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Newbie from Nottingham saying Hi.

G

Gardenshed37

Apprentice Member
Joined
Oct 27, 2019
Posts
2
Location
Nottingham
First Name
Simon
Good Morning everyone, I’m new to pen turning but have had a lathe for a while and have made some bowls and other random objects, mostly from bits of old wood that I find lying around the woods surrounding my home, I love making what some people throw away into something useful or attractive and have been known to drag old bits of furniture or tree root balls out of builders skips!
I do have a beginners question , why do some of the pen kits from Axminster seem to have imperial size for the drill bits? And other are metric, Axminster seem to recommend a 7mm bit for most projects.

Kind regards
Simon
 
Penpal

Penpal

Grand Master
Joined
May 26, 2013
Posts
25,342
Location
Canberra AUSTRALIA
First Name
Peter
Hi and welcome to this forum Smon. Confusions exist and have for a long time now liken it to Brexit procrastination and indecision abounds the way Australia was settled etc.I use tapes marked in both imperial and in metric measurements. Whoever in their right mind could imagine how buildings would use mm,s in their plans in this country Australia. I am sure you have had to learn these things being so close to and being absorbed into Europe for some time now.we changed in the sixties and seventies. Our eldest daughter was in the last classes at school that had to learn both systems then proceed in metric...

Enjoy your entry in to penmaking ,have fun mate.

Kind regards Peter.
 
fortress

fortress

Registered
Joined
Apr 11, 2016
Posts
5,178
Location
Astley
First Name
John
Hello Simon and welcome to the forum, we use imperial measurements now because haven’t you heard? We’re out of Europe now. Lol. :funny::funny:
 
flexi

flexi

Executive Member
Joined
Sep 12, 2014
Posts
6,457
Location
Maidstone
First Name
mark
Hello mate, welcome to the forum!!
Metric and Imperial well there's a conundrum, simple answer to your question Axminster have been importing American kits and as we all know the Americans still use Imperial units.....as to others well I think you'll find a right mixture throughout our hobby. I have both an imperial and metric set of drill bits and a vernier gauge . I then use what ever is closest( which with some manufacturers is not the recommend size they give:whistling:
Just to add to the confusion)
My bit sets came from Machine mart, but others will recommend drill bits UK as a good supplier.
 
Dalboy

Dalboy

Executive Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2014
Posts
7,708
Location
Kent
First Name
Derek
Hi Simon and welcome there are plenty on here who can answer any questions so fire away.


Mark AKA Flexi has summed it up nicely, it depends on where the kits originate from. I have used Drill bits UK and they were quick with their order I just ended up with a number of boxes of drill bits of the same size as I did not read the description correctly:goesred::goesred::goesred:. Never mind I am sure they will come in handy
 
pittswood

pittswood

Fellow
Joined
Mar 14, 2016
Posts
1,321
Location
Rhigos, South Wales
First Name
Kelvin
Hi Simon,
Welcome to the fold. Just to add more to the confusion, some kits even use "letter" sized drills. Mainly, get a good set of metric and English size drills.
Kelvin
 
A

AllenN

Fellow
Joined
May 20, 2013
Posts
2,245
Location
Lancaster, UK
First Name
Allen
Welcome to the forum Simon. Mark is quite wise when he says get yourself a vernier caliper and measure the tubes etc. I find they are not always consistent even with the same kit so use the old adage measure twice and cut once. You will find you do not use as meany different sizes as you expect but getting a set of imperial and a set of metric will cover most things. Cheaper is to buy the sizes you need as you need them. UK Drills and Tracy Tools have more sizes than you can imagine, the latter have excellent service. Another useful thing is a centre drill or even better a spot drill. This is a rigid small drill which lets you start the hole more accurately, and then once started the selected size drill will follow more accurately. You only really need one size of these.
I find that for wood blanks ordinary jobbers drill bits are fine but do keep them sharp. For acrylics I prefer Dewalt extreme bits ( if you can find the correct size) but the real key with any of the plastics is to take it slowly, they do not like heat!
 
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