Lathe accessories

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jheater

Member
Joined
May 21, 2008
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9
Location
Sioux Falls, SD, USA.
Good day to all. Just a question as i am new working on a wood lathe. I have a Jet 1014VS and a 30 year old Craftsman benchtop drill press. I am wondering if i would be better served to center drill pen blanks on the lathe. Plus the chuck on the lathe is only a 3/8 inch. What are the current thoughts on a Utility grip chuck and a taper 1/2 inch keyed drill chuck? I assume there would be plenty of width on the lathe to mount both chucks, a drill bit and pen blank? Thanks all....
 
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The lathe is better for drilling blanks than a bench top press. On the press you will have to drill part way through the blank, stop, and raise the table to finish drilling the blank. Most bench presses do not have enough travel to drill through the blank without making that adjustment.
 
I use my lathe to drill my blanks with absolutely no problems what so ever. I use a MT2 keyless chuck in the tailpiece and my Nova 4 jaw on the headstock.

No problems with slippage - as others report - of the drill bit at all. Just make absolutely sure that your MT is clean of all debris as just a little bit of crud can cause all kinds of problems. :smile:

I like the keyless chuck since I already have to keep up with enough other stuff! :rolleyes:
 
I just ordered the keyless chuck from woodcraft. the drill press is nice; but having to center the pen vise each time I use the press for something else is beginning to be a pain.
 
I think it is your choice. Both methods work just fine. My impression from reading here is that most folks use a drill press rather than a lathe for drilling; but if you are not satisfied with your DP go ahead and try drilling with the lathe.

I have a JET 1014 and a 1/2 chuck and there is plenty of room for all of the necessary hardware; but I drill my pen blanks with a benchtop drill press that does have 3"+ of quill travel. (There are several on the market) I only use the lathe for drilling when making pepper grinders.
 
I drill on the drill press. I've got a large delta press and mount a centering vise when I drill pen blanks. Once the vise is centered I can swap blanks in and out -- I mark one face for orientation. With drill pressed with less throw I can see that there might be a problem and the lathe would be preferable.
 
Thanks for all your advice and opinions. When drilling on my DP i do get some drill wander when using larger diameter bits. In order to drill 12.5 mm holes for larger pens i have to purchase a larger bit anyway. I thought i could drill more accurate holes on the lathe than on the DP and also give myself more versatility. This is a great site, thanks fellow turners!..
 
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