Drilling 6" Blanks

[Lou Anderson]

I'm trying to figure out an efficient way to drill out 6" pen blanks. I have to do these in a large quantity (50) and we'll be doing it frequently.

I found a source for our bits which are ~7" long. The drill press we have only has a 3" stroke. Most all the drill-presses i've researched have a travel that is at the most 6" for an "extra-long" travel.

Boring out the blanks with the lathe is a bit shaky. Not a big fan of doing that since we have a small-ish CNC lathe.

Is there an easier solution to this that I'm not thinking of?

[Rusty Smith]

I've had an occasion where I don't have enough stroke in the DP. What I do is stop the DP, loosen the table and crank it up so that the drill bit is inside the blank. I then tighten everything down so that it stays aligned and finish drilling. Doing this for 50 blanks would be a pain in the back-side. I would strongly consider doing this on the lathe.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

If you're going to do a lot of 50 pen batches, bite the bullet and get a DP with sufficient travel. There's no easy way around that. If you do the stop and raise the table trick, a lot of times you'll have a small ridge in the blank where you moved the table. It makes glue up a little more tricky, and a possible failure point.

[Rob Cunningham]

Why not drill the blanks from both ends? Drill one end 3" deep, flip it over and drill the other 3"

[Kyle Iwamoto]

95% of the time the holes will not line up ever again... Even if you bolt down your table vise. Been there tried that, wasted some blanks. I found it better to stop and move the blank. What I ended up doing was (don't try this at home, I'm a paid professional ) stopping and holding the blank (with gloves, like that would help) and drilling the rest. Like I said, don't try that at home. I was young and stupid. Now I'm older.

[Robert McGowen]

Maybe I am missing something, but I would just set the drill's table 6" below the point of the drill bit. Put the 6" blank under the bit and drill 3" deep. Slide a 3" block of wood under the blank that still has the drill bit in it and drill the other 3". Slide the block out from underneath the blank, slide the blank off of the drill bit, and start another one. Like I said, I could be missing something here, but it seems pretty simple.

[curtis rosche]

or, clamp up the blank. then use some clamps and wood to make it so that the drill press table cant move side to side. then instead of moving the qill on the drill press just move the table.

the better way to do it on the lathe. put your chuck into the tailstock and the head stock. use the tailstock to hold the wood. so the wood stays stationary

[Thom Sturgill]

Just an idea -
On the lathe, mount the chuck / drillbit in the headstock. Build a jig that mounts on the ways and guides the blank as it is pushed onto the drill. For safety and stability, it should completely capture the blank. Think of a box structure that bolts to the ways with a guide block on the bottom to align it. Add two guide strips on top for the blank to slide between and a hinged plexiglas top to fully capture the blank while letting you see whats happening.

This would require that either the blanks are VERY consistantly sized or that the jig is easily modified or that you have several versions. Shims might work.

Create some sort of lever or handle to push the blank on and off of the bit. If the near edge exposes about 1/4" of the blank, a push stick that rides along the guide could bite into the exposed corner of the blank with a piece of saw blade. Should provide enough grip and would only damage an area that gets turned off anyway.

Or just bite the bullet and get a bigger drill press

[Bruce Shiverdecker]

Just because I'm nosey, but what pen calls for a 6" blank?

Bruce

[Paul Atkins]

I make blanks (never made a pen yet) larger than needed and drill from one end on the lathe. Even if the drill drifts a bit, the hole is used to index the part so the bore ends up being dead center. An eighth inch aircraft bit 12" long wanders a bit, but once started, you can grip with vise-grips or whatever and push with the tailstock loosened.

[David Walser]

Maybe I am missing something, but I would just set the drill's table 6" below the point of the drill bit. Put the 6" blank under the bit and drill 3" deep. Slide a 3" block of wood under the blank that still has the drill bit in it and drill the other 3". Slide the block out from underneath the blank, slide the blank off of the drill bit, and start another one. Like I said, I could be missing something here, but it seems pretty simple.

I'm quoting Robert to give him proper credit. When I've had an occasional need to drill farther than the quill will travel, I've resorted to drilling & then raising the table to drill again. When I've needed to repetitively drill farther than the quill will travel, I've found it quicker to loosen my self-centering drill vise, insert a block under the blank, retighten the vise, and complete the drilling. An added benefit of this approach is that it provides a backer board that helps prevent blowout.

Here's a link to a picture of the type of vise I use. It works very well for pen blanks (which is what it was designed for). My concern with this type of vise for your use is the vise has two rods that connect the vise jaws on each side of the opening for the pen blank. This might make it difficult to slip a 3" block in, but two shorter blocks should not be a problem.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...43162#poststop

Please don't take the text accompanying the photo seriously. It was a joke!

[Bernie Vail]

Why not just take the easy way, cut the blank in half and drill both halves? It doesn't matter if the holes are out of line because when you turn the two halves they will of course be lined up on the mandrel.

[Robert McGowen]

I'm quoting Robert to give him proper credit.

At least I will not have to hunt you down now..........

The other thing that no one has mentioned yet, which makes the "just put the block under the blank method" very workable, is that I don't see how you are going to drill a blank 6" deep without backing out the bit to clear the shavings out of the hole at some point. In my extremely expert opinion, (self-proclaimed of course) if you try to drill 6" deep without clearing out the hole, the bit will get stuck in the blank, the blank will crack from the heat build up, the blank will crack from the pressure, the exit hole will blow out, you will get mad and kick the dog, the wife will take the dog to the vet, the bill will be $500, etc., etc. Just one more thing to think about.

I think I need to stop taking pain medication from my knee surgery while responding to posts........... Good luck!

[Allen Neighbors]

Robert and David and I make three.
I sometimes use those 7" bits (forget their brand name), in a homemade 2x4 drilling jig. When I have to go deeper than the quill travel, I stop the Drill Press, raise the jig and the pen blank (drill bit still in it), put a block under the jig, and continue drilling. Just make sure the block is square (true with the table).
With those bits (CSUSA sells them) they are advertised as drilling 6 inches without having to clear the bit. And they will do it. As long as the wood isn't gummy with sap.