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Drilling Pen Blanks

M

mervyn cadman

Full Member
Joined
Jun 19, 2013
Posts
86
Location
Colchester - Essex
Hi all well at first I used a heavy pillar drill for drilling all my blanks and had great results and used that method for years I tried drilling blanks on my Nova DVR 3000 and the results where terrible so I went back to the pillar drill then I got this lathe the JWL 1220VS used the same chucking system and the results a 100% better, I cannot fault the Colt drills they are well worth the money.

So my pillar drill now is sitting there doing nothing - just wounding if it’s worth keeping.

Merv
 
Jim

Jim

Grand Master
Joined
Oct 19, 2011
Posts
15,617
I have a Nova DVR XP Merv, which i drill all my blanks on, some i turn round mainly the Burr's, others as square all using the 4 long pinned jaws with great success .. I also got rid of my pillar drill as it became redundant and took up valuable space ... :ciggrin:
 
yorkshireman

yorkshireman

Wood Rat
Executive Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2013
Posts
5,206
Location
wrexham
First Name
Keith
mervyn cadman said:
So my pillar drill now is sitting there doing nothing - just wounding if it’s worth keeping.

Merv
Click to expand...


Merv you've got this penturning thing all wrong. The whole idea is to have as many tools as possible even of you don't need them. Sit down and have a nice cup of tea and the feeling will soon pass and then you'll be reaching for the axminster catalogue. Trust me I know.

keith
 
Jim

Jim

Grand Master
Joined
Oct 19, 2011
Posts
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yorkshireman said:
Merv you've got this penturning thing all wrong. The whole idea is to have as many tools as possible even of you don't need them. Sit down and have a nice cup of tea and the feeling will soon pass and then you'll be reaching for the axminster catalogue. Trust me I know.

keith
Click to expand...

That just sounded as thou i was reading a page from my autobiography ... :ciggrin:
 
M

mervyn cadman

Full Member
Joined
Jun 19, 2013
Posts
86
Location
Colchester - Essex
Hi Jim great lathe mate the Nova I have the first model with the out rigger, I think mine might be slightly off centre maybe why it was causing me problems with drilling, I might have to make my pillar drill redundant too Jim and yes space would be used with something else but the day I get rid of it will be the day I need it.

While we're on the subject Jim I'm just re-edited a video clipping that I'm uploading to Youtube as we speak - the video is drilling on the lathe testing the Colt drill with timber blanks and resing as soon as it's done I will post it here if you like Jim.

Merv
 
yorkshireman

yorkshireman

Wood Rat
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Posts
5,206
Location
wrexham
First Name
Keith
mervyn cadman said:
LOL - Keith I agree mate but I have one of those things called a wife, she's the one who do the accounts so it's a little hard to get new tooling - unless I sack her!:thinks::thinks::thinks::mooney2:
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The one thing we'll never beat Merv is petticoat management and I've been trying for 25 years. I've been with the wife so long she's starting to feel like one of the family.

keith
 
Jim

Jim

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Joined
Oct 19, 2011
Posts
15,617
mervyn cadman said:
While we're on the subject Jim I'm just re-edited a video clipping that I'm uploading to Youtube as we speak - the video is drilling on the lathe testing the Colt drill with timber blanks and resing as soon as it's done I will post it here if you like Jim.

Merv
Click to expand...

Please do Merv, the colt drills are superb, i do all my 7 and 10mm with these bits, thou on the odd occasion i have been a little hasty with resin or acrylics and melted rather than cut ... Then had to spend a while removing the stuck gunge from the end of the drill ... :ciggrin:
 
Penpal

Penpal

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Joined
May 26, 2013
Posts
25,342
Location
Canberra AUSTRALIA
First Name
Peter
Jim, If this sounds familiar dismiss it however using a Pillar Drill and an X Y axis vice fitted with metal jaws that have a full horizontal double Vee horizizontal and three vertical Vees in Metal available in the USA (I found them again a few mths ago and my mate bought the jaws can get the details from him) but easily made in hard wood. If you could see my blanks especially cut from burl and Olive where I chase the grain using the bandsaw they can be very irregular. I have cut up to 100 at a time pairs of 1/2 inch square Corian and drilled them centred by eye successfully in batches one after the other in fact I leave the drill run for the whole process, I never use wood under the blanks nor have splits etc have drilled 400 timber sets in a session only use drill point drills that run true cost little and sharp as and throw away for around five our dollars cheap as chips.

For at least 18 yrs used my method having exhausted all so called easier methods same old pillar drill dedicated to the Pens. Amortised in .000 per pair IMHO. I can drill more than 10 my way while you round one then drill yours. Anything in pens that is repetitive is broken down to simple and best practice for me. Its all in the Vee jaws.

Longworth chucks were made en mass by our Wood Guild so many years ago as a group project. Now one Saturday at a mates place he fired up his Longworth Chuck at 3000 revs with a fair number of us it sounded like a V2 Rocket he switched it off quickly tried to slow it down cut his hand it slowed spun off tore his shirt and chest breaking his Sternum so dear readers if you as much as contemplate this most useful Chuck make sure you have a grub screw to hold it onto the base on the stem. Horrible experience never for the faint hearted or drilling blanks.

Please stay safe Peter.
 
Jim

Jim

Grand Master
Joined
Oct 19, 2011
Posts
15,617
That is an excellent video Merv, and a big thank you for the link, it is very much appreciated ... :thumbs:

Regarding the colt drill i have used two in as many years of the 7mm one and i have had the same 10mm over the same period. I use 800rpm on the resins and acrylics, thou i did go in at 1500rpm when i first bought them, but i have reduced this due to the melting issue i mention above. Wood at 500rpm .. The oily woods do congeal the drill and i have to retract the drill much more with these woods, if you don't it does make the drill hole slightly larger ... But as you say in the video, they do a great job... :thumbs:
 
Old Corky

Old Corky

Full Member
Joined
Jun 19, 2013
Posts
54
Location
Pine Island,Texas, USA
I don't know if you have Harbor Freight stores or the equivalent (Cheap imported tools) in England but I bought a 5 speed bench drill press for $69.00 two years ago and have had no problems drilling blanks. That's cheaper then a good hand drill.
I also use their 1 in. x 30 in. Belt Sander to square blank ends $39.99, works great.

Old Corky
 
Walter

Walter

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Apr 22, 2013
Posts
2,698
Location
Amble on the sunny Northumberland coast.
First Name
Walter
Jimjam66 said:
I'm another who doesn't have the kit to drill on the lathe, which got me thinking about Longworth chucks. The tail stock drill chuck is pretty cheap (£11 at Axminster), but the headstock chuck is big $$$. Has anyone here built a Longworth chuck, and if so do you have any tips?

David
Click to expand...

Yep, and wrote a magazine article about it. It is available on line here

Any questions just ask and I will help any way I can. :thumbs:

Walter
 
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