Just a question about drilling....

[Freethinker]

Hey guys;

About a year ago, I bought a piece of antique Bakelite on Ebay. Kinda pricey, but beautiful.

It was a 1" rod, about 6" long.

I hated to use the entire 1" diameter for one pen, and have most of it wind up on the floor, so I came up with cutting a slice off the side about .280, then a slice off the remaining half and had enough left of the original rod for one full size Majestic pen ....... and the leftover pieces glued into another, smaller blank (with a slice of ivory down the middle).

My sister saw the pen I'd made from the bigger blank, fell in love with it, and wanted one just like it. The blank I have is juuuuust big enough O.D. for a Majestic Jr.

I think.

The question is, the upper tube (if i can do the upper, the lower tube should not present much of a problem) for the pen is 0.483, needs to be drilled 12.5mm (0.492) and my blank is 0.616 O.D.

That leaves me with 0.062 walls. (sound of knees knocking together)

Can this -somewhat brittle- Bakelite blank be successfully drilled at such close tolerances?

I have a very accurate lathe, the blank has been turned to round, I have a collet chuck with full set of collets, so accuracy in centering is not the problem.

I'm just wondering if walls that thin will withstand the strain of drilling. I plan to go veeeeeery slowly, and maybe even use water.......but has anyone successfully drilled an acrylic or Bakelite pen with a bit this close to the O.D of the blank?

I also plan to cut the blank 1/2 or so extra long, stop short of drilling all the way through, and carefully cut the end off with a very fine tooth saw.

Any tips would be appreciated....this blank is a beautiful piece of swirly blood red Bakelite --with wispy white marbling- and it is not easily replaceable.

 

[SteveG]

I have managed to do what you are considering, using Bakelite all the way. I got two pens out of a 1.25" rod. I used a scroll saw to rip the blank just to be able to have the narrow kerf, and still did not get down to being rid of the tooling marks from the cut until doing the final, finish sanding! Pucker factor was way up during the drilling. I did start with smaller bits and work up to the finish size. So it CAN work. But as they saw:YMMV.

 

[SteveG]

I am rethinking my response. I did manage to do the second pen, but I believe my finish wall thickness was thicker. You might want to try a test drilling on a less treasured blank that you cut down to that minimal size just to test the idea. This will at least give you more of a basis to decide on whether to proceed! I hope it goes well.
Steve

 

[soligen]

I was perusing posts from several years ago the other day, and came across this tip from the late Eagle.

Wrap the blank in a layer of cotton kitchen string, then soak with thin CA. When the CA is full hard, turn it down smooth. Do multiple payers if needed until you have the thickness blank you need to chuck and drill.

Note, I haven't done this, but Eagle posted this tip specifically for the situation you are describing.

The post history can be an amazing treasure trove if you are willing to peruse it

 

[azamiryou]

A possible alternative to Dennis' (Eagle's) tip: drill some other material to fit the blank perfectly, and glue it in. This supports the walls during drilling, and gets removed later when turning the pen.

Of course, this is contingent on having a drill the same size as your blank.

 

[Freethinker]

Hey!!!!....good ideas all. Thanks guys.

I now remember reading (some time ago) about the 'cotton string and CA' trick.

I think i may take a piece of sacrificial acrylic of some kind --or even a piece of hardwood-- and glue the bakelite blank into it.

 

[PenMan1]

I agree that this CAN be done, I just can't seem to do it. I love Bakelite, it just hates me!

I would start by drilling a 7mm pilot hole to make the 12.5 go a little easier. But then, again, I ALWAYS DRILL A PILOT HOLE IN BAKELITE. I also wear the yellow socks and sing the little "chant"!

Good luck!