Drilling Pen Blanks

[Mike Goetzke]

I haven't made a pen in a few years. Several years back I bought a box full of pen (and other small spindle turning) tools, jigs, and kits from someone moving away from turning. There was a nice drilling center vice to use on the DP.

Is it better to drill blanks on the DP or on the lathe?


Thanks

[Charles Grauer]

I drill them on the drill press. Use that centering vise.

[Clark Hussey]

I’m with Charles on using the vice.

[Robert Hayward]

I drill them on the lathe with a set of pen blank jaws in a little Nova G3 chuck.

[Thomas Canfield]

Pen drilling jig.JPG Photo shows simple homemade jig to hold blanks if you have a fence for clamping. Not perfect centers, but very fast and cheap. 2 pieces of wood and hinge with notch cut in one board. Just squeeze to hold and drill away. Best to allow a relief on one board for shavings and drill over a waste board as shown. I mark blanks with marks at center on one face and then index the blanks with marks same to get the holes to match when the blanks are stacked and then being slightly off center is not critical for most blanks.

[Steve Eure]

I took a wood screw clamp and cut two V notches one on each jaw and use that on my drill press. As long as the clamp is flat to the DP table, I get a good drill hole.

[John A Murray]

I drill them on the lathe with a set of pen blank jaws in a little Nova G3 chuck.

This is my preferred method as well.

[David Bassett]

I'll chime in, not because I do pens, but because this reminds me of a lesson in a (metal) machining class long ago.

I think the answer depends on your equipment and your process.

A drill press will give you a hole the diameter of your drill bit. Any misalignment will put the hole off center.

A lathe will give you a hole that is centered. Any misalignment will make the hole oversized.

If you drill and mount centered on the hole, you can turn the blank round. So, it seems like for most sequences the drill press is arguably better, but the lathe might win in some special cases. (And I'd guess the error either way is small enough this is more a "number of angels on a pin" type discussion.)

[Robert Hayward]

[QUOTE=David Bassett;2982960]
A lathe will give you a hole that is centered. Any misalignment will make the hole oversized.

If your headstock and tailstock are properly aligned you still get the same size hole as your drill bit, off centered or not. Just like a drill press.

[Stan Calow]

Not an expert, but have run a few dozen at a time more than once. I think it might depend on how regular (square) your blanks are. I cannot get a blank to sit perpendicularly in the holder on a drill press if not. Oversize blanks give room for error, but if you're working with small pieces, I prefer drilling on the lathe with the pen blank jaws.

[David Bassett]

A lathe will give you a hole that is centered. Any misalignment will make the hole oversized.

If your headstock and tailstock are properly aligned you still get the same size hole as your drill bit, off centered or not. Just like a drill press.

If your drill bit is aligned with and centered on your lathe's axis of rotation, yes you get a hole the size of the drill bit.

Since wood turning chucks are self centering, I didn't consider the case where your blank is offset from that axis of rotation. But yes, if you have a metal working 4-jaw check or an unusual misalignment in your wood turning chuck or you use some other mounting mechanism (e.g. off center face plate?) you'll get a offset hole of the drill's diameter.

Any offset or misalignment of the drill bit from the center of the blanks axis of rotation will only cut on the outside of the tool creating a larger hole. (Think of cutting a recess with a tool, the further off center line the larger the diameter.)