Tailstock drill chuck,,, you probably have one already

[Ray7756]

was looking for a way to drill through bullet heads for pens, and while messing with my drill press I realised the drill chuck is on a morse taper , this was quickly removed and taken to my loft to try it on my lathe (axminster) and it fits on both the tailstock and headstock, so now all I have to do is find another chuck with the same taper and I can drill on my lathe,
Cheers
Ray

 

[Bill Mooney]

 

[Lons]

I'd be a bit careful with that though as being morse taper it's held only by pressure and several things can happen, unless you can fix it with a draw bar.

* The chuck is likely to come loose in the taper as there is no counter pressure when the drill breaks through or is withdrawn so it will either snag on the drill bit,a common factor when drilling brass, and will spin in the taper possibly causing damage or will come out and maybe even break the drill which can be dangerous.

Worth wearing a heavy glove in case you need to grab the thing though not advising that either. It's almost an instinctive reaction though.

Better spending some cash on a scroll chuck than a second drill chuck imo.

Bob

 

[flexi]

I use a collet chuck on my headstock and drill chuck in the tail stock......works for me

 

[Ray7756]

I use a collet chuck on my headstock and drill chuck in the tail stock......works for me

Totally agree a long as you re not stupid and realise the possibilities of trouble ,,,trouble can be avoided
Cheers
Ray

 

[Lons]

Totally agree a long as you re not stupid and realise the possibilities of trouble ,,,trouble can be avoided
Cheers
Ray

Have I misunderstood your post Ray?
The way I read it was that you want to use a morse taper drill chuck in both ends of the lathe.

I use a scroll chuck with pen jaws fitted in the headstock and morse taper drill chuck in the tail which is by far my preferred method of drilling.

 

[flexi]

I think Ray was specificaly refferring to drilling bullets.....not pen blanks......

 

[Ray7756]

Hi Bob no misunderstanding , unless I can pick up a cheap self centring chuck, the plan is to drill bullets to make bullet pen using 2x morse taper chucks, I know its not ideal but as long as you make sure each taper is well fitted and you don't rush things it will be fine, I would NOT recommend anyone else try this(that's my ass covered)

Cheers
Ray

 

[Lons]

Hi Bob no misunderstanding , unless I can pick up a cheap self centring chuck, the plan is to drill bullets to make bullet pen using 2x morse taper chucks, I know its not ideal but as long as you make sure each taper is well fitted and you don't rush things it will be fine, I would NOT recommend anyone else try this(that's my ass covered)

Cheers
Ray

OK I stand by my initial post then Ray, just watch your digits matey.

I drill the bullet cases held in the pen jaws of my scroll chuck but if you ain't got one then you make do. I'd probably do the same TBH even though I know the risks. had a few close calls doing stupid things, managed to put a 90mm nail through a finger with a Paslode gas nail gun - don't ask.

 

[Ray7756]

Bob I bet I have done more stupid chance taking things than you could imagine
Ray

 

[Lons]

Bob I bet I have done more stupid chance taking things than you could imagine
Ray

Yebbut I've got more miles on the clock than you so betcha I'm still ahead.

 

[Penpal]

Some discussion in this Pi.....g competition. When I drill bullets I use the special ground drills for brass with success . Not all tail stocks are hollow to use a draw bar.

Peter.

 

[Lons]

My morse taper drill chuck doesn't have a drawbar Peter but not a problem as the bullet case is firmly held in the scroll chuck so if the drill bit did catch it's not really a problem. I hold the smooth part of the chuck as I withdraw it which I know is frowned upon so would say very clearly that I do not advise others to do likewise, I'm aware of the risks and am very careful.

I have absolutely no issues drilling with sharp, good quality HSS drill bits but it's not difficult to regrind angles specifically for brass or buy bits ready ground, I just dont see the point tbh. You're drilling through just a few mm not great chunks of the stuff after all. A different matter if I'm drilling a thick piece on my little metal lathe.

cheers
Bob

 

[wm460]

Here's how to drill brass.

Drilling Brass: the easy and safe way | handycrowd.com

 

[Penpal]

If you are drilling through a thin layer of copper or brass or a thick amount of copper or lead in some bullets it sure is easy with the brass bits.

Peter.

 

[21William]

I have four drill chucks, two on MT3 arbors for use in my milling machine and another two on MT2 for lathe use. None of the arbors are threaded for a draw bar. If I wanted to drill a bullet I would use one of my collet chucks.

Bullets can be made from a variety of materials but I’ve not seen a brass one?

 

[wm460]

ER 2 collets and chuck are cheap enough, so are ER 32, get a bit pricey if you go to ER 40.

 

[21William]

ER32 is a good choice for modest size machines. I have ER32 chucks for my metal lathe, milling machine and wood lathe.

 

[wm460]

ER 25 collet Range 1 - 16mm
ER 32 collet Range 5 - 20mm
ER 40 collet Range 3-26mm

 

[21William]

ER32 collets commonly start at 2mm and ER40 at 3mm.

ER Collets - Arc Euro Trade

The maximum bore of my lathe is only 20mm so it made sense for me to go for ER32. If you have a large lathe ER40 May be a better choice.