Lost my MIND.. Please Help

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Peninhandrjg

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Redlands, CA.
OK... I've been turning pens for more then a year now and I still cant seem to get any consistency in drilling my blanks on center.
I've got a table top drill press (delta) and the vise from CSUSA.
I don't think my bit is "wandering" on me. But the whole thing is giving me fits.. not to mention all the wasted blanks...Am I missing something or is there a better way?
Thanks
 
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Some things to consider:

1. Is your drill exactly perpendicular to the drill table?
2. Are your drills sharp? The best investment I have made lately is the Drill Doctor 750. I am converting my drills to 135 degree split points which drill very nicely.
3. Wait for people who know more to give advice. [:D]
 
Why not try drilling on the lathe? Do you have a drill chuck and a scroll chuck? Here is how I do it for 95% of my pens. Always get nice straight holes. The blank turns not the drill.



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As you're drilling, watch your vise. Mine has enough play in it that when I'm drilling and put additional pressure on the blank, there is a shift off perpendicular. When I'm drilling blanks I have to make a compensation for that in the set up. In other words, I have to bump the drill press table off square.
 
I too had lots of problems with drilling blanks but I turned to this site and followed some of the same advice given above and that really helped a lot. For me, most of my issues went away when I started using the Norseman drill bits (sold by BB at arizonasilhouette) and I increased the RPMs on my drill press from 500 to 1200. I also put a thin metal shim underneath the jaws of my penblank vise to take out some of the horizontal play. I still have an occasional wandering hole, but most are dead-on now! [8D]
 
I had the same problem until I threw out the vise from woodcrafters and bought the one offered by a member of this site. IT has saved me alot of money in lost blanks.
 
I think we may need a few more details on your technique.....and I will probably miss a few.

1. How did you square your table the drill spindle?
2. What kind of drill bits are you using.
3. Are they sharp??
4. Do you clamp the vise to the table??
5. Did you check to see that the spindle was square to the blank when it is in the vise?? Table could be square; but vise might not be??
6. If your drill bits are not properly sharpened, you may get a good straight hole. Not only must the drill be sharp; but the point must be centered.
7. ??? If I have forgotten anything, I'm sure someone will chime in

If you want to try someting real quick, all of the literature that I have seen concerning drilling holes in wood recommend a speed around 3,000 RPMs. If you have a scrap floating around, see if a higher speed helps.....I doubt it; but it can't hurt to try it.
 
All good advise given here, but do not forget wood is not homogeneous, it has parts that are more dense and less dense and sometimes the bit follows the grain direction!
 
The #1 cause of drilling problems is a drill bit that is dull. Drilling into end-grain or at a shallow angle to the end-grain requires a sharper drill bit than any other hole you can drill in a piece of wood. Get a new drill bit, or sharpen the one you have if you can do that accurately. "Feeling" sharp with our finger doesn't mean that it is.

Sharpening a drill bit is difficult because both sides must be cutting. If not, it will pull to one side, and be more easilly steered by the end-grain.

This assumes that the drill press table is quare with the quill. If not, you have a machine problem, not a drilling problem.

I describe the way I drill holes in pen blanks is at

http://www.woodturnerruss.com/Pen22.html
 
Originally posted by RussFairfield
<br />&lt;snip...&gt;

I describe the way I drill holes in pen blanks is at

http://www.woodturnerruss.com/Pen22.html
Click to expand...

Russ, I must say that you do the Pen Turning community a great service with you website---Thanks!!

Gene
Elgin, Illinois USA
 
Once in a while, I drill a hole that does not come out in the middle of the bottom of the blank. Now after years of woodworking, but new to pen turning, it was hard for me to understand how this could happen. After paying attention more to what I was doing, when drilling, I noticed a few things. I use a ripped two by four notched for my vise and sometimes my hand will shift just a tiny bit as I hold my "vise". Second thing I noticed was that if there is just a teeny tiny chip of wood under one of the 2x's, the hole is crooked. One other thing I noticed. My drill press only has a two inch throw and if I have to shim the vise and blank up with a piece of wood, make sure the wood isn't bowed and is cut square. So far, I don't think I have had any problems with drill bits, that I know of. Hope this helps also.
Gary
 
The other guys have a lot more experience and knowledge than I do, but as someone who has had the same problem, what sorted it out for me was simple.

Drill SLOWLY. I am not a production turner and so I don't mind taking time to get it right. I take a long time to drill my holes and by drilling very slowly (ie lower press as slowly as you can stand)the drill has a chance to cut and this means that it shouldn't follow grain or anything as the cut (if you move th drill slow enough) shouldn't have any pressure on it forcing it one way or the other.

This allows me almost perfect drilling (unless I get impatient or lazy in the set up). It also allows me to use a slow speed (the same speed I use for my pen mill).

Cheers

Cam
 
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