What's the secret to drilling blanks?

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tommy2tone

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Mar 14, 2013
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I know I can drill on the lathe. But I want to justify buying my drill press. I think I tried all the combinations.. I put it in the vise and drilled. Then flipped it end for end placing the same side in the vise. Still off. Next one I rotated it 180 degress after flipping end for end..
 
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I think when you flip the blank, you change too much for the new hole to meet up exactly. Unless you can drill the blank all the way through with the drill press, you cannot justify using it for pen blank drilling.
 
I think the secret you are looking for is to have a drill press with a long enough quill stroke to drill through the blank in one operation . Long bit also needed . Difficult to do on long clicks .
 
Jeff,
Make sure your drill press table is perpendicular to your bit (a small square will help). Also, sharp bits are a must and using a pilot bit is helpful especially when using a smaller diameter drill bit. Hope this helps.

Dave
 
A drill press is NOT a complicated tool.

You have a drill and chuck that can only go along ONE path, so you can't do a lot about that.

Which leaves the table.
This has to be perpendicular (exactly a 90 degree angle) to the drill. The table will usually be adjustable in two directions---left to right and front to back. There are a number of ways to check "square".

The one I like is to bend an old metal coat hanger into a 30-40 degree angle. Insert the end into your chuck. Adjust the height of the table so it just touches your hanger, and turn the chuck by hand. Your hanger should touch evenly as it travels the 360 degree path around the table. IF this happens, everything is adjusted correctly.

NOW, hold your pen blank securely with a vise or a hand clamp, as long as your "walls" of the blank are parallel, you will get a straight hole. Getting it centered is accomplished by making an "X" from corner to corner on the end of the blank.

This method HAS to work---geometry is not negotiable.
 
I used a centering vise from woodcraft. My DP only has a 2 inch travel. I don't use the table, just place the vise on some 2x4's on the base. One more thing, I use one of those centering things that go on your thumb that one of the IAP guys make.
 
As Ed and a couple others have said, make sure your table is perpendicular to your drill bit. I I've used a 90 degree square and checked front/back and left/right sides and adjusted to as close to perfection as I possibly can. I like Ed's idea with the coat hanger in the chuck too, may have to try that for fun some time.

Once you know the table is perpendicular to your drill bit and it's path, pick a method of holding the blank perpendicular to the table (which will be straight with your drill bit if you did the first step correctly. I chose the Rockler vice you see below, but there are several good ones on the market as well as some good ideas for using wood clamps with V-grooves cut in them and many shop-made jigs. Take your pick on what you can do and what fits your budget!



Normally on my own setup , I can drill halfway through the blank and then flip it and drill in from the other end and it meets, not perfectly, but VERY close (usually less than 1mm) I figure that's not bad for the number of pieces I'm using in this setup. Normally I drill all the way through and just do the last 1/4 inch very slowly, clearing chips often, so as to reduce chances of blowout as the drill comes through. A sacrificial piece of fiber board under the end of the blank helps as well.

Good luck!
 
You mentioned justifying it. I'll assume there is a lady involved. Try "pleeeeaasse honey, I really really need it"
Aside from that. Basically what they all said. I drill on the lathe and the drill press. I prefer the drill press because I find it easier to clear the hole out more frequently and I don't have to change up my lathe set up. I can just leave the centers in place.
 
Jeff, my biggest difficulty in starting pen turning was getting the hole drilled properly. I was using a friend's pen vise and drill press. Neither of which was very good. In spite of trying my best to get good alignment of the table, vise and chuck, something usually came out wrong. I bought a high quality pen vise and squared up everything on my drill press and get much better results now. That being said, I try to never move the blank or table once I start drilling, just too much opportunity for error.

Bottom line -
  • don't overlook the importance of a good self-centering pen vise that doesn't flex under drilling pressure.
  • choose a drill press with enough stroke to cover a majority of the pens you make
  • if the stroke is longer than you can drill without raising the table or flipping the blank, drill it on the lathe.
Harry
 
I normally just eyeball the center unless the blank is a bit small for the tube, or segmented. if your hole is a little off center, what's the harm?
 
I find plenty of things to "justify" having a drill press, just not drilling pen blanks. Just too many things that can go wrong with a drill press setup in my experience. Your experience may be different. Unless you have a self centering vice (such as the one Paul makes) you have to change your setup for different sized blanks.
A collet chuck and a morse taper drill chuck on the lathe has worked so much better for me that I rarely drill blanks on the drill press anymore. The added bonus is the collet chuck becomes one of your most essential Penturning tools, useful for so many things.
 
mdm0829 said:
I normally just eyeball the center unless the blank is a bit small for the tube, or segmented. if your hole is a little off center, what's the harm?
Click to expand...

I've been known to drill through and only have 1/8 inch left when drilling blanks for some of the bigger pens. You have to have pretty darned close to center in those circumstances.

On the other hand, with smaller tubes and more leeway, I've purposely drilled off center to shoot for what looks like a more "interesting" area of the blank. As you say "eyeballing" where I'm going to drill. For this trick, a DP will work where drilling on the lathe won't, because the lathe is going to drill right down the middle. But again if the blank isn't perpendicular to the table (and straight with the drill bit) you could end up with a mess real quick doing this!
 
76winger said:
mdm0829 said:
I normally just eyeball the center unless the blank is a bit small for the tube, or segmented. if your hole is a little off center, what's the harm?
Click to expand...

I've been known to drill through and only have 1/8 inch left when drilling blanks for some of the bigger pens. You have to have pretty darned close to center in those circumstances.

On the other hand, with smaller tubes and more leeway, I've purposely drilled off center to shoot for what looks like a more "interesting" area of the blank. As you say "eyeballing" where I'm going to drill. For this trick, a DP will work where drilling on the lathe won't, because the lathe is going to drill right down the middle. But again if the blank isn't perpendicular to the table (and straight with the drill bit) you could end up with a mess real quick doing this!
Click to expand...

A similar technique can be used when drilling on the lathe. Since you will be rounding the blank prior to drilling, you can "eyeball" the "interesting" area of the blank and mark your centers accordingly. The collet automatically takes care of any centering issues, provided of course, that your centers are aligned.
 
Bit wandering is what I always thought the problem was when I used the DP.
Do you have the same problems when drilling plastic blanks. Some wood grains will nudge the bit in a particularly 'off center' direction. You don't have that with the lathe since the wood is spinning instead of the bit.
 
If you don't have enough travel in your quill, put the bit all the way in the chuck and put the blank as close to the bit as you can. After you drill as far as you can, stop the drill and loosen the chuck and let the bit slide down into the hole you just drilled. Re-tighten chuck and drill some more.
 
1080Wayne said:
I think the secret you are looking for is to have a drill press with a long enough quill stroke to drill through the blank in one operation . Long bit also needed . Difficult to do on long clicks .
Click to expand...

+1 ^.
Why do you need to justify it...you either need it or not. "Justify" it for something other than pens.
 
tommy2tone said:
I used a centering vise from woodcraft. My DP only has a 2 inch travel. I don't use the table, just place the vise on some 2x4's on the base. One more thing, I use one of those centering things that go on your thumb that one of the IAP guys make.
Click to expand...

Started pen turning with a DP like that. I would recomend using the table, though, you can align it with the spindle with a bent coat hanger and get pretty close. I have always had a 'sloppy' drill press, but managed with the table alignment and sometimes use a center drill to start when needing to be well centered.

Rodnall said:
If you don't have enough travel in your quill, put the bit all the way in the chuck and put the blank as close to the bit as you can. After you drill as far as you can, stop the drill and loosen the chuck and let the bit slide down into the hole you just drilled. Re-tighten chuck and drill some more.
Click to expand...

Yep, that's what I did.
 
ed4copies said:
NOW, hold your pen blank securely with a vise or a hand clamp, as long as your "walls" of the blank are parallel, you will get a straight hole.

This method HAS to work---geometry is not negotiable.
Click to expand...

Well , lets see now . I have blanks that have parallel walls in a nicely curved fashion , blanks that have parallel walls in a twisted fashion , blanks that have two parallel walls and two that are not , blanks that have no parallel walls and blanks that are round and curved , all from the best of IAP suppliers , and some that are perfect in every way . None except the perfect will function well in a traditional vise setup , nor will the blanks I saw myself , on a poor old meat bandsaw , or , more frequently , the branches I use without any preparation .

In addition , seldom do I seem to think that the best possible appearing pen will come from drilling the blank down its mathematical center . Most of the time I want to drill at a cockeyed angle , as long as the blank has enough meat for the pen being made .

So , what to do ? The objective is to have the drill bit enter the blank where you want it to , and exit it where you want it to . To do that , the blank must be held in such a manner as to ensure that these two points are directly in line with the drill press stroke .

I take a 3/4 - 1 inch MDF or equivalent dead flat board , put a #8 or 10 screw about 1/4 inch through it , clamp it to the drill press table (2 clamps) so that the tip of the drill bit will come down to the tip of the screw , making sure that the table is clamped to the post , making sure to note the drill press depth setting when the points are together .

I then mark the desired entry and exit points on the blank , take a center punch and lightly tap these points to create a small conical dimple (EXCEPT if I am crazy enough to be using PR or other brittle plastics where it is wiser to use a small drill ).

My 12 inch vise grips then come out , take a reasonable grip on the blank , my hand takes a reasonable grip on the vise grips , the exit point gets put on the screw tip , the entry point gets thr drill bit point , and I drill .

Perfection ? NOPE . I can`t hold the blank absolutely steady , I don`t always get the entry point exactly right , uneven wood hardness , a wood/plastic boundary or angled wood grain may make the hole a bit oblong at the entry point

DON`T do this with your Eagle or other good segmented blank . It is a rough and ready technique that will work most of the time My failures are invariably with partly punky woods that I neglect to stabilize with thin CA .

Oh , Ed , I just happen to operate a free non-parallel blank disposal service

Wayne
 
If your blank requires "adjusting" to be able to get the desired results (drill through the part you want), it is sometimes advisable to "pre-turn" between centers on your lathe. Use the center of the part you want to keep and turn until that becomes the center of the blank. THEN drill.
 
Lenny said:
Since you will be rounding the blank prior to drilling, you can "eyeball" the "interesting" area of the blank and mark your centers accordingly.
Click to expand...

I only drill on the lathe and can't remember the last time I rounded a blank prior to drilling. I just use pin jaws to hold my rectangular blank and the hole always comes out centered. I can see where rounding a larger blank will let you choose what area is used for the pen. I'll have to keep that in mind. Thanks.
 
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