Drilling pen blanks, general help

[Tim Vice]

Is it better to cut the pens in half before drilling?
Also how musc longer should the blank be than the pen, will there be any chipping while drilling(I'm sure it depends on the material)

I'm new to pens and would like to learn right the first time

Any information that you have on the do's and don't is appriciated, like I said I have never done pens.

Thanks

[John Fricke]

I havn't done a lot of pens but I always drill each piece individually. I usually cut the pieces 1/8 - 1/4 long then use a 3/4 cutter to trim the ends square after I glue the tube in. Hope this helps.

[robert hainstock]

The shorter they are, the better chance you have to not blow out the side of the blank. Most man made materials will blowout the bottom when the bit breaks through. I cut them 5/16 long and make sure the best part is up when I drill. I made my blank vise out of a Jorgenson claamp ala Craft supplies catalog. If you use your own clamp be sure it will lay flat while drilling. Luck!
Bob

[Dennis Peacock]

I agree. The short pen blanks are much easier to drill and less likely to blow out on ya during the process. Just remember to clear the bit often during the drilling process to keep down heat build up and allow the bit to cut better.

[Steve Mawson]

I always cut mine first. I have used some laminated woods that are contrasting so they are easier to drill square when you do one half at a time.

[Rick Gifford]

I always cut mine first as well. You'll need to drill over 5" to bore the single peice. Good chance for blowout and error.

I've been so busy getting my shop built I haven't had time for pen turning. I really need to get back at it. I have a whole pile of blanks ready for the lathe.

Good luck!

[Jon Behnke]

I cut mine also and drill both blanks from the center, that way if the drill bit drifts the center grain will still match up. I started using brad point bits but was told that those bits will tend to drift more in end grain which is what drilling a pen blank is. Brad point bits don't work well at all in acrylics, they tend to blow out the blank when in comes through. I have a drill vise with two pieces of hard wood with 45% notches cut in them to hold the blanks square.

[Bernie Weishapl]

I cut mine. I also cut them about a 1/4" longer and set the drill press so it drills just short of the bottom. Then I cut to length with no blow out especially on acrylic.

[Horst Hohoff]

Hi,
I'm pretty new to pen turning and after some bad experience with bamboo I've developed this method for drilling pen blanks ( I drill them on the lathe ),and I usually cut my own wooden blanks from larger pieces of wood.
Cut a blank for the whole pen ( a bit oversize of course )
Mark the centre and turn it round between centers. It's not important to get a smoothe surface but a true cylinder.
Cut the blank in half and chuck the pieces in the smallest jaws of my scrollchuck.
Drill them from both sides. This prevents any blow out, specially with brittle stuff like bamboo. You also get them well centered which might be important if you use a segmented blank.

Best wishes
Horst

[Tim Vice]

Ok me and my boy tried it, Ok on a short piece. Centered the vice and drilled the blank----centered of course-- the problem is the other side was not centered mabey an 1/8" off center??????????

[Tim Vice]

I found where others were having the same problem. I will try some of those fixes.

Thanks to all. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[Joe Scarfo]

Tim...

Been there and lost a few bucks on poorly drilled holes. Let me tell you what I learned...

1. have a good drill press with minimal wooble. I forget the term if the bit isn't spinning true. Check your drill. This could cause holes that are not tight enough. I had this problem. Solution: upgraded from my benchtop C'man to a used 17" delta I picked up used for $200.

2. Use Brad Point Bits..... This really helps prevent blow out. Many pen turners in my area recomended it.

3. Set your drill press to the slowest speed. Take your time.

4. Constantly remove the bit from the piece being drilled. This clears the waste from the hole. very important. This helps tear out.

5. Use one of the gadgets for holding blanks to be drilled... They're priceless and time savers. You can use clamps, but it's not worth the hassle to me. Plus I think it helps tear out.

6. MAKE SURE.... ABSOLUTELY make sure the drill bit is traveling perpendicular to the table. Crooked in = crooked out. Hence centered going in = non centered coming out.

7. I cut my blanks about 1/4" longer than the brass.

8. How are you trimming off the excess wood? I forget the name of the gadget that's used to trim the ends of each piece after you've glued in the brass. This device insures the plane of the hole is true to the plane of the hole for the brass. If this is off, problems may come up during assembly.

9. Rough up the brass w/ sand paper before gluing it in. I had a few come loose before learning this trick, they don't come loose anymore.

If you want more advise, let me know. I've been turnign pens a few months now and it's an absolute blast. I turned 2 today for my daughter to give to her teachers at school for valentines day. They'll love'em.

For my sons b'day in March we're having a key chain turning party for a few of his friends. I've picked up snake skin blanks to help them make snakeskin zipper pulls for their backpacks.

Take a class at a local woodcraft or hook up w/ the local turning club. You'll get tons of great advise.

If you're nearby, I'd love to have you over.

Good Luck
Joe

[Mick Zelaska]

Some pen kits require two different size holes so cutting to size and drilling is required. I cut my blanks 1/8" long, glue in the tubes then sand to final size using an oscillating sander with a miter guage to hold the blanks perpendicular to the sander.

I blew out several blanks until I set the drill press to have the bit travel only 1/4" past the end of the blank and set the blank on a small 1/4" thick piece of wood. Now that I am turning out a lot of pens, I invested in the new style pen vise from Woodcraft for drilling. This allows me to set up the jig once and all blanks inserted after that are automatically centered - just clamp and drill.

[EDDIE GLAZE]

Tim, The First Thing I Do With A Drill Press Is Make Sure The Table Is Exactly Square With The Spindel...take Out The Pin That Locates The Table.then Put A Dial Indecater In The Drill Chuck And Turn It By Hand From One Side To The Other Side. When The Dial Indicator Reads The Same On Both Sides The Table Is Square To The Spindel. Make Sure You Unplug The Drill Press Whene Doing This. One Of Bonnie Cambells Posts Has Information On This Subject. Happy Turning.