Pen blank drilling problem solved

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swirlman

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Muncie, Indiana, USA.
I finally found a solution to drilling perfectly centered blanks. Don't have Paul's vise yet so I went a hunting for another source to hold my blanks. Found a "Machinest Vise" at HF for $39.99. It's a 4 inch cross slide vise that will line your drill bit perfectly centered to the blank. Bolted it to my press table, leveled it both ways, and drilled away. Drilled 48 blanks today and all were perfectly centered. It will do for now until I get Paul's vice. For those that don't have his vise yet this may be a good substitute to use. This info is not meant to take anything away from Paul's vise as his looks to be a fine piece of workmanship but I was tired of off-drilled and ruined blanks and couldn't wait any longer. HF Sku number is SKU#S538 if anyone wants to take a look.

George, in Indiana
 
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yes l am a cross slider to its the only one l have' just tip the drill plate up bolt the cross slider vise too the plate and bobs your uncle' drill any size you want too so simple l posted a photo off it early last year in this forum.
 
OK I'm confused (doesn't take much) As I see & understand the PH vise it is 'self-centering'. In other words once you center the vise under the drill chuck and lock it down you never need to move the vise for varying sizes of blanks because when you tighten the vise both jaws move toward the center at the same rate & the blank is automatically centered because you centered the vise at initial setup.

In looking at the suggested (or most) cross slide vise it appears that ony one jaw moves when tightening so the vise would need to be re-centered for each size pen blank. It's easier to center the blank with the cross slide than a static vise it but must be done for each size blank.

Also noticed that the cross slide vise is not very 'deep', the jaws are only 1 7/16" deep where the PH vise jaws appear to be 3" or more therefore gripping more of the blank holding it firmer and more square to the bit.

Am I missing something about the way you are using the cross slide or the PH vise?

I use a large woodworking hand screw to hold my blanks after marking the center with a ruler. The jaws are about 2" "deep" and it's easy to get enough leverage to hold everything stable place by hand. However I sometimes do miss the center[:(], which has not been a problem except when there is little difference between the size of the blank and size of the drill in use.
 
You picked up the problems exactly with the cross slide vise. The depth isn't that much, there isn't much surface area holding the blank, so the blank slides down if it isn't in securely. To get it in securely, sometimes you have to tighten it up to the point where it could deform the blank once the hole goes through. Also, if the blank is a different size, you need to adjust each time to get things centered.

I have one of these vices and will be buying a centering vice as finances permit.
 
I also use a cross slide vise but havent had any problems with the depth of the jaws. I use two pieces of 2x2 Oak on either side of the blank. This provides a little more stability and it protects my blank from teach on the jaws.
 
I also use a cross slide vise but havent had any problems with the depth of the jaws. I use two pieces of 2x2 Oak on either side of the blank. This provides a little more stability and it protects my blank from the teeth on the jaws.
 
Cross slide vises are very handy for other uses too. I have the HF vise, it is kind of big and heavy unless you have a large drill press. Both Grizzly and Enco sell a smaller and lighter one.
 
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