Would this work?

[triplefreak]

Since I'm having a hard time drilling a straight hole in my pen blanks with my old drill press, can I do this instead?
I was thinking I could mount a pen blank in my 4 jaw lathe chuck & drill a hole using the tailstock with my drill chuck & bit mounted in it.
Would this work?
Thanks for any help.

[triplefreak]

Edit: I want to drill square pen blanks, not turn them round first, then drill them.

[Ruffnek]

Jan 24, 2010 5:01:01 GMT -6 triplefreak said:

Since I'm having a hard time drilling a straight hole in my pen blanks with my old drill press, can I do this instead?
I was thinking I could mount a pen blank in my 4 jaw lathe chuck & drill a hole using the tailstock with my drill chuck & bit mounted in it.
Would this work?
Thanks for any help.

Absolutely....as long as the chuck jaws will grip the pen blank. You may need spigot jaws to grip a 3/4" or smaller blank.

[triplefreak]

Here's the problem. I own THIS chuck, but the jaws won't close enough to grip a pen blank.
Does anyone have a source for jaws or inserts that will fit this chuck & make it close up to the size of a pen blank?

[Doug B]

TF, looks like additional jaws can be purchased for that chuck that will do what you want to do. #1 jaws for that chuck can handle as small as 3/8" stock. That should allow you to drill the pen blanks easily.

Here is a link to the specifications from Woodcraft www.woodcraft.com/Family/2020042/2020042.aspx?tab=information#information

P.S. What is the problem with your drill press? Maybe we can help figure out a solution for that.

[Beamer]

I've used the inside of the jaws for small stuff ... For drilling, i don't think it'd be too big a deal ...

You could also make yer own jaws, too. Take the jaws you have off, place them on a board in fully closed position, mark the holes, drill and and countersink as needed. Chuck that piece up and turn the profile you'd like - drill a center hole (to establish your minimum diameter), then number and slice into 4 pieces. Should be plenty accurate for the job you'd ask it to do.

Maple makes a decent jaw material for most stuff - especially this task of holding square bits.

[triplefreak]

I found the extra jaws that came with my chuck. They work fine, but I have a bent bit apparently. It's worse drilling on my lathe than it ever was on my drill press.

DougB, the problem with my drill press is that it won't drill a straight hole.
The bit comes out to one side of the blank, rather than in the center where it starts at. I think this bit is bent.
I have to get a nice straight one somewhere.

Anyone know of a place that sells straight 7mm HSS carbide tipped brad point bits?

[Doug B]

You should be able to get decent drill bits at Home Depot or Lowes or a hardware store. Maybe not exactly what you want, but it should tell you pretty quickly if the drill bit you have been using is the problem.

On a 7mm bit it is hard to imagine that it is that bent tho that it would blow out of the side of a pen blank. Have you checked to make sure your DP table is square with the drill bit? How are you clamping the pen blank for drilling?

There are a couple of things that could be the problem, we just need to start eliminating the possibilities one at a time.

[triplefreak]

I squared the drill table awhile back. I checked it yesterday. I've sent a PM to Tim about this problem. We tried a few things, yet I can't figure out why it won't drill a straight hole. I use a drill press vise to hold the blanks.
I even used a tiny level to make sure the blanks were plumb before drilling them. If I start dead center on one end of a half blank, it usually ends up coming out the other end close to the edge of the blank, not the center.

I thought it was the belts, because this was my dad's drill press, and it was made in 1986. The press has been sitting a lot, hasn't seen a whole lot of use. The belts are tight, yet they have "slap" in them. I'm going to change the belts today. (UPS just delivered them about 30 mins ago, as a matter of fact.) Then, I'm going to try to drill another half blank & see what that result is.

Other than that, I don't know what to do with it. I don't have the owner's manual, so I can't exactly go thru it to figure out what the problems are.

[admin]

When you turn on the press and look at bit while it's turning, does the tip of the bit stay still, or wobble around in a big circle? If the tip is staying still, the bit is straight, and then it must be a table issue (not square to the quill, etc) if it's making a big circle at the very tip of the bit, you've got yourself a bent drill bit.

By it blowing out the side of a blank on the lathe too, I'm betting your bit is crooked. Don't trashcan it though, you could likely make a hand reamer out of it easy as pie and wouldn't notice that it's bent.

[mduren]

A bent drill will just make a bigger hole. A more likely problem is the flutes of the drill are not identical. It is hard to explain how the sharpening angle and length of the cutting edge actually will make the drill go off on an angle. The longer flute will pull the drill off center. A good brad point drill bit will probably drill straighter. I drill my blanks on the lathe going half way in from each end. This will usually get me a pretty straight hole. I really like the Limey's jig for getting the hole centered.

marv

[TDHofstetter]

I've got a quicker way to plumb the blanks than using a level (which may not work at all, if the drill press's column isn't ALSO plumb). Bolt or clamp the drill press vise to the table exactly as if you're going to drill a blank. Be sure the jaws are front & rear, so the opening is left to right. Lower the quill with the drill bit in place and lock it with the drill bit sticking down between the vise's jaws.

Now loosen the table a bit & place a blank in the jaws. Before you tighten it down in the vise, swing the table to one side a tiny bit. Hold the blank tightly against the side of the drill bit as you tighten the vise. That guarantees that the blank is parallel to the drill bit, at least in THAT plane (it probably is in the other plane, too).

NOW you can raise the quill again, swing the drill press's table back around, find center of the blank, and lock the table for drilling. NOW that blank is DEAD PARALLEL to the drill bit. If the bit's a good bradpoint or bulletpoint, it SHOULD drill end to end with pretty decent accuracy.

[sawduster]

Number 1) I seldom have the exit wound in the blank come out exactly centered as the entry wound. Unless it is like, way off, it is not an issue. Compensate for it by marking your blanks as you cut them to length so you know which end of each of a pair goes together, then, when you drill them, have those ends on top so that the entries are centered. Then, orient the blanks on your mandrel so that the blanks are as they were when you cut them. You should be able to get a good grain match in this manner. You might need to cut the blanks a little larger in width and breadth, but not by much.

Number 2) I don't think a drill press vise is the best tool for holding the blanks. Here is a simple jig I made for holding the blanks for drilling.



And here it is in use.


There is a slimline blank being held in the jig, though you can't see it because it is shorter than the height of the jig.

The out jutting arm on the one block helps to hold the jig, and therefore the blank, square to the drill press table. The use of the Quick Grip clamp makes a great handle to keep the whole thing from spinning while drilling.

Note also the board beneath the jig on top of the DP table. The quill length for most DP is insufficient for some longer blanks and, in my case, even for the shorter ones if I leave much of any room above the end of the bit when setting the table height. So I begin drilling the blanks with them sitting on the table itself, then after I've drilled an inch or so into them, I'll raise the quill, keeping the bit in the blank, then slide a piece of scrap wood of appropriate thickness beneath the blank/ jig and then crank the quill down again. This save wear and tear (and little drill bit holes) in the table as well as giving me the extra depth I need. Once the hole is through, I raise the quill, slide the board out, then slide the bit out of the hole in the blank.

[Ruffnek]

I think the problem is with the bit.

I just use a hand screw to hold pen blanks for drilling and eyeball how plumb the blank is held. Even if the exit hole is not centered, as long as there's about 1/16" of stock around the hole, it will still be enough for most pen kits.

When drilling out antler blanks, many times the antler is curved and has to be held to accommodate that curve. The hole starts on one side at the top and exits near the other side at the bottom...when I'm lucky. Sometimes it exits the side of the antler. That's just the nature of the beast.

But, there is really no good reason for not being able to drill wooden blanks reasonably straight unless the bit tip is making the bit "walk."