Need help from Shopsmith owners
- Thread starter navycop
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plantman
Member
Mike; I am a little confused as to what and how you want to drill. I assume you want to drilll out your pen blanks on your Shop Smith, Correct?? My Shop Smith can drill in two modes. The horizontal boreing mode, or the vertical drill press mode. I drill out a lot of my pen blanks in the drill press mode with a centering vice. If I drill in a lathe set up, I want my blank to be spinning and my drill bit locked down in the tail stock. Now you can do it the other way around, but you will need some sort of blank drilling jaws in your tail stock chuck that can center your blank and keep it from spinning. If I am looking at it correctly, that tapered chuck will not spin in your tailstock, only in your power head. Jim S
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navycop
Member
I do drill some blanks in the drill press mode. Just want to use the lathe for production work and if I have a blank I really want to make sure I drill straight. My idea is to put this in the tailstock (where the 60 degree piece would go when turning) and have the jacobs chuck in the headstock just like it would be in the drill press mode. I am afraid this would turn once the drill bit made contact with the blank.
Jeff-in-Indiana
Member
It appears that the displayed chuck will hold the blank in the tailstock position, while the headstock will use a standard Shopsmith drill chuck, and hold the bit .. (horizontal drilling mode)
Which will work, except, *I* would want more bite on the blank itself .. as in pin-jaws which are around an inch in length to really get a grip, and hold the blank parallel to the chuck (which will be perpendicular to the drill bit, as you would normally desire it to be).
I have a SuperNova, and REALLY love it ... many jaw choices .. I also have a Barracuda and it is very usable, too.
(you might want to really tap this in snugly)
(or get a chuck which attaches firmly to the headstock, and put the drill chuck, via adapter, into the tailstock.)
(oh, and that is a three-jawed chuck. I tend to drill squared blanks .. if you are starting with pre-rounded, then three jaws would work)
Which will work, except, *I* would want more bite on the blank itself .. as in pin-jaws which are around an inch in length to really get a grip, and hold the blank parallel to the chuck (which will be perpendicular to the drill bit, as you would normally desire it to be).
I have a SuperNova, and REALLY love it ... many jaw choices .. I also have a Barracuda and it is very usable, too.
(you might want to really tap this in snugly)
(or get a chuck which attaches firmly to the headstock, and put the drill chuck, via adapter, into the tailstock.)
(oh, and that is a three-jawed chuck. I tend to drill squared blanks .. if you are starting with pre-rounded, then three jaws would work)
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plantman
Member
Mike; I quess my question is what are you going to use to hold your blank if it is not round, parallel, or square ?? If you tap your chuck in the tailstock with a wooden or rubber mallet, it should not turn. If you are thinking of going into production work and need precise drilling, this is what I have done. I went to Harbor Freight when they had their small VS lathe on sale, used the 25% off coupon and bought it for just over $100. I already had a "C" Series chuck so I bought the Pen Blank Drilling Jaws to fit it. $22.95. My #1 MT Drill Chuck fits and locks into the tail stock of the HF lathe. With the propper adapters I can take my blank from the HF lathe, my mini metal lathe, or to my Shop Smith without ever having to take the blank out of chuck and disturbing the alignment. It takes only a few seconds to change from one operation to another for around $125.00, plus you now have another lathe to multy task. Just my way of saveing a lot of time and money. Also if your Shop Smith goes down and you have an order to get out, but have to order parts, you have a backup to keep you up and running. There are also several adjustments you can make to the quill in your power head to take out any movement. I think Jeff ment he was using a four jaw chuck to turn square blanks. Jim S
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Hello Mike
I think you can use the same setup as it do. Your chuck would be in the headstock and drill chuck in the tailstock. But rather then moving the bit to the blank you would move the blank to the bit.
I think you can use the same setup as it do. Your chuck would be in the headstock and drill chuck in the tailstock. But rather then moving the bit to the blank you would move the blank to the bit.
Another option is to get a 5/8" to 1x8 adapter and use one of the 1x8 chucks (Baracuda, Nova, etc) with pen blank holding jaws in the headstock. Gives you a lot more options for other things.
kingkeyman
Member
I actually have the adaptor to mount a chuck to the headstock. I never use it. If you want it i'll send it to you for ten bucks to cover the hassle of digging it out and shipping it. If you are interested pm me.