bpbuilder
24th January 2016, 02:32 PM
I have some blanks of timber ranging from 100mm to 300mm in length and from 35mm to 55mm in thickness. I need to drill holes up to 21mm right through the entire length of them (using gun drills). The problem is that the blanks are essentially cut to length so I haven't got any room to 'play'. Basically it's exotic and too precious to waste...
I have a VM100 but its 'through bore' is about 21mm so it's not an option to use this chuck if the blanks are butted right up against it. The VM120/150 has a bigger bore around 30mm as I understand. So this might be a better option.
What I'm struggling with is chuck jaws for this purpose. Most of them would essentially close off the bore in the chuck (or at least part of it) so I wouldn't be able to drill right through the blanks. I've considered pin jaws and possibly long nose jaws both used in compression mode and possibly I could leave some space behind the long nose jaws for the drill to exit. I'd be using these in conjunction with a steady rest. Not sure how safe either of these options would be. Plastic jaws might be an option but would probably prefer something more permanent.
Short of that maybe the only way is retrofitting a metal lathe chuck to my wood lathe which I think may do the trick with an appropriate large through hole and naturally having the external jaws that don't block the through bore off.
Anyone done this kind of thing before and willing to offer any suggestions on the best route to take?
I have a VM100 but its 'through bore' is about 21mm so it's not an option to use this chuck if the blanks are butted right up against it. The VM120/150 has a bigger bore around 30mm as I understand. So this might be a better option.
What I'm struggling with is chuck jaws for this purpose. Most of them would essentially close off the bore in the chuck (or at least part of it) so I wouldn't be able to drill right through the blanks. I've considered pin jaws and possibly long nose jaws both used in compression mode and possibly I could leave some space behind the long nose jaws for the drill to exit. I'd be using these in conjunction with a steady rest. Not sure how safe either of these options would be. Plastic jaws might be an option but would probably prefer something more permanent.
Short of that maybe the only way is retrofitting a metal lathe chuck to my wood lathe which I think may do the trick with an appropriate large through hole and naturally having the external jaws that don't block the through bore off.
Anyone done this kind of thing before and willing to offer any suggestions on the best route to take?