I've done some turning, mostly small bowls under 10". Have done some
practice spindle turning. I now want to try turning pens. I watched an
instructional video on pen turning and the instructor was emphatic about
drilling the hole in the exact center of the pen blank. I don't understand
why the worry. If the hole goes in one end of the blank and out the other,
everything will be center AFTER turning the blanking. Why the concern about
being centered initially?

The instructor was using a centering vise which is a neat tool but is it
really necessary??

Thanks,
Dave

Dave Bovey wrote:
I've done some turning, mostly small bowls under 10". Have done some
practice spindle turning. I now want to try turning pens. I watched an
instructional video on pen turning and the instructor was emphatic about
drilling the hole in the exact center of the pen blank. I don't understand
why the worry. If the hole goes in one end of the blank and out the other,
everything will be center AFTER turning the blanking. Why the concern about
being centered initially?

The instructor was using a centering vise which is a neat tool but is it
really necessary??

Thanks,
Dave



#1 If you want the grain to match up

#2 If you want the grain straight through both halves and not look like
a dog's hind leg

#3 If your blank is JUST big enough

I used a cheap handscrew that I closed tight and drilled a 3/8 hole
centered through the closed faces. This created two half-moon slots
vertically on both faces and held a blank true. It worked very well and
didn't preclude using the clamp for it's original purpose.

SWMBO bought me a centering vise for my b-day. It works not much
better, except for production runs. Then I clamp it centered up to to
my drill press and don't have to find the center of each blank.

Bill B

Dave
I am not a pen turner although I have turned pens, probably no more than a
thousand of various descriptions. The main argument to having the hole
exactly in cneter of the blank seems to be to have the grain line up on both
parts. This is only necessary if you use no center band and cut no wood away
when dividing the blank in two. Anything else will disrupt the flow of
grain. Since this is impossible, do not worry about it. I have used various
jigs at the drill press to ensure that the hole goes NEAR the center because
I do not want the bit to go through the side of the blank. Besides, holding
the blank in a bare hand is asking for trouble.

--
God bless and safe turning
Darrell Feltmate
Truro, NS Canada
http://aroundthewoods.com
http://roundopinions.blogspot.com
"BillB" wrote in message
news
Dave Bovey wrote:
I've done some turning, mostly small bowls under 10". Have done some
practice spindle turning. I now want to try turning pens. I watched an
instructional video on pen turning and the instructor was emphatic about
drilling the hole in the exact center of the pen blank. I don't
understand why the worry. If the hole goes in one end of the blank and
out the other, everything will be center AFTER turning the blanking. Why
the concern about being centered initially?

The instructor was using a centering vise which is a neat tool but is it
really necessary??

Thanks,
Dave



#1 If you want the grain to match up

#2 If you want the grain straight through both halves and not look like a
dog's hind leg

#3 If your blank is JUST big enough

I used a cheap handscrew that I closed tight and drilled a 3/8 hole
centered through the closed faces. This created two half-moon slots
vertically on both faces and held a blank true. It worked very well and
didn't preclude using the clamp for it's original purpose.

SWMBO bought me a centering vise for my b-day. It works not much better,
except for production runs. Then I clamp it centered up to to my drill
press and don't have to find the center of each blank.

Bill B

"BillB" wrote in message
news
Dave Bovey wrote:
I've done some turning, mostly small bowls under 10". Have done some
practice spindle turning. I now want to try turning pens. I watched an
instructional video on pen turning and the instructor was emphatic about
drilling the hole in the exact center of the pen blank. I don't
understand why the worry. If the hole goes in one end of the blank and
out the other, everything will be center AFTER turning the blanking. Why
the concern about being centered initially?

The instructor was using a centering vise which is a neat tool but is it
really necessary??

Thanks,
Dave



#1 If you want the grain to match up

#2 If you want the grain straight through both halves and not look like a
dog's hind leg

#3 If your blank is JUST big enough

I used a cheap handscrew that I closed tight and drilled a 3/8 hole
centered through the closed faces. This created two half-moon slots
vertically on both faces and held a blank true. It worked very well and
didn't preclude using the clamp for it's original purpose.

SWMBO bought me a centering vise for my b-day. It works not much better,
except for production runs. Then I clamp it centered up to to my drill
press and don't have to find the center of each blank.


Always a good accessory, and the price is right. Grip a bit or a chuckable
turning the same thickness as your material or measure/fiddle to center.
Too cheap not to get one.
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?actio...73-28920-69997

http://www2.northerntool.com/product/200199274.htm

On Thu, 27 Dec 2007 01:57:17 GMT, "Dave Bovey" wrote:

I've done some turning, mostly small bowls under 10". Have done some
practice spindle turning. I now want to try turning pens. I watched an
instructional video on pen turning and the instructor was emphatic about
drilling the hole in the exact center of the pen blank. I don't understand
why the worry. If the hole goes in one end of the blank and out the other,
everything will be center AFTER turning the blanking. Why the concern about
being centered initially?

The instructor was using a centering vise which is a neat tool but is it
really necessary??

Thanks,
Dave

If you're doing more than a pen or 2, I'd recommend the pen drilling vise...
I tried to make my own and wasted a LOT of time and energy to try to save the
$40 that I ended up spending on the vise..

As you gain skill and confidence, you want to waste less wood making the blank
round and down to the size of your bushings, and to still have your grain
aligned...
I used to cut my pen blanks at least 3/4 x 3/4" but now I usually go between
1/2" and 5/8", depending on the pen size..
Reasons for starting as small as comfortable:

More/better use of wood..

Less time carving away excess wood and more real pen turning..

Less disappointment when the outside of the blank has nice feature and the
inside doesn't.. Better to know in advance..

Also, if the hole isn't centered on both ends you're going to have high and low
sides on your blank that not only mis-align the grain but give you a big "ghost"
to turn off... clunk,clunk,clunk.. lol

IMHO, pen turning MAKES you learn better sharpening, especially of the skew,
lighter touch with tools, finer finishing and sanding.. and probably most
important, patience..
I know that my pen turning has made my bowl turning better..


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Thanks for all the replies.

My current drill press is really and Shopsmith which is not the most
convenient way to drill one or two blank. I'm going to try another method
and will let you know how it works.

Dave


"Dave Bovey" wrote in message
et...
I've done some turning, mostly small bowls under 10". Have done some
practice spindle turning. I now want to try turning pens. I watched an
instructional video on pen turning and the instructor was emphatic about
drilling the hole in the exact center of the pen blank. I don't understand
why the worry. If the hole goes in one end of the blank and out the other,
everything will be center AFTER turning the blanking. Why the concern
about being centered initially?

The instructor was using a centering vise which is a neat tool but is it
really necessary??

Thanks,
Dave

On Dec 26, 5:57 pm, "Dave Bovey" wrote:
I've done some turning, mostly small bowls under 10". Have done some
practice spindle turning. I now want to try turning pens. I watched an
instructional video on pen turning and the instructor was emphatic about
drilling the hole in the exact center of the pen blank. I don't understand
why the worry. If the hole goes in one end of the blank and out the other,
everything will be center AFTER turning the blanking. Why the concern about
being centered initially?

The instructor was using a centering vise which is a neat tool but is it
really necessary??

Thanks,
Dave


Hello Dave,

I don't believe anyone mentioned it, but if you have a four jaw scroll
chuck with 25mm jaws, you can hold the blank with the chuck and drill
with a Jacob's Chuck mounted in the tailstock. I don't make many pens,
but when I do this is the process that I use. It makes about as truely
centered hole as possible.

Fred Holder
http://www.fholder.com

Fred,

Thanks! What I was considering was putting the drill bit in the my Nova
chuck, center it on one end of the blank, put the tailstock centered on the
other end of the blank, and then advance the tailstock to drill out the
blank. Similar to what you suggested. Your might work better and easier
because the chuck would maintain the position of the blank.

Thanks again,
Dave

"Fred Holder" wrote in message
...
On Dec 26, 5:57 pm, "Dave Bovey" wrote:
I've done some turning, mostly small bowls under 10". Have done some
practice spindle turning. I now want to try turning pens. I watched an
instructional video on pen turning and the instructor was emphatic about
drilling the hole in the exact center of the pen blank. I don't
understand
why the worry. If the hole goes in one end of the blank and out the
other,
everything will be center AFTER turning the blanking. Why the concern
about
being centered initially?

The instructor was using a centering vise which is a neat tool but is it
really necessary??

Thanks,
Dave


Hello Dave,

I don't believe anyone mentioned it, but if you have a four jaw scroll
chuck with 25mm jaws, you can hold the blank with the chuck and drill
with a Jacob's Chuck mounted in the tailstock. I don't make many pens,
but when I do this is the process that I use. It makes about as truely
centered hole as possible.

Fred Holder
http://www.fholder.com

On Thu, 27 Dec 2007 18:54:31 GMT, "Dave Bovey" wrote:

Thanks for all the replies.

My current drill press is really and Shopsmith which is not the most
convenient way to drill one or two blank. I'm going to try another method
and will let you know how it works.

Dave

My pen drilling jig is on my Shopsmith.. the jig is the one from Lee Valley and
I'm very happy with it..

As a long-time Shopsmith user, I have to say that it's the best drill press I've
ever used..
It might suck as a lathe or table saw, but the drill press kicks butt..
I leave it in the horizontal drilling position so I can leave the 12" sanding
disk and small table on the other end..


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

On Thu, 27 Dec 2007 14:36:34 -0800 (PST), Fred Holder
wrote:

Hello Dave,

I don't believe anyone mentioned it, but if you have a four jaw scroll
chuck with 25mm jaws, you can hold the blank with the chuck and drill
with a Jacob's Chuck mounted in the tailstock. I don't make many pens,
but when I do this is the process that I use. It makes about as truely
centered hole as possible.

Fred Holder
http://www.fholder.com

I did this for a bit.. works better with long jaws, to keep the blank square to
the bit..
Cranking the tailstock in and out gets old real quick, though... ;-]


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

"mac davis" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 27 Dec 2007 14:36:34 -0800 (PST), Fred Holder

wrote:

Hello Dave,

I don't believe anyone mentioned it, but if you have a four jaw scroll
chuck with 25mm jaws, you can hold the blank with the chuck and drill
with a Jacob's Chuck mounted in the tailstock. I don't make many pens,
but when I do this is the process that I use. It makes about as truely
centered hole as possible.

Fred Holder
http://www.fholder.com

I did this for a bit.. works better with long jaws, to keep the blank
square to
the bit..
Cranking the tailstock in and out gets old real quick, though... ;-]


mac


but why, oh why would you crank the tailstock - put the wood in the chuck,
put the drill in the tailstock, don't clamp the tailstock down, start the
lathe and push on the tailstock to advance the bit, then pull it back, stop
the lathe and repeat with next piece.

personally, I just use a drill press - it's not at all important that you be
centered, just far enough away from edges that you can make the pen



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

On Thu, 27 Dec 2007 20:52:29 -0800, "William Noble" wrote:


I did this for a bit.. works better with long jaws, to keep the blank
square to
the bit..
Cranking the tailstock in and out gets old real quick, though... ;-]


mac


but why, oh why would you crank the tailstock - put the wood in the chuck,
put the drill in the tailstock, don't clamp the tailstock down, start the
lathe and push on the tailstock to advance the bit, then pull it back, stop
the lathe and repeat with next piece.

personally, I just use a drill press - it's not at all important that you be
centered, just far enough away from edges that you can make the pen

I used to do just that, Bill, as I got part way through a bunch of blanks and
started getting impatient..
I found that without the tail stock banjo locked, it has just enough up and down
play while sliding to drill a slightly oval hole..
Not having any matching oval pen tubes, I bought the drilling vice and use the
DP now..


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

but why, oh why would you crank the tailstock - put the wood in the chuck,
put the drill in the tailstock, don't clamp the tailstock down, start the
lathe and push on the tailstock to advance the bit, then pull it back,
stop
the lathe and repeat with next piece.

personally, I just use a drill press - it's not at all important that you
be
centered, just far enough away from edges that you can make the pen

I used to do just that, Bill, as I got part way through a bunch of blanks
and
started getting impatient..
I found that without the tail stock banjo locked, it has just enough up
and down
play while sliding to drill a slightly oval hole..
Not having any matching oval pen tubes, I bought the drilling vice and use
the
DP now..


mac


different drills will drift differently - a brad tipped drill will be more
stable in the scenario I propose. A "D" drill will be best, but it doesn't
clear chips very well (in fact it doesnt' clear chips at all). On my
lathes, I can push a bit throgh the tailstock while holding the work between
centers - I use a center where the center point can be removed - I don't
drill this way for pens, but I do drill lamps this way by just pushing the 3
foot long bit through the tailstock - I hold it with a drill chuck and hold
the chuck in my hand - if it binds, I let go and stop the lathe, but usually
I can feel it getting stiff and just pull it out and clear the chips and
then proceed.



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com