Methods for drilling pens blanks

[Alex Cam]

Does anyone use a Jacob's chuck to drill pen blanks? I'm wondering if this might be a more accurate (albeit probably more time-consuming) way of drilling pen blanks.

Also, what methods have you used to get a customer base for your pens? I'm on the "give them away to everyone I know" program right now, and I'm hoping that'll yield sales in the future.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Alex....I used a jacobs chuck for a very short period of time....once....I already had one so it wasn't something I had to go out and purchase. My little benchtop drill press didn't have a long enough throw to drill pen blanks. My wife took one look at my first pen and we drove 220 miles round trip to get a new floor model drill press with a 4 1/2" throw that would drill pen blanks.........the jacob's chuck is just slower and if your tailstock won't move more than 2 1/2" or so....you drill part way...move the tailstock....finish drilling.....You can do it....it can be slower, however.

[Joe Melton]

Why do you need "accuracy"? You simply need to drill from one end to the other, and leave enough material on the sides to make a pen. There are many ways to achieve this. If you have great small motor control, you can put the blank in a vise and use a hand drill. If you have a drill press (and you really should if you want to make pens), there are many ways to support a blank in a position close enough to in-line with the bit. Drilling on your lathe is, by far, the slowest way to do it.
Just my opinions.
Joe

[Dario Octaviano]

Drill press is still my choice drilling wise. Not sure what size Jacobs chuck you have but the ones I have cannot handle a pen blank.

I know I few who use the lathe but in tandem with a 4 jaw chuck (i.e. Talon, Nova, etc.) with pin jaws.

Re: customer base, I am still learning that but have a few sales now that lets me justify buying more "toys" :D I am not aggressive enough in marketing but will be once I find more time to turn.

[Rich Stewart]

I use a jacobs chuck to drill my blanks. Chuck with pin jaws on the headstock. I cut the blank first so I am only drilling 2 inches or so. I am not a production pen turner so the couple minutes it takes to drill a pen does not bother me very much. It all comes down to how much you want to spend or what you feel like building.

Rich

[Alex Cam]

Right.. I agree that accuracy isn't a huge issue, and I do usually use a drill press, but it's not convenient as it's in my grand-dad's shop about 10 minutes away. Looks like I might just want to get one for MY shop. I'm sure a smaller bench-top press would work just fine.

That just leaves a big, fat, blank-spinning band-saw... (drool) :eek:

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Alex.....Just make sure the d/p quill travels more than at least 2 1/2" on any one you get. Some pen blanks need more quill travel than that!

[Dario Octaviano]

FYI, I am using a cheap Delta table top with 2-1/2" quill travel. I don't care, it does the job done...just a bit longer.

I think I got it from Lowes (or HD?) for $99.00. If you get lucky, you might find some on sale too.

[Brad Hammond]

alex, i use a floor model dp for drilling my blanks. a grizzly with a 3" quill travel. to hold the blanks i use a wood clamp with a "birds mouth" inside both jaws.
as for customer base, mines all been word of mouth. there's a little "swapnshop" bulletin board at work and i'm about to place an add on that as well. also, in my line of work, i tend to let folks borrow my pen alot to sign paperwork and such. i ALWAYS make sure i've got a pen of mine around. hehe. summer and xmas are the big times for pens for me. graduation and fathers day in the summer and xmas gifts.
good luck with it!

[Jonathon Spafford]

I use a jacobs chuck in conjunction with my talon chuck. I don't have pin jaws for it so I just use the standard jaws and it works fine. I start the hole and just keep the lathe running when I have to move the tailstock closer... I got a mini lathe so it won't go all the way through without moving it. It can't take much more time to do it on the lathe. Moving the tailstock takes only a second each time. I only move it like 5 times, so it only takes me a couple of minutes to drill out both blanks. I don't make pens to sell so I am not worried about speed.

[Stan Cook]

Accuracy is an issue if you want to make a slimline from a 3/8" blank.

If you don't make many pens, then I can't see justifying the cost of a drill press. If you are planning to make a lot of pens, then a drill press is a huge time saver. Couple that with an accurate and sturdy vise, then the drill press can be evry bit as accurate as drilling on the lathe.

[Curt Fuller]

I use a jacobs chuck in conjunction with my talon chuck. I don't have pin jaws for it so I just use the standard jaws and it works fine.

I also use a jacobs chuck to hold the bit and my talon to hold the wood. If you don't have the pin or spigot jaws you can hold the wood with the inner sliding part of the jaw (where the jaws are mounted to the chuck). The center of the chuck is hollow so when the bit goes through it doesn't hit anything. Also if the quill of your tailstock doesn't have enough travel you can drill as far as it will go, loosen the tailstock and just push it the rest of the way.
I made a clamp to hold pen blanks when drilling them on a drill press too. But it relies on the blank being square to hold it straight. When you drill them on the lathe it doesn't matter how square they are.

[John Hart]

I use a drill press and a DP vise and just go to town on the blank. Drilling isn't nearly as important as squaring the ends (which is crucial). Squaring is where I spend most of my attention.(I need to get one of those fancy schmancy blank squaring thingies)

[Ron Chamberlin]

I have a benchtop Delta DP. Just have to use wooden shims under the blank to get the drill bit all the way through. Takes soem time to clear the chips and so on, but still faster than using the lathe. Amen to the squaring problem!

[Dario Octaviano]

I use a drill press and a DP vise and just go to town on the blank. Drilling isn't nearly as important as squaring the ends (which is crucial). Squaring is where I spend most of my attention.(I need to get one of those fancy schmancy blank squaring thingies)

The pen end mill (barrel trimmer) is very cheap ...I think that is one of the tools I won't go without.

Something like this http://arizonasilhouette.com/ProductCart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=448

[Daniel Heine]

Hello,

I use a Craftsman floor standing drill press, and a pen holding vise made by Paul Huffman (phdesigns1@yahoo.com). I broke 2 of the woodcraft pen drilling vises before I finally bought Pauls. It's 83.00 delivered, and worth every penny. I have found that it is critical to keep a peice of scrap wood underneath my blank to avoid blow-out on the bottom of the blank. Especially for acrylics and spalted blanks. I started out with a benchtop drill press, but the limited travel resulted in me having to drill twice for ebery blank. My floor standing unit is on loan from brother-in-law, who is a carpenter, and will never use it.

Happy Turning,
Dan Heine

[Gary DeWitt]

One of these can be even cheaper, especially if you build it yourself. All you need is a block of wood and a rod of aproximate size. It's critical to square the rod to the disc when you set up, though.

[Stephen Hibbs]

FWI, I use a jacobs chuck and bit in the headstock, and just use the tailstock to push it on. I find it only takes a few seconds for 7mm holes, but the 10mm holes have been hard to drill out this way. I guess there's too much torque for me to be able to hold on easily and safely.