End matching

[CameronPotter]

Hi all,

I am far from an experienced turner and so my "tip" is possibly wrong and probably already thought of... But I haven't seen anyone else do it or mention it.

When drilling the blank - I do it initially BEFORE cutting the blank in half. I drill just enough to go further than halfway - more determined by the length of the bit than anything.

Then when I cut the blank in half, there is already a small hole in it that perfectly centres the bit and means that the two matching ends align perfectly. This only works if your drills are super sharp and your drill press is perfectly aligned though as otherwise you might get excessive drift.

However, if everything works properly, the result can only be perfect - or that is how I see it anyway. Feel free to disagree if there is some fundamental point that I am missing!

However, it has worked so far for me.

Cam

 

[JimGo]

That's a neat idea Cam. I cut first, but mark the blanks at the joint. That is, I draw arrows pointing at the line in the middle of the blank. When I put them in my drill press, the first piece I drill has the arrow pointing up and facing me, but to the left (I use a self-centering vise from PSI, so alignment is pretty consistent). When I drill the other half, I put it in the vise with the arrow pointing up, but I rotate the blank around its center by 180 degrees so the arrow is facing away from me and to the right. I just don't move the vise (other than to take out or put in the blanks) between drillings. This means that the drill bit is entering the blank at the common surface, and if the bit is off, it's off consistently on both halves.

Believe it or not, it sounds a lot more complicated than it actually is!

Also, I think I would have difficulty with yours. I'm a bit absent-minded, and I can see me using the larger diameter cap bit first, and then drilling into the lower barrel and really messing things up! However, I think your idea would work well for slimlines, cigars, and the other kits that use the same diameter upper and lower barrels.

 

[CameronPotter]

Thanks Jim. As I said, so far I have little experience and it is limited to slimline pens (ie same drill bit).

I was told that the way you do it could work and it did kind of... But I actually thought that it was only turned 90 degrees.

To exaggerate consider drilling a hole in the corner.

----
| |
|x |
----
Marked Side

Then if you cut the blank in half and flip it over with the marked side on the same side it will look like this.

----
| |
|x |
----
Marked Side (part one)

----
| |
| x|
----
Marked Side (part two)

Therefore, you must turn it 90 degrees clockwise to get it right.

Again, I may be mistaken here, but the geometry seems to make sense this way.

Finally, I simply find this easier as I don't need to worry about drill vise alignment. This is nice as my drill is very powerful, but not all that accurate (in a repeatable sense) and my vise is about as cheap as you could get I think... Also, as you say, when using different sized bits this might muck up a perfectly good blank.

The other problem with my method is that it is a slower way to do the drilling as you need to drill, then cut and then drill again.

Still, it works for me for now and some one else out there who has trouble with the more established methods might get a better alignment using this way? [] My alignment before this was OK, but not great.

Now it has progressed to good (even if the rest of my pen turning isn't that good yet!!)[8)]


ps Sorry for the dodgy ASCII art, I can't seem to find a true type font that it will allow me to use...

 

[JimGo]

Cameron,
I need to think about that some more; you may be right, but it doesn't feel right to me. Need to finish some stuff for work, unfortunately, so I can't take my blanks out and play. But I'm not blowing you off!

 

[CameronPotter]

No problem.

It somehow seems wrong to me too. But when I played around with the blanks it was the way it seemed to be.

Don't worry about "blowing me off" any response is welcome, even if it is one saying that I am not sure about it! As for work. I can sympathise there...[]

 

[tipusnr]

One problem I see is that the limitation isn't the length of the drill bit but the throw of the quill on the drill press. Many of us have to reposition half blanks twice to get through them with our drill presses. Everytime you move the blank you tak the chance of wallowing out the hole slightly. While the glue usually takes up for this - it is a consideration.

On the other hand your method does prevent misalignment in the drill press which could cause problems in matching woods with prominent figuring (such as zebrawood).

 

[CameronPotter]

Can I ask what you mean by the "throw of the quill"?

As for wallowing out the hole slightly, I know that this can be a problem, but the advantage is that if the hole is drilled deep enough, you can actually put the second part of the blank onto the drill then adjust your vise until it holds the blank (without forcing the drill out of alignment. The hole should then not wallow out much and as you say, it prevents misalignment.

As I said before, it does take more time, but it might be worth it for wood like zebrawood or some heavily spalted material or dymondwood etc.

Probably not worth it for ivory or horn or corian etc...

Anyway, it is interesting to hear other opinions about it.

Cam

 

[gerryr]

Most drill presses have a quill travel, meaning the depth of hole that can be drilled, of about 2-2.5", some may even be less. So, for some pens, in order to completely drill either the upper or lower blank, you must reposition the table to complete the hole. How are you drilling your blanks? It sounds like you're not using a drill press. If you don't, that OK, I use my lathe and there are a fair number of people who do the same.

Also, there is some wood that is really difficult to line up. I'm working on a Gold Ironwood pen and also on a Curly Koa pen that are nightmares. I know which ends go together but trying to figure out exactly how the grain should line up is anything but simple.

 

[CameronPotter]

Ahhh. No I get it now. I am using a drill press (a big beast of a thing). I hadn't heard the term quill before though.

But the bit is actually the limiting factor for me as I can drill all the way to the depth of the bit.

As for re-aligning the table, as I said, that is never really a concern for me.

Actually as far as wallowing goes, my drilled holes are usually actually a little tight and I need to go back and intentionally wallow out the hole slightly so the tube doesn't get stuck half way in.

Cam

 

[terrymiller]

Sounds like it might work better for me. Ihave never really worried about this part of the process. I'll try this since my drill press that I have has a three inch travel.

 

[CameronPotter]

Glad to have helped. I hope that it works for you! []