Thread: Pen holding Jig for drilling blanks

with regards to the devices you can buy I think I noticed a few weeks ago that Gary from GPW had some of the pen press/ Vices on special and if not there I am sure david at timberbits has something for around the $40 mark which is reasonable. With regards to blowing out your blanks when drilling them it is a good idea to put a timber block underneath your acrylic so when you have drilled through your blank this will help reduce your chances of blowout. Also you could mesure the blanks that little bit longer and not drill all the way through leaving a fraction and then cutting that last bit off after you have drilled the blank.

Cheers ian

I always do them in the lathe.

Hold the blank in a scroll chuck, put a Jacobs chuck in the tailstock and drill away. Take it slow and don't overheat anything.

Cheers but looking for a homemade jig if possible.

I seem to blow them out on the side of the blank...all my blanks are timber by the way.

Cheers

I made my own pen blank drilling jig by using a drill vise, not my own idea there are several others shown in that thread.

https://www.woodworkforums.com/f69/ne...tml#post770091

I haven't used this for a long time as I drill all blanks on the lathe now.

I made my own pen vice using some spare wood I had lying around and drill vice. I used a router to groove a triangle track in some wood then screwed it into a drill press vice. Worked well until I replaced it with one made of metal. Think I saw it on another forum or google search once, sure I didn't come up with the idea.

Avery which ones do you mean, I am only new to this and have just purchased a Carbatec 1100 Lathe.

http://www.carbatec.com.au/carba-tec...d-lathe_c20060

Cheers

Originally Posted by Avery

I always do them in the lathe.

Hold the blank in a scroll chuck, put a Jacobs chuck in the tailstock and drill away. Take it slow and don't overheat anything.

As Avery said the lathe is the best drill boring machine for pen blanks. If you don't want to go this way make sure everything is lined up, drill jig is secure, drills are sharp and the right speed on the drill press is being used.

Cheers
Darren

Originally Posted by bdar

As Avery said the lathe is the best drill boring machine for pen blanks. If you don't want to go this way make sure everything is lined up, drill jig is secure, drills are sharp and the right speed on the drill press is being used.

Cheers
Darren

Cheers Darren but what exact accessories do I need?

Try this and see if it helps you out alittle.

Cheers Ian

Dosent get much easier or cheaper, the vice was free with the drill press.

Here's my home made jig out of 42 X 19 pieces & bolts I glued 2 pieces together i did this twice making 2 sides. when the glues dried I then put both halves on the drill table face to face & clamped them. I then drilled one bolt hole & put a bolt in it and tightened it I then released one of the clamps & flipped the piece & drilled the other hole. I then placed another bolt & tightened and removed the clamp, then checked the table was at 90 to the drill & pit a 5 mm drill marked the centre & then drilled the centre hold. Removed the small bolts and replaced them with longer bolts the bolts are cheapies from the local hardware shop the type with the domed head. one bolt from either side
I tested it and I use a clamp to hold the blank solid and use the corners on the blanks to keep it square in the jig while drilling.


Regards Michael

Originally Posted by Arry

Cheers Darren but what exact accessories do I need?

Arry you need a chuck with pin jaws for the lathe and a Jacobs chuck for the tail stock of the lathe. Get in touch with Jim at Carrolls he will be able to help you. You can go with Vicmarc chucks, they are my favorite, there are Nova chucks and also an economy version of these types of chucks. Here is a link to the chucks on Carrolls website CWS Store - Chucks and Accessories | Carroll's Woodcraft Supplies and CWS Store - Drive and Live Centres and Drill Chucks | Carroll's Woodcraft Supplies

Cheers
Darren

Arry, I have posted a pic of my pin jaws on a Nova G3 chuck here, if you read further in that thread you will also see some pics of 2 jaw chucks for pen drilling.

Haven't used them, but maybe you can ask Amos how he is getting on with his.

This is the one I use Pen Making :: Pen Making Tools :: Pen Blank Drilling Center Vise - Pen Kits, Pen blanks, Clock Kits and wood turning accessories. Works a treat. At $50 I reckon it's money well spent as it will last a life time. The main cause of blow-outs is blunt drill bits causing you to place too much downward force on the blank, or, trying to drill too fast without clearing the swarf out of the flutes of the drill. Try drilling a hole say 3 sizes smaller than the required one first, then step up to the size needed.