Drill press or lathe?

[fortress]

I am just curious to know Who uses what to achieve a perfectly centred hole in your blanks.
I used to use a drill press but I found it was hit and miss, unreliable really.
Now I use the old Jacobs chuck and am very pleased with that.

 

[Oke Craft]

Drill press with a proper pen vice. Every time.

 

[billyb_imp]

Always drill on the lathe

 

[21William]

What I do is to mark the centre on both ends of the blank and centre drill with a power drill. I then turn the blank between centres until cylindrical. I then re-mount the blank in the chuck jaws for drilling. No fancy jigs required and a perfectly central hole every time.

 

[Scots Bill]

The quill travel on my small drill press makes it simpler to just use the lathe, even then!

 

[Woody]

I used to use a pillar drill all the time with a cross vice with perfect and quicker results every time but now I only have a small pillar drill so I drill on the lathe but to be honest if I did have a bigger pillar drill I would revert back to it without any hesitation

 

[bassethound]

Lathe all the time for me!

 

[Penpal]

Both when needed. Normally the bench drill and X and Y movement Vice on a micro adjusting precision base just cause my mate gave me the precision base for the vice. I use the lathe (metal) for precision also.

Peter.

 

[edlea]

Never owned a pillar drill so its lathe for me .

 

[chas_41_uk]

Used to use the Pillar Drill, but now use the lathe

 

[Lons]

Same as Chas despite having a decent Meddings drill press. Quick and easy on the lathe and I can count on one hand the number of times it's been even slightly off centre. I don't experience blow outs either.

The only time I would consider the drill press these days was if I was using a seriously "banana" shaped blank.

If you do a search on the forum, the subject has been discussed and argued about at great length and you'll probably get all the information you need. Best advice is use the method that suits you personally.

 

[apw43]

The lathe for me mate

 

[Jim]

Lathe every time for me ..

 

[Dalboy]

Mainly on the lathe but if I can't be bothered to change the jaws then the drill press. Both ways work for me

 

[Themackay]

Always used the lathe myself

 

[Bill Mooney]

Pillar drill with self centring vice works better for me. With this vice there's no problem with different size blanks, the hole is still in the centre.

 

[wm460]

Mostly on my lathe, occasionally on my drill press, a couple times on my mill.

 

[Terry Q]

I back the bit out frequently to clear chips. I find that very annoying on the lathe. So, drill press for me.

 

[fortress]

Thanks everybody, I asked for no particular reason other than curiosity.
With the drill press it was very fiddly getting the bed just right so that it drilled to the bottom but had clearance at the top, and after all that, inconsistent results.
So now, lathe every time, accuracy every time.

 

[monophoto]

First - the hole doesn't have to be 'perfectly centered' in the blank. The only requirement is that there be enough wood around the tube to be able to turn the desired profile.

I don't make many kit pens, but when I do Ihave generally used a drill press to drill the blanks.

I do make a lot of '12 cent pens' and those are always drilled on teh lathe. Since the blanks that I use have a fairly small profile (typically 1/2", and sometimes even smaller), it is necessary that the hole be precise so I take lots of time. Also, the drill bit is 9/64" and tends to flex - that also means that it is necessary to be more careful. l The approach that I use is:
1. With the blank held in a four-jaw chuck, use the tip of a 'starter bit' to start the hole.
2. Move to a 'jobber-length' 9/64" bit that is held in the jacobs chuck with only about 1/2" of bit exposed for drilling to minimize the amount of flex.
3. Remount the bit to expose the full length of flute, and continue drilling
4. Switch to an 'aircraft style bit (6" long), and continue drilling. The final hole has to be 5" deep, but I back the bit out every 1" to clear the swarf. I have the lathe running at about 5oo r/m, and advance the bit into the wood very slowly so that the bit can actually cut a hole. Forcing th4e bit into the wood almust guarantees that the bit will wander with the grain in the wood.