Silly question????

[Bonnie Campbell]

I see people talking about drilling with their lathes. How do you do it?

I would like to try making pens someday, but there is no way my drill press would work for drilling beyond a 2" deep hole (besides, my holes ALWAYS end up crooked :o)

And what is the very basics I would need to make pens? I looked at catalog stuff and see one thing after another they "recommend".

There are not any woodworking stores around my area, so I have to just wing it and ask the experts on here :)

Thanks!

[Mark Pruitt]

Bonnie, drilling on the lathe is accomplished in one of two ways. (1) A Jacobs chuck with appropriate Morse Taper is fitted into the tailstock and brought up to the end of the piece to be drilled. That piece is held secure in scroll chuck, the lathe is turned on, and you use the tailstock's handwheel to advance the bit into the spinning piece. Or, (2) the Jacobs chuck is instead mounted in the headstock spindle and the piece to be drilled is held in your hand as you advance it into the spinning drill bit.

Hope this is helpful. As to how it applies to pen turning I'll have to let someone else answer.

[Jason Hallowell]

I drill my pen blanks on the lathe, and while it takes much longer, it is more accurate, and I don't mind the extra time for the few pens I make. It requires a chuck on the headstock to hold the blank, and a jacobs chuch for the tailstock to hold the drill bit. With most chucks, it is much easier to hold the blank if it is turned round between centers first. Once round, place it in the chuck, put the jacobs with the drill bit into the tailstock, move the tailstock close to the blank and lock it down, and then advance the quill into the blank. If your quill travel is not enough to go all the way through the blank, you may have to advance the tailstock again. I also like to use the lathe to square the ends of the blank rather than using a pen mill. Once the tubes are glued in, I chuck the blank up, and use a skew to square up the ends down to the brass.

[Dennis Peacock]

Bonnie,

Not a silly question at all. Mark Pruitt and Jason have you on the right track. So I'll not add any more confusion to a very clear direction. ;)

[Ron Raymond]

Pens are fun, Bonnie. Once you have the tools, the kits can be very reasonable to complete and make very thoughtful gifts. I drill like the others have stated, with a jacobs chuck in the tailstock and a 4-jaw chuck with pin jaws in the headstock. I cut my pen blanks with a hand saw (my next big tool purchase is going to be a bandsaw), then use a pen mill to true up the ends after gluing in the brass tubes. Then mount them on a pen mandrel along with appropriate bushings. Each style of pen kit requires a unique set of bushings, but you can get a set very cheaply when ordering 10 or more of a single style kit. Then you turn the blanks, finish, and assemble the pens. I have a small benchtop drill press that won't drill deep enough to do the blanks, but it works just fine as a pen press!

Russ Fairfield has some terrific tutorials online...take the time to go through these, and you'll be turning pens in no time!
http://www.woodturnerruss.com/Pen10.html

[Bonnie Campbell]

Thanks for all the information! I'll check out the links :)

Looks like more money going to be sucked into the vortex lol

[Paul Engle]

Bonnie, just a side note, there are aircraft type drill bits avail for drilling long way ( usually 6 inches long), it is just the quill on most drill presses won't go deep enuf unless you get a big commeriacl one , I use mine ( aircraft bits) on a key less chuck on the lathe but still have to advance the tail stock to get more than 2 inch deep hole as that is all the Jet 1236 will travel. Hope this helps.

[Curt Fuller]

This is how I do it...........holding the wood in talon jaws (or any secure method) you can use a brad point bit like shown or a twist drill bit or a forstner bit. My tailstock has 4 inches of travel but if you need more you can stop, slide the tailstock closer. Use a slow speed when boring.

[Bonnie Campbell]

Thanks for all the help. Looks like a jacobs chuck is on my list now. I really have liked all the pens I've seen done up. One day I'm going to have to try one. Being a pen freak (I buy store ones now and then just cuz I 'think' I need another pen lol) I'll probably slide down the pen slope pretty fast :rolleyes:

[Glenn Hodges]

Bonnie, I just drilled on my lathe this morning. I was making a handle for the new P&N gouges. It is a surefire way to get a straight hole into the handle. I hold the end of the handle with a chuck, and drill with the Jacob's in the tailstock as mentioned.

[Tom Keyser]

Spade bits are the flat ones with a head width equal to the diameter of the hole. Augur bits are spiral bits with what looks like a screw thread on the business end that acts as a center. Don't use them for drilling on a lathe (yes, I know that people do, but it's dangerous). Spade bits have a tendency to bind and snap and can be very dangerous if they are fed into the work too quickly or if the piece is rotating too fast. Besides, the thin shaft on most never feed very straight. Augur bits are self feeding (the screw center on the end 'pulls' the bit into the work piece as it turns) and can easily bind in the work piece or pull the work piece out of a chuck. Not a good thing. I suggest you stick with brad points (lip & spur bits), twist drills or Forstner bits for larger holes.

Good luck,

Tom

[Bill Wyko]

Harbor Freight has a Jacobs Chuck for under 10 bucks I think.

[Bonnie Campbell]

Okay, looks like I'll need to add bits to my list. I've got some forstners, but they aren't very long shafted (putting extension on list lol)

Sounds like a good buy on that jacobs Bill, but I'll have to put off thoughts of pen supplies until after turkey season it seems. Just got orders for 8 more calls :eek: Gettin' swamped!

[Paul Engle]

Bonnie, CS or WWS has a chuck ground for holding dowells also ( does not dimple the wood as the teeth are wide where it grips the wood in leiu of a collet chuck,the key less run about 35 $ but is nice not to have to chase the key around the shop....:D , I ordered a second for my drill press I was so impressed with it. I got mine from WWS during Dec's sale ( 28$) there are others out there.

[Bonnie Campbell]

Keyless sounds right up my alley! You don't even want to SEE my shop LOL

[Dick Strauss]

Bonnie,
FYI-I've had good luck with my MT2 chuck and 7 pc TiN coated forstner bit set (item #1903) from Harbor Freight...the chuck was $10 and the set of bits was $6-7 on sale.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=1903

I couldn't find the chuck online but it is available in many stores inside a glass display case.

Good luck,
Dick