You bought a lathe…use it!

[mmayo]

I have a nice drill press (see photo), but I ALWAYS drill in the lathe. You will need a chuck like this Nova with pen jaws and a drill chuck. It is always perfect! I started drilling in a small drill press…. After you will your blanks and epoxy the tubes; use you lathe to flush sand the blanks. You will want to look up Rick Herrell for his jig and turn a face plate like mine. My barrel trimmer is LONG gone and I strongly suggest you stop using yours. They kill blanks! If you use CA finish the sanding jig is used after the glue is on and before sanding and buffing. My buffer lives on an older lathe full time and is a Beale buffing system. If you use micromesh please consider upgrading. I used micromesh too and buffing is far superior and much quicker. When it is time to press the pen I again use my lathe with either of the mt2 fittings shown. The white plastic one is used mostly for slimline and Saturn pens. The dual metal ones are for higher end pens without a transmission. Yes, I had a fancy pen press and gave it away. I've learned from my mistakes and make and sell hundreds of pens yearly.

All on the lathe is best.

 

[keithlong]

I use my lathe for drilling blanks too, unless I am doing a production run on slimline pens, then I use a drill press. If I need a blank drilled perfectly, then I use my lathe.

 

[Woodchipper]

I drilled a synthetic blank on the DP. Came out off center for some reason. Duh. Had the pen jaws and swore to use them 100% in the future. If more than one kit, only need to change the drill bits. Now I see why some woodturners have several chucks set up for different operations.

 

[mmayo]

I drilled a synthetic blank on the DP. Came out off center for some reason. Duh. Had the pen jaws and swore to use them 100% in the future. If more than one kit, only need to change the drill bits. Now I see why some woodturners have several chucks set up for different operations.

I use this HF center drill set with diagonal wood, spectraply and expensive burl woods. Those blanks can end up off center with just a drill bit.

 

[MedWoodWorx]

I have a nice drill press (see photo), but I ALWAYS drill in the lathe. You will need a chuck like this Nova with pen jaws and a drill chuck. It is always perfect! I started drilling in a small drill press…. After you will your blanks and epoxy the tubes; use you lathe to flush sand the blanks. You will want to look up Rick Herrell for his jig and turn a face plate like mine. My barrel trimmer is LONG gone and I strongly suggest you stop using yours. They kill blanks! If you use CA finish the sanding jig is used after the glue is on and before sanding and buffing. My buffer lives on an older lathe full time and is a Beale buffing system. If you use micromesh please consider upgrading. I used micromesh too and buffing is far superior and much quicker. When it is time to press the pen I again use my lathe with either of the mt2 fittings shown. The white plastic one is used mostly for slimline and Saturn pens. The dual metal ones are for higher end pens without a transmission. Yes, I had a fancy pen press and gave it away. I've learned from my mistakes and make and sell hundreds of pens yearly.

All on the lathe is best.

Very nice dust extraction setup by the way, thank you for sharing.

 

[Todd in PA]

Same.
I drill, square, turn, finish, buff, and press using just the lathe (and accessories). Great tips, Mark!

 

[d_bondi]

Great Public Service Announcement Mark!!!

I also do it all on the lathe. I love the control you have using the tailstock quill when using the lathe as a pen press.

Question for you....

To what grit do you sand before beginning buffing and what buffing compound do you start with?

 

[mmayo]

Great Public Service Announcement Mark!!!

I also do it all on the lathe. I love the control you have using the tailstock quill when using the lathe as a pen press.

Question for you....

To what grit do you sand before beginning buffing and what buffing compound do you start with?

I only sand with 400 grit sandpaper. I follow that with 3M scratch pads: red, gray and white. With acrylics I'm done and head to the buffer. With CA wood blanks I clean with DNA and then buff.

I use the first two wheels on the Beale buffing system. I've permanently removed the third (carnuba wax) wheel. First buff is Tripoli and the second buff is white diamond. I guess I spend 15 seconds per wheel with constant motion.