Drilling blanks

After reading Keith`s thread about the pen blank vice & all the replies stating blanks were drilled on the lathe I got wondering if anyone used a jig on the lathe to help with the drilling?

I normally just hold a blank in a chuck with pin jaws, put a drill chuck in the tail stock with the correct sized drill fitted & drill the hole.
This works fine, but sometimes is not as accurate as I`d like. I have a couple of ideas I`d like to try on segmented blanks but it calls for very accurate drilling of the blanks once assembled, hence the need for more predictable accurate drilling.
So what techniques do you chaps employ?

Doug, i have found that drilling round blanks on the lathe always run true, also if drilling a segmented blank i sand it until i get it damn near square .. Sorry i can't help you with a jig ...

You'll find if you round the end off first you will be drilling as acurate as can be to the centre. your pin chuck will hold admireably for more accuracy use a centre finder and mark the spot to drill at then using a center drill start the hole as a guide for the next drill.
Also a tip I have not seen anybody ever ppost But I have used it many times on segmenting, drill the hole before making my cuts I know where the bloody thing with any measuring or finding its already there. then glue the blank to another the same sime size and cut all the way through, it's centered for you that way.

If you have a thicknesser then you could ensure that that all 4 sides are equal and if you have a supernova or patriot chuck you could use the patriots pen blank jaws and you will be spot on. I have the pen jaws and I think they are great for accuracy!!!!!!!

I've got to be honest with you - I've never heard so much waffle. Drill a hole by whatever means floats your boat. it has to be straight, it doesn't matter if its not in the middle of the blank as the wood with the tube rotates around the tube?

I've obviously missed something here but continue to be baffled about seeing tutorials with people using set squares to mark off the centre of the blank. Some people have too much time on their hands!!!!

Just edited this post!!

OK it's about segmented blanks, ill shut up, done one ended up as firewood, got bored make em quick sell em quicker, one day ill try a few in the new year

By and large I agree with you Neil and I have never turned segmented pens but Doug asked a question where he feels it is critical for segmented pens and I personally have tried to give an honest answer to his question!!!!

Neil said:

I've got to be honest with you - I've never heard so much waffle. Drill a hole by whatever means floats your boat. it has to be straight, it doesn't matter if its not in the middle of the blank as the wood with the tube rotates around the tube?

I've obviously missed something here but continue to be baffled about seeing tutorials with people using set squares to mark off the centre of the blank. Some people have too much time on their hands!!!!

Just edited this post!!

OK it's about segmented blanks, ill shut up, done one ended up as firewood, got bored make em quick sell em quicker, one day ill try a few in the new year

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Neil I love you to peices and you know normally I am the first to say what a load of crap cos even a bent drill still drills a straight hole just a bit bigger Its bloody hard to drill a wonky hole.
But in this case yes with some segmenting it is impotent to find and maintain the center.

Terry,

Comments weren't aimed at you, and I hope that you appreciated that I metaphorically opened gob before reading the entire context of Dougs post. segmented pens obviously have to be drilled with perfect accuracy but for the rest who cares? It doesn't make an iota of difference within reason where the hole is yet we have Alan Holtham in the record power supplement of Woodturning magazine this month with a set square drawing the centre of the top of a blank !!! What, pray, is the point of this?

There are only so many ways of drilling a hole, yet there seems to be around four hundred ways to debate it. Hole boring on the lathe can be accurate, but it can also be inaccurate, those who have made any lamp stands will testify to this. Whatever works for you is the right way, and there are no prizes for converting others to your way.

Neil said:

Whatever works for you is the right way

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This is the answer to many a thing ...

Neil said:

Terry,

Comments weren't aimed at you, and I hope that you appreciated that I metaphorically opened gob before reading the entire context of Dougs post. segmented pens obviously have to be drilled with perfect accuracy but for the rest who cares? It doesn't make an iota of difference within reason where the hole is yet we have Alan Holtham in the record power supplement of Woodturning magazine this month with a set square drawing the centre of the top of a blank !!! What, pray, is the point of this?

There are only so many ways of drilling a hole, yet there seems to be around four hundred ways to debate it. Hole boring on the lathe can be accurate, but it can also be inaccurate, those who have made any lamp stands will testify to this. Whatever works for you is the right way, and there are no prizes for converting others to your way.

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Neil I appreciate it wasn't aimed at me and as I said by and large I agree with what you say unless the drill bit for whatever reason goes off course and leaves one side of the blank a bit thin!!!! I think what Doug was driving at in segmented work is valid as I would think drilling off centre would affect the end result.

All questions are important to the person asking it, it may seem like a load of waffle, crap or rubbish to you know it alls but its not to the person asking it and there is no need to give what I consider to be rude answers it will only going to put some people of especially a newbie so can we please be a bit more civil and considerate with our answer please thank you

Terry said:

I think what Doug was driving at in segmented work is valid as I would think drilling off centre would affect the end result.

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I do quite a few of segmented pens, and can validate what Terry has said above, i have quite a few barrels in my shed that are segmented where the matching barrel has ended up in the bin, some caused by the hole not been centered some for other reasons. When the hole is off it throws the alignment out and looks really silly that i wont even give them away as freebies ...

Woody, thanks for your wise words my friend ...

I thought I saw a tutorial within the last month of a way to do segmented blanks - I'll see if I can hunt it down for you. Doug

Got it Doug... Nice little pdf for you...

rowdyyates115 said:

Got it Doug... Nice little pdf for you...

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Thanks Rowdy. I will print this off this morning and keep in my file in the shed!!!!!

Woody said:

All questions are important to the person asking it, it may seem like a load of waffle, crap or rubbish to you know it alls but its not to the person asking it and there is no need to give what I consider to be rude answers it will only going to put some people of especially a newbie so can we please be a bit more civil and considerate with our answer please thank you

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Woody, and all,

I can only be considered rude or inconsiderate by those who read what I posted, not by my interpretation of what I meant! As such I am guilty as charged, however, I did retract my comments almost immediately as I had taken out of context what Doug wrote, as my initial speed read of the post missed that he was referring to segmented pens, a subject which anyone who has actually got further than gluing the blank has more experience than me as I gave up when drilling the hole as it split into four equal bits of fire wood when I stuck the drill down the middle!

On this subject what surprises me, is that that if you have a pillar drill, why would you want to drill on the lathe? it requires a change of chuck and or jaws, is much slower, requires changing the tail stock centre, with the exception of course if you are drilling a segmented pen blank?

Before I disappeared to Germany I drilled about 200 blanks in a couple of hours Not something most will ever do, but it was done with a high degree of accuracy and left enough time out of the two hours for a cup of coffee! Think if I had drilled it on the lathe I wouldn't have achieved any higher quality and would have been there for the best part of a week.

I will try and have a go at making a segmented pen next week, been thinking about having a bit of fun experimenting rather than working at the lathe and then you can all rip it to bits and tell me what a cock up I've made of it.

Doug, the way I've always drilled my blanks is, I have the drill bit mounted on the headstock and a revolving centre in the tailstock then with the centre marked on both ends of the blank and with the lathe switched off put the blank between the drill bit and revolving centre and then hold the blank with a pair of water pump pliers turn on the lathe and push the blank onto the drill either by winding out the tailstock or by just pushing it along the bed, just remember that if the blank is the finished length a packer will be needed when nearly through to stop the drill hitting the revolving centre.
Steve

loftyhermes said:

Doug, the way I've always drilled my blanks is, I have the drill bit mounted on the headstock and a revolving centre in the tailstock then with the centre marked on both ends of the blank and with the lathe switched off put the blank between the drill bit and revolving centre and then hold the blank with a pair of water pump pliers turn on the lathe and push the blank onto the drill either by winding out the tailstock or by just pushing it along the bed, just remember that if the blank is the finished length a packer will be needed when nearly through to stop the drill hitting the revolving centre.
Steve

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Steve,

I don't wish to be rude or inconsiderate but the way you do it sounds dangerous.
We all know how drill bits snap & break on a whim, as can pen blanks & you holding a blank whilst it is drilled, albeit with a pair of pliers, just makes me cringe.
Imagine the drill bit or blank breaks, your hand / arm shoots forward and scrapes along the rotating drill bit in the headstock.
Sorry, but the more I think of this the more dangerous it seems.

Again, I don't wish to be rude or inconsiderate but I felt I had to point the above out.

I may be new to this but from my engineering apprenticeship days you'd have been sent home for a week to think about that method.

Surely a chuck and the drill in the tail stock is safer not say more accurate?

That's how I do mine , or the pillar drill.

stevenw1963 said:

Steve,

I don't wish to be rude or inconsiderate but the way you do it sounds dangerous.
We all know how drill bits snap & break on a whim, as can pen blanks & you holding a blank whilst it is drilled, albeit with a pair of pliers, just makes me cringe.
Imagine the drill bit or blank breaks, your hand / arm shoots forward and scrapes along the rotating drill bit in the headstock.
Sorry, but the more I think of this the more dangerous it seems.

Again, I don't wish to be rude or inconsiderate but I felt I had to point the above out.

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Now you're being selfish, being rude and inconsiderate at the same time. One at a time please, be inconsiderate next week.

Steve,

Got to agree with Steven, it does seem a rather unconventional way of acheiving the objective and does leave you with all hands tied up in case of emergencies such as trying to switch the lathe off when your left hand is tied up holding the pliers to stop the blank revolving.