Drilling advice

[Antpens]

Hi,

My drill press has very little depth and I'm struggling to get dead centre holes when drilling both sides. Do you have any suggestions?

I saw you can drill on the lathe but not sure where to start as I don't have a chuck, what kind would I need?

 

[Burt25]

Hi,

My drill press has very little depth and I'm struggling to get dead centre holes when drilling both sides. Do you have any suggestions?

I saw you can drill on the lathe but not sure where to start as I don't have a chuck, what kind would I need?

Ant,
Dont waste your time on the drill press if you cant get all the way through in one go, I dont think you will ever get the holes to line up.

You will need a Jacobs chuck for your tailstock with suitable morse taper and a scroll chuck with jaws which will allow holding of your pen blank securely. Drill at a slow speed regularly withdrawing the drill bit to clear the flutes. I have a drill press which can go the full depth of my blanks, but I now only drill on the lathe.

 

[21William]

Yes, what Ian said. What I do is turn the blank between centres until round then put it into the chuck and drill it.

 

[Antpens]

ah I see, how many jaws would you recommend, i also can't seem to see how you attach them as they all appear to be threaded as opposed to MT

 

[Bammer]

You can still use the drill press, just drill as normal then raise the bed so the bit is located in the hole and drill the rest out.

Use what you got without extra expense, try it first

 

[Penpal]

I feel the two jaw chucks on the lathe are best.

Peter.

 

[AllenN]

I managed with Axminster C jaws quite well for ages. More recently I put some Axminster pen jaws on the chuck which also work well. Not sure they are a huge improvement but they are a bit easier and more secure. If you buy a chuck C jaws are more generally useful. I don’t usually turn to round first as you can hold a square section quite securely in both types of jaw.
Morse taper Jacobs chucks are readily available. If you can find one which is drilled to take a drawbar that might be a good option because it gives you another tool in your turning armoury since it allows you to safely use the Jacobs chuck in the headstock too. I would not do that without a drawbar since there is a risk of a morse taper coming loose at a critical moment. I know a lot of people do, but I wouldn’t, I just don’t want to take the risk.
To drill a blank as has been said you have the drill bit held in the Jacobs chuck in the tailstock and rotate the blank. If the mores taper spins in may be a nuisance but nothing more.

 

[xjr1300]

Hi Ant, this is what I use. The pen jaws are great for drilling segmented blanks and I also use a centre drill bit to start.

Pat

 

[21William]

A centre drill is better than nothing to start a hole but I prefer a spotting drill. 6mm or 8mm is a good size, they aren’t very expensive.

HSS 8% Cobalt 90 Deg Uncoated NC Spot Drill D2306 | Cutwel Ltd - Drill Suppliers

 

[Bill Mooney]

You’ve been given some good advice there. Try Brads advice first as it won’t cost you anything but a little bit of time.

 

[xjr1300]

A centre drill is better than nothing to start a hole but I prefer a spotting drill. 6mm or 8mm is a good size, they aren’t very expensive.

HSS 8% Cobalt 90 Deg Uncoated NC Spot Drill D2306 | Cutwel Ltd - Drill Suppliers

I haven't seen those before, will be ordering one tonight. cheers William

Pat

 

[Penpal]

I like the centre drill with its shoulder champher cut as well as its sturdy construction, a range of choices in sizes.

Peter.

 

[wm460]

I do the same as Pat.

 

[21William]

I haven't seen those before, will be ordering one tonight. cheers William

Pat

The clue is in the name really. A spotting drill is for accurately spotting, or starting a hole. A centre drill is for making a recess for turning between centres, it generates clearance for the tip of the live centre.

I was turning a very small component on my metal lathe some years ago and when complete I couldn’t help notice the hole in it was not concentric. I’d used a centre drill to start the hole off and it obviously wandered. After it landed in the bin I ordered a couple of spotting drills and I’ve never had the same problem again. The replacement part was spot on!

I use a Metal Lathe and a Milling machine and use spotting drills for every job that needs a hole in it.