Drilling pen blanks

[Mark A Smith]

Sorry for asking a stupid question ahead of time. I would like to turn some pens for christmas gifts. I have everything I need except a vice to hold the pen blanks. Could somebody give me an alturnative way of holding the blanks instead of buying a vice. Thanks in advanced. Mark

[Brad Kimbrell]

Before I purchased a pen vise, I used a Jorgensen Hand Screw. That allowed me to slip a small square inside them to check vertical in one direction and the clamp holds it vertical in the other plane.

Mark the center and drill. Be careful with non-wood items such as plastics, acryllics, etc. - don't drill all the way through them. Flip them over and drill from the other side to complete the hole. Many times the bottom will split out as the bit exits on the bottom.

Another method is to cut the blank just a bit long and drill to within 1/8" of the bottom and simply trim it off.

Good luck and happy turning!

[John Hart]

Before I got my vice...I held them with my hand...then, when I tore all the skin off my hand...I put on some gloves....then when the bit tore the blank out of my hand and beat the crap out of me...I used some pliers and channel locks. Those worked pretty good until my BIL bought me a vice because I was too lazy to go to the store.:o

[Bruce Shiverdecker]

Of all the things available to make pen turning easier, the VICE is the one thing I tell my students to get, especially if you are doing a lot of pens. It is well worth the price. (Sell two pens for 25.00 and you got it!)

Bruce

[Mark A Smith]

Could somebody recomend a pen vice that is good or are they all about the same?

[Kent Fitzgerald]

Mark, I use a Bessey Uniklamp lying on its side. Same basic idea as the hand screw. Or you can just clamp a piece of scrap to the drill press table as a low-tech fence and then clamp your blank to the fence.

[RL Johnson]

I bought mine from Woodcraft. It has been great and I agree with Bruce, the best money I ever spent for penturning.

[Ron Sardo]

I drill them on my lathe using a scroll chuck.

If you don't have a scroll chuck, any type of clamp will work on a drill press.

Here's an idea.
Do you have a wooden screw clamp? You know the type, with two handles sticking out at opposite ends of two wooden blocks. If so, close the clamp and drill a hole into both sides of the clamp so each side has a "half" hole. Then use the "hole" to hold the blank square.

(It's like inserting a square block into a round hole):eek:

[Mike Vickery]

I am with Ron I drill on my lathe. Before I got a scroll chuck I made my own vise out of scrap cherry and it worked reasonably well.

[Robert McGowen]

Here is my take on a vise, i.e. FREE.

It will hold round or square blanks and you can adjust it for just about any size. I just hold it by hand under the drill press, but you could clamp it down if you wanted to.

Robert

[Mike Vickery]

My homemade vise looks alot like Roberts. The only difference is mine is mounted on a board that sits on the drill press table with 2 bolts and wing nuts that allows me to tighten it to the table without any additional clamps.

[Rich Stewart]

Jacobs chuck in my lathe here. Of course you have to have a chuck to hold the blank. You need a chuck anyway though. One of the worlds greatest inventions, those chucks.

[Joe Melton]

Before I bought my pen vise (my pen vice is another story;) ), I used one of those large screw clamps. This one was made in China. I glued a small piece of wood, about 1/2" thick, to one side of the inside of one of the jaws. I used a square to hold the piece exactly straight upright before the glue set.
While I held a pen blank securely next to this upright piece, I then tightened the other jaw against the blank.
After aligning the drill bit with the center of the pen blank, I simply drilled the blank. My drill press table has a hole in the center, so I was sure the bit, when exiting the blank, would not drill a new hole in the table.
Looking back, I am sorry I delayed buying the regular pen vise, because it is just a better way to hold a blank. The main advantage is that the center of the blank is (supposed to be) always aligned with the center of the drill bit, regardless of the size of the blank, so one can clamp the vise to his table and holes are repeatable.
I think the ones at Woodcraft are the same as those sold by PSI, by the way.
You asked about a better vise. Many people prefer those made by Paul Huffman of Okla City. They cost about 80 bucks, though, twice the cost of the Woodcraft, etc. ones. I have one of them, but haven't set it up, as the Woodcraft one is working just fine now. I had to disassemble it at one time to tighten things up, but it is ok now.
Good luck.
Joe

[Bob Noles]

Could somebody recomend a pen vice that is good or are they all about the same?

Mark,

After going thru several vices, I finally ran up on (IMHO) a vice I think is the best thing since baked bread. It is made by order and has a waiting list of several months, but well worth the wait and cost. Paul Huffman makes these and is a legend when it comes to the pen vice. If you need a link to get in touch with him, send me a PM and I'll gladly point you in the right direction.

[Dario Octaviano]

I started with something like what Robert posted...then got a better (CSUSA) vise through a trade.

Now I own one of Paul Huffman's vise and it is the best as far as I know.

All of them work...some just a bit better and faster. ;)

[Randy Meijer]

Simple, easy and almost free if you have any scraps laying around. Take two 3" x 3" pieces and screw & glue them together in an L-shape. Lay the L=shape on edge and glue and screw it to a base that is in the vicinity of 12" x12". Make sure everything is square and perpendicular.

Place your blanks in the crotch of the "L" and secure with a clamp. Clamp the base to the table and drill away.


And here is another thing you could try although it might be tricky to get every thing square and parallel and perpendicular is:
http://www.hutproducts.com/images/tl5.JPG



You can also use a machinists V-block if you have one