A few weeks ago as part of my initial pen turning tool purchase I bought a Colt 7mm pen making drill bit. I soon noticed that the hole in thewooden pen blanks seemed to be distorted at the entry point and the were not running true though the blank. After careful observation I noticed that the bit was wandering when starting the drill bit in the blank. This would cause the bit to flex and make the top of the hole a bit oval. I thought maybe if I center punched the blank it may do better. The bit still seemed to wander. I switched to the 7mm brad point bit that come with my mandrel and it drills straight through the blank with no problems. The colt bit does however seem to drill though acrylic blanks with out any major issues. Am I missing something?
My drill press table and homemade blank holding jig are holding the blanks in perfect alignment with the bit. I'm not drilling though any type of exotic materials...walnut, cherry, oak, and elm. As the bit touches the wood I'm advancing very slowly. The bit doesn't appear to be bent but definitely flexes during the cut. I just can't think of anything else I can do to keep the bit from wandering on me...Suggestions?
David
My drill press table and homemade blank holding jig are holding the blanks in perfect alignment with the bit. I'm not drilling though any type of exotic materials...walnut, cherry, oak, and elm. As the bit touches the wood I'm advancing very slowly. The bit doesn't appear to be bent but definitely flexes during the cut. I just can't think of anything else I can do to keep the bit from wandering on me...Suggestions?
David