Drilling holes in handles on the lathe

[Dueane Hicks]

Any advice on drilling holes in handles on the lathe? Seems to want to wobble around; I'm wondering if yet again I have to buy another set of specialized jaws?

[John Keeton]

Probably a bit late, but when I make a handle the hole comes first and is used for the tail stock support.

[Thomas Wilson80]

Probably a bit late, but when I make a handle the hole comes first and is used for the tail stock support.
I’m with John - if you drill the hole first in the blank, then put the end of the tailstock drive into the hole, even if off center in the blank the final product will be perfectly centered. No special tool needed.
Tom

[John K Jordan]

I drill a lot of holes in end grain for tool and other handles, some of them fairly deep. I used to have a lot of trouble with the bit wandering, deflected by the grain. I don't any more.

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Some things I found that help:

- I grip one end of the square stock firmly in a chuck and drill the hole first before turning the handle. If the outside is turned first the wood itself might flex during drilling.

- Start the hole with a machinist's Center Drill. Sets of these are cheap. I pick one a the same size or a bit larger than the drill bit. They are short and stubby and cannot flex so the starting hole is always exactly in the center of the rotation. A longer drill bit can "get off on the wrong foot" at the surface and flex a bit sideways due to the grain, then causes the hole to go further off center as it gets deeper.

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- Another option is a Spotting Bit, like these: https://www.amazon.com/KKmoon-Cobalt-Spotting-Drilling-Chamfering/dp/B077BFHGTN From Granger's catalog: " Spotting drills create starter holes that help prevent drill bits from walking (or moving) when the hole is drilled deeper with a drill bit. Also known as hole-starting drill bits or spot drills, these short drill bits have a rigid shank that helps ensure the starter hole is accurate and has clean sides. These sets contain multiple spotting drills in a range of sizes." I sometimes uses these instead of the Center Drills.

- On the same principle, shorter bits are better than longer, at least for drilling the first part of the hole. I bought sets of "screw machine" drill bits. These are shorter than "standard" jobbers length bits and wander much less. Search Amazon for screw machine drill bits. Use one of these to drill as deeply as possible then switch to a longer bit. For a very deep hole I might use four different bits, a center bit, a screw machine bit, a standard drill bit, then an extra long bit to finish. If you drill a lot of holes the same diameter, you can even cut one down to make it shorter and stiffer.

- I often run the speed a bit higher when drilling in end grain. Drill very slowly, just a bit at a time, backing out often and re-entering to the same depth before drilling deeper. If the bit starts to wander, the higher speed and slow drilling can get it back on track as the sharp sides of the flute can shave away the irregularity of a hole that has started to wander a little bit.

- If using a Jacob's chuck in the tailstock, I use the biggest and heaviest I have.

- If possible, forget the Jacobs chuck and drill with taper shank bits. These have a morse taper on the end and will either fit directly into the tailstock or fit by means of an adapter for smaller sizes. Using a taper shank bit makes the overall length from the tailstock to the tip of the bit shorter and gives less chance for things to flex and for small inaccuracies to contribute to the bit wandering. For example, look at the length of the same diameter bit in a jacobs chuck and as a taper shank bit, the latter in a #2/#1 morse taper adapter:

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I once found a closeout and bought a bunch of taper shank bits for $1 each. I always pick one of these if I have the right size. (I still start the hole with the machinist's center drill or spotting bit.

[John K Jordan]

I’m with John - if you drill the hole first in the blank, then put the end of the tailstock drive into the hole, even if off center in the blank the final product will be perfectly centered. No special tool needed.
Tom

The problem that can sometimes happen with this is the hole may be perfectly centered at the end of the blank, but in the case of the bit drilling at an angle as it gets deeper (which is evident by the wobble as the bit flexes), the axis of the hole may not be concentric with the axis of the turning.

BTW, as for holding the hole end with the tailstock, what works best for me is to make a tenon the same size of the hole rather than use a cone center. I make these several ways but my favorite is to turn a short piece with a #2MT on one end and hold it in a Nova live center (which has a short #2MT socket)

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I think the Oneway live center (and clones) has a #0MT, harder to work with.

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A short block threaded to 3/4x10 tpi can be threaded onto the Oneway and clones.

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To turn the tenons on things held in a Oneway live center I stick a piece of wire through the hole in the side and put the live center in the headstock spindle and use it to spin the wood. In the case of the Nova live center that's not needed since the piece of wood itself can be jammed into the headstock spindle after making the short #2MT taper.

JKJ

[Ben Darrah]

I drill the hole first before turning the outside. I then use the hole for my live center. I always drill a pilot hole first around 1/2 size of finished hole. I then do the finish hole with a forstner bit and get very little drift. I do the same on peppermills or any projects that needs an accurate holes in end grain. Feed the bit slow and clear the shavings often. A build up of shavings in any bit makes drift worse.

[John K Jordan]

I drill the hole first before turning the outside. I then use the hole for my live center. I always drill a pilot hole first around 1/2 size of finished hole. I then do the finish hole with a forstner bit and get very little drift. I do the same on peppermills or any projects that needs an accurate holes in end grain. Feed the bit slow and clear the shavings often. A build up of shavings in any bit makes drift worse.

Bigger holes with a Forstner bit are usually no problem but smaller holes with a twist drill are the ones that wander. Once they start to get off center it is difficult to make them straight again.

BTW, did you every try Forstner drilling with compressed air assist? I use an air nozzle to apply a constant stream of air into the hole behind the bit. It cools the bit and clears chips at the same time. Perhaps this works better with some types of bits than others, but it works well for those I use.

JKJ

[Peter Blair]

Great tips! I'm sure a lot of us will benefit from these over time. I too use air while drilling with Forstner bits!

[Paul Haus]

I have not noticed anyone mentioning using a steady rest while drilling holes in the end of a turning. Use a chuck on the headstock, and live center on the tail stock end of the piece. Once the piece is turned to the desired outside diameter, add the steady rest and true it up to the work piece. Now you can remove the live center and replace it with a drill chuck with a MT that matches your lathe. Drill your hole. Once done, swap the drill chuck back for the live center and part off the work piece to the desired length. Big thing is you need a lathe that doesn't have a lot of slop in the tail stock.
I've drilled quite a few holes this way. If concerned, you can use varying diameter and length bits to sneak up to your desired length and depth of holes this way also.
Just one more way to achieve the same results IMO.