Drilling Pen Blanks

[Mike Rushing]

Would to recommend drilling your pen blanks on the lathe or drill press? I would need a vice for the drill press and would not know what I would need for the lathe. If you had to do it what way would you go and what would you buy.

[David E Keller]

I usually drill them on a drill press with a homemade clamp vice... It's fast and easy. If I'm only making one pen or it's a difficult material, I'll drill them on the lathe. I think the lathe is safer and more accurate, but it takes me longer. YMMV

[Bernie Weishapl]

I drill all of mine on a drill press. The longer the throw the better.

[David Christopher]

I use the drill press...you can make a homemade jig to hold the blanks

[Michael James]

I use the drill press for 99%. Get a wooden clamp `12 with twist screws and cut a notch on both sides deep enough to grab a corner of your blank. I usually double check square with a mini machinist square and help hold in place with a spring clamp. When the bit has gone as far as it will go, slide the blank up the bit and stick a piece of 2x4 under it to go through...supports the bottom drill through...have not lost any blanks at THAT end. Im sure there's a bajillion ways of doing it....this is what works for me. Same process for barrel trimming, except flip the clamp over to do the 2nd side.
Watch out.... harmless pen turning is how I fell in this rabbit hole!
mj

[Paul Douglass]

I do it on the lathe 90' of the time. But I don't have a very good drill press. I feel the lathe is more accurate.

[David Drickhamer]

I drill 99% of mine on the lathe.

[Gary Herrmann]

DP for me.

As Michael mentioned, you can notch a hand screw and you've got a clamp that will work well.

[Matt Ranum]

I use a DP as well. I put a set of notched wood jaws over the original jaws to hold them.

[bob svoboda]

DP with small vise.

[Robert McGowen]

I never would have thought that there would be such a division of opinions. Having drilled blanks both ways, I personally think that the lathe and a jacob's chuck is much easier and more accurate.

[Mark Hix]

lathe, almost exclusively. I have started rounding my blanks now and drilling using a collet chuck.

[Karl Card]

I have to wonder or ask "how is drilling on a lathe" more accurate than a drill press? Do you mean a good drill press with a good self centering clamp or do you mean a small drill press that doesnt have the right setup or the right clamp? I have a very large drill press and I have done both drilling with the lathe and drill press and I find both to be the same as far as getting the hole in the center but I find the lathe more cumbersome to manuever than the drill press.