I want to turn a couple lamp stands, about 12" high/long for our bedroom
bedside lamps. I've been mulling over best time and way to drill the 12"
long hole through the center for the cord and brass pipe for attaching
the light fixture. I have a drill press in addition to the lathe.. I
suppose I could drill the hole on the lathe before I turn the piece and
some how use the hole to center the blank on the lathe before turning to
make sure the drilled hole is centered. Is that how you would do it..?
Thanks.. -Jim

On 1/2/2010 8:50 AM, Jim Hall wrote:
I want to turn a couple lamp stands, about 12" high/long for our bedroom
bedside lamps. I've been mulling over best time and way to drill the 12"
long hole through the center for the cord and brass pipe for attaching
the light fixture. I have a drill press in addition to the lathe.. I
suppose I could drill the hole on the lathe before I turn the piece and
some how use the hole to center the blank on the lathe before turning to
make sure the drilled hole is centered. Is that how you would do it..?
Thanks.. -Jim

Meant to say drill the hole on drill press not the lathe before turning..

On Sat, 2 Jan 2010 11:20:36 -0600, Jim Hall wrote
(in message ):

On 1/2/2010 8:50 AM, Jim Hall wrote:
I want to turn a couple lamp stands, about 12" high/long for our bedroom
bedside lamps. I've been mulling over best time and way to drill the 12"
long hole through the center for the cord and brass pipe for attaching
the light fixture. I have a drill press in addition to the lathe.. I
suppose I could drill the hole on the lathe before I turn the piece and
some how use the hole to center the blank on the lathe before turning to
make sure the drilled hole is centered. Is that how you would do it..?
Thanks.. -Jim

Meant to say drill the hole on drill press not the lathe before turning..

A 12" long (or deep) hole is a very reasonable job for the home hobby turner.
Certainly, drilling the hole before mounting the wood for turning is a great
way to insure the hole is nicely centered in the lamp. There will likely be
as many ways to do this as there are turners who visit this newsgroup.
Assuming that you drill the hole first, your next concern is mounting the
wood to your lathe. In my own case I would use my spur center at the
headstock (instead of a faceplate or chuck), eyeballing the center to be
concentric with the drilled hole. You can easily get within 1/16" of dead
center this way. Assuming a spur center with 4 spurs, you can square the end
of your wood, and then mark where you want the hole to be drilled. Make 2 saw
cuts at right angles to each other, centering the cuts over the desired hole
center. These cuts will later locate your spur center in the middle of your
hole. This is assuming you will accurately start your drilled hole at this
marked center.

Depending on the length of drill bits you have, a reasonable method is to
drill from both ends towards the middle. The holes may not meet exactly, but
is no serious matter. If the bit is long enough, the holes drilled from each
end will meet and overlap in the middle, and allow the cord to be fed through
the lamp. You will likely not want to run the pipe all the way through the
lamp. In most hardware stores you can get short pieces of this threaded
material, maybe an inch or so in length, adequate to screw snugly into the
top of your turning. At the bottom of your lamp you will want to drill a hole
maybe an inch in diameter and about an inch deep, on the same center axis as
your long hole. Then, drill a hole about 5/16" or 3/8" in diameter into the
base rim of your lamp, into and intersecting the 1" hole. This allows you to
feed the cord into the base of the lamp, make the 90 degree turn and upwards
into the long hole and to the top of your lamp. A forstner bit will make a
neater job of the 1" hole than a spade bit will.

The diameter of your deep hole will be dictated by the outside diameter of
the threaded pipe - or threaded nipple - and whether you want to slip a piece
of pipe through the whole length of the deep hole, or just screw a threaded
nipple into the top inch of deep hole. If you wish to use a full-length pipe,
you will really want to use a long bit and drill a single hole the full
length (rather than a short bit and drilling from each end)

These are some tips I have learned from my own mistakes on projects of this
kind. (This includes making sure your chunk of wood is long enough to allow
for trimming and waste when you square off the ends while turning.)

Sorry this was so darn long. I just got carried away. I hope some of it will
be useful.

tom koehler
--
I will find a way or make one.

On Jan 2, 1:22*pm, tom koehler
wrote:
On Sat, 2 Jan 2010 11:20:36 -0600, Jim Hall wrote
(in message ):

On 1/2/2010 8:50 AM, Jim Hall wrote:
I want to turn a couple lamp stands, about 12" high/long for our bedroom
bedside lamps. I've been mulling over best time and way to drill the 12"
long hole through the center for the cord and brass pipe for attaching
the light fixture. I have a drill press in addition to the lathe.. I
suppose I could drill the hole on the lathe before I turn the piece and
some how use the hole to center the blank on the lathe before turning to
make sure the drilled hole is centered. Is that how you would do it..?
Thanks.. -Jim

Meant to say drill the hole on drill press not the lathe before turning...

A 12" long (or deep) hole is a very reasonable job for the home hobby turner.
Certainly, drilling the hole before mounting the wood for turning is a great
way to insure the hole is nicely centered in the lamp. There will likely be
as many ways to do this as there are turners who visit this newsgroup.
Assuming that you drill the hole first, your next concern is mounting the
wood to your lathe. In my own case I would use my spur center at the
headstock (instead of a faceplate or chuck), eyeballing the center to be
concentric with the drilled hole. You can easily get within 1/16" of dead
center this way. Assuming a spur center with 4 spurs, you can square the end
of your wood, and then mark where you want the hole to be drilled. Make 2 saw
cuts at right angles to each other, centering the cuts over the desired hole
center. These cuts will later locate your spur center in the middle of your
hole. This is assuming you will accurately start your drilled hole at this
marked center.

Depending on the length of drill bits you have, a reasonable method is to
drill from both ends towards the middle. The holes may not meet exactly, but
is no serious matter. If the bit is long enough, the holes drilled from each
end will meet and overlap in the middle, and allow the cord to be fed through
the lamp. You will likely not want to run the pipe all the way through the
lamp. In most hardware stores you can get short pieces of this threaded
material, maybe an inch or so in length, adequate to screw snugly into the
top of your turning. At the bottom of your lamp you will want to drill a hole
maybe an inch in diameter and about an inch deep, on the same center axis as
your long hole. Then, drill a hole about 5/16" or 3/8" in diameter into the
base rim of your lamp, into and intersecting the 1" hole. This allows you to
feed the cord into the base of the lamp, make the 90 degree turn and upwards
into the long hole and to the top of your lamp. A forstner bit will make a
neater job of the 1" hole than a spade bit will.

The diameter of your deep hole will be dictated by the outside diameter of
the threaded pipe - or threaded nipple - and whether you want to slip a piece
of pipe through the whole length of the deep hole, or just screw a threaded
nipple into the top inch of deep hole. If you wish to use a full-length pipe,
you will really want to use a long bit and drill a single hole the full
length (rather than a short bit and drilling from each end)

These are some tips I have learned from my own mistakes on projects of this
kind. (This includes making sure your chunk of wood is long enough to allow
for trimming and waste when you square off the ends while turning.)

Sorry this was so darn long. I just got carried away. I hope some of it will
be useful.

tom koehler
--
I will find a way or make one.

Turn the lamp between centers. Turn a tenon on one end. Mount that
tenon in a chuck, using a cone center in the tail stock to ensure
perfect alignment. Drill the hole with a long bit. You can do this
holding the bit either in a Jacobs chuck, by hand, or even through a
the hollow tail stock if your lathe has one.

Actually, I think the fastest is with a paddle bit in a Jacobs chuck.
With a twist bit you must withdraw the bit every inch or so to clear
the chips. Not quite so bad with a wood bit, but still not as easy as
a paddle. The paddle could drift in some situations, however.

Paul Gilbert
Dallas, TX

on my lathe, I turn the lamp between centers, then just feed a long enough
bit through the tailstock, I hold it by hand in a drill chuck, and pull it
out every inch or so to clear chips. It doesn't stay perfectly centered,
but it doesn't wander far if the bit is sharpened correctly.

I would use steel not brass pipe - why pay the extra $$ for brass when it's
not visible - and if it were me, I'd hollow a spot in the base for a switch
and turn a wooden handle for the switch. a rotary switch with a 1/4 inch
shaft works well

"Jim Hall" wrote in message
. ..
I want to turn a couple lamp stands, about 12" high/long for our bedroom
bedside lamps. I've been mulling over best time and way to drill the 12"
long hole through the center for the cord and brass pipe for attaching the
light fixture. I have a drill press in addition to the lathe.. I suppose
I could drill the hole on the lathe before I turn the piece and some how
use the hole to center the blank on the lathe before turning to make sure
the drilled hole is centered. Is that how you would do it..?
hanks.. -Jim

I have a mono tube lathe that takes a # 1 taper . I ran a 3/8 "drill
through the head stock shaft hole so I can run all thread threw my blank
and face plate on large bowl blanks so I can turn out of balance chunks
of wood. I center drilled the end of the all thread for my live center
in my tail stock I got a 3/8 drill with a 24" shaft from an electrical
company for running tv coaxial wire in houses..Maybe you can give that a
try. Sorta like a large pen arbor. Hay I gotta go and turn some really
beg pens now.

Jerry

On Jan 2, 10:50*am, Jim Hall wrote:
I want to turn a couple lamp stands, about 12" high/long for our bedroom
bedside lamps. I've been mulling over best time and way to drill the 12"
long hole through the center for the cord and brass pipe for attaching
the light fixture. *I have a drill press in addition to the lathe.. *I
suppose I could drill the hole on the lathe before I turn the piece and
some how use the hole to center the blank on the lathe before turning to
make sure the drilled hole is centered. *Is that how you would do it..?
* Thanks.. *-Jim

I have had the best luck drilling longer holes (over 4") in wood
using Forstner bits.
Depending on the size of the wood piece I would either place the
Forstner bit in the chuck with the tailpiece directly on center and
then just keep adding extensions to the Forstner bit till halfway thru
then flip it end for end. The Forstner bits do not wander off center
like any other bits do in wood. Of course you are limited by the
dimensions of your lathe with this method.

DL

Great suggestions and advice. Thank you.


On 1/2/2010 8:50 AM, Jim Hall wrote:
I want to turn a couple lamp stands, about 12" high/long for our bedroom
bedside lamps. I've been mulling over best time and way to drill the 12"
long hole through the center for the cord and brass pipe for attaching
the light fixture. I have a drill press in addition to the lathe.. I
suppose I could drill the hole on the lathe before I turn the piece and
some how use the hole to center the blank on the lathe before turning to
make sure the drilled hole is centered. Is that how you would do it..?
Thanks.. -Jim

On Jan 2, 8:50*am, Jim Hall wrote:
I want to turn a couple lamp stands, about 12" high/long for our bedroom
bedside lamps. I've been mulling over best time and way to drill the 12"
long hole through the center for the cord and brass pipe for attaching
the light fixture. *I have a drill press in addition to the lathe.. *I
suppose I could drill the hole on the lathe before I turn the piece and
some how use the hole to center the blank on the lathe before turning to
make sure the drilled hole is centered. *Is that how you would do it..?
* Thanks.. *-Jim

I did this by routing a groove down the center of two 2x4 pieces of
oak, large enough to accommodate the wire, stopping about 1" short of
each end. Then glued the pieces together, groove-side in (taking care
not to have glue squeeze into the channel), turned the lamp, and when
done drilling in to the center of each end to "find" the pre-existing
groove. Drill the top end for the diameter of a short piece of pipe to
mount the light fitting.

HTH.

/M

On Jan 2, 8:50 am, Jim Hall wrote:
I want to turn a couple lamp stands, about 12" high/long for our bedroom
bedside lamps. I've been mulling over best time and way to drill the 12"
long hole through the center for the cord and brass pipe for attaching
the light fixture. I have a drill press in addition to the lathe.. I
suppose I could drill the hole on the lathe before I turn the piece and
some how use the hole to center the blank on the lathe before turning to
make sure the drilled hole is centered. Is that how you would do it..?
Thanks.. -Jim


Hello Jim,

I recently turned a 25" flag pole for a friend's son that had to have
a hole its full length. My long hole drill was one that I had made
many years ago when I was doing a set of Newel Posts for a stairway in
a new house under construction. I needed a 5/16 inch diameter hole
that was drilled deep enough that I needed a 36” shaft. I had a welder
set up the drill and my 36” length of 5/16 inch rod in a lathe and
weld the rod to the drill end. This worked very well for those seven
foot Newel Posts that I had to drill. I had drilled each of them from
each end and the holes had met nicely in the center. This time the
piece was smaller in diameter than those 5 inch Newel Posts, so I
wanted to make sure the drill entered the piece as straight as
possible. A part of my Christmas present from Mildred, my wife, was
the Colt Five Star HSSM2 Pen Drill Set. Since these drills will drill
a very straight hole, I used the “O” size drill, the closest to the
5/16
inch size to drill a hole the full depth of the drill; i.e., about 5
inches.

Once I had a pilot hole, I needed something in the tailstock to help
center the drill. A quick measurement showed that once the
center point was removed from the Nova Live Center the drill was a
snug fit through the hole. I was now set to drill the hole half way
through the work piece. I put a mark on the drill shaft at slightly
over half the length of the wood to be drilled. That would mark the
depth of drilling from the first end. On the second end it would give
me an idea as to whether I had intercepted the hole from the other end
or was about to drill through the side.

I highly ecommend that you drill from both ends. With a 12" drill you
should be able to drill half way, reverse the wood and drill from the
other end. This way you always ensure that the hole is in the center
of each end.

Fred Holder
http://www.morewoodturning.net

Thanks, Fred.. That's good advice.. Sounds like you've got the drilling
routine down. I've got an old 1938-40 Craftsman Lathe that I rebuilt a
few years ago and I'm attached enogh to that I haven't upgraded. My
uncle gave it to me back in the early seventies.. The downside is it
has some run-out, especially if your chucking up something that long.
Its ok between centers and of course the tailstock doesn't have a
through hole like many lathes built today have. I think I'm destined to
jig up the rough blank in the drill press and drill the hole from each
end that way. Actually, I only need a few inches of well centered hole.
I can epoxy a short threaded pipe for the light socket, etc.. I was
thinking of gluing a short piece of dowel in the drilled hole in one end
and have it extend out enough to chuck up in the headstock and rough
turn and create a tenon for the piece that way to center the hole.. I'm
going to make a prototype out of poplar blank. So will experiment a
little first.. -Jim

On 1/6/2010 1:19 PM, Fred Holder wrote:
On Jan 2, 8:50 am, Jim wrote:
I want to turn a couple lamp stands, about 12" high/long for our bedroom
bedside lamps. I've been mulling over best time and way to drill the 12"
long hole through the center for the cord and brass pipe for attaching
the light fixture. I have a drill press in addition to the lathe.. I
suppose I could drill the hole on the lathe before I turn the piece and
some how use the hole to center the blank on the lathe before turning to
make sure the drilled hole is centered. Is that how you would do it..?
Thanks.. -Jim


Hello Jim,

I recently turned a 25" flag pole for a friend's son that had to have
a hole its full length. My long hole drill was one that I had made
many years ago when I was doing a set of Newel Posts for a stairway in
a new house under construction. I needed a 5/16 inch diameter hole
that was drilled deep enough that I needed a 36” shaft. I had a welder
set up the drill and my 36” length of 5/16 inch rod in a lathe and
weld the rod to the drill end. This worked very well for those seven
foot Newel Posts that I had to drill. I had drilled each of them from
each end and the holes had met nicely in the center. This time the
piece was smaller in diameter than those 5 inch Newel Posts, so I
wanted to make sure the drill entered the piece as straight as
possible. A part of my Christmas present from Mildred, my wife, was
the Colt Five Star HSSM2 Pen Drill Set. Since these drills will drill
a very straight hole, I used the “O” size drill, the closest to the
5/16
inch size to drill a hole the full depth of the drill; i.e., about 5
inches.

Once I had a pilot hole, I needed something in the tailstock to help
center the drill. A quick measurement showed that once the
center point was removed from the Nova Live Center the drill was a
snug fit through the hole. I was now set to drill the hole half way
through the work piece. I put a mark on the drill shaft at slightly
over half the length of the wood to be drilled. That would mark the
depth of drilling from the first end. On the second end it would give
me an idea as to whether I had intercepted the hole from the other end
or was about to drill through the side.

I highly ecommend that you drill from both ends. With a 12" drill you
should be able to drill half way, reverse the wood and drill from the
other end. This way you always ensure that the hole is in the center
of each end.

Fred Holder
http://www.morewoodturning.net