. I chose to slice. Again a simple jig to hold the blank square is easy and shown here many times. Being the blank is true round and the hole was drilled dead center the pieces can be cut exact 90 degrees. But to make sure things line up I put witness marks on the pieces that I am cutting so that when put back on tube things line up exactly the way they were before slicing minus the saw kerf. Worked out well. I did this when I rounded the solid ebony blank also. Now if you look in my album you will see a bloodwood and maple one just like it.

With this said in your example no need to line things up because you are using a solid oops blank or pieces (green) The only thing you need to be concerned with is the small pieces are true and the larger pieces are cut exact 90 degrees. So that when you stack they are true 90 degrees and not slanted as they are in your photo. That maybe due to the method you used to cut. You do not explain your steps to get there so hard to help. Even if you drill the hole a bit larger than the tube. When you stack the pieces they need to be standing straight up at 90 degrees. Need to be aware of that because you can stack with a slight angle and not see it. So now the tube is not 90 degrees to the hole and the design of stacking and thus the angle look. Hope this makes sense and good luck.

 

[moke]

I think it is important to find the exact center of the Blank on both ends and turn it round. I use a dead center Steb and then I have one of those sets with interchangeable center and I use the one with a small point and shoulder. I have already put a point in the blank on each end, I line it up and take very light cuts. I turn it to 3/4 inch using a wrench as a gauge, then I use a collect chuck to drill with. It is well supported on all sides.

I make these Franken-blanks and cutting them square and true is an impossible job. So I came up with this...not sure where...probably from some one on here. The key is to make sure that the point on the end of the "holding" center does not do any damage. I usually make them longer than they need to be, and trim.

Just my .02

 

[jttheclockman]

I think it is important to find the exact center of the Blank on both ends and turn it round. I use a dead center Steb and then I have one of those sets with interchangeable center and I use the one with a small point and shoulder. I have already put a point in the blank on each end, I line it up and take very light cuts. I turn it to 3/4 inch using a wrench as a gauge, then I use a collect chuck to drill with. It is well supported on all sides.

I make these Franken-blanks and cutting them square and true is an impossible job. So I came up with this...not sure where...probably from some one on here. The key is to make sure that the point on the end of the "holding" center does not do any damage. I usually make them longer than they need to be, and trim.

Just my .02

That is how I center and round my blanks too. Find center of pattern and round it true. So easy from there.