Drilling a piece of work on the lathe?

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L2wis

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I have another noobie question. I want to be able to drill things out by putting a drill piece in my tailstock however I believe I need a drill chuck?

My question is, will any drill chuck do or for it to work (fit in the tailstock) will i need to purchase one specifically made for the tail stock of a lathe?

My lathe is a Record Power DML 24 and it's 1 morse taper if that makes any difference to what I need?
 
They should do nicely. £15 bargain to your door..

I have a 3/4" Jacobs chuck, which is what they are, on a 1MT. Just remember that if you are drilling big 'oles with a flat bit/forstner bit/etc. not to have the speed high or you will burn them out.

To remove it from the tail stock you will be able to put a shaft into the hollow of the tailstock and tap it out. You can also use it on the headstock, but remember to put the thread protector onto the headstock first or you may well ave fun trying to remove it! :oops: :oops: It's handy for turning very small bits like turning the end caps on axels for toys.
 
brilliant thanks for that Jonzjob! I just wanted to check really before ordering :). I intend on using them (nice and slow) for drilling pen blanks as I don't have a pillar drill and don't think i'd be able to do a proper job with a hand drill.

I'll get some ordered :D
 
Be prepaired for the drill not to go right down the middle! So, if you are going to do any Celtic knot or other patterns that need to be symmetrical drill out the blanks before you start cutting the slots then you can choose one with the hole down the middle!

Do you cut your own blanks?
 
I use a complicated jig to cut my blanks to length once I have cut them square. It cuts them about 1/8" longer than the brass tubes.

Penjig1.jpg


And when I do Celtic knots I have another complication to do it

Penjig2.jpg


There is only one screw holding it in place. Dead easy and it cuts each half of the pen blank and makes it easy to match the grain by marking hem with a felt tip marker.

After that I drill the blanks, glue the tubes into the holes with epoxy. When they are dry I use a blank trimmer from Axminster, about £4 ? to the tube length. I then put a small mark on the inside of the tubes with the marker. Then they can go on the pen mandrel and be turned. Don't ever try turning without the tubes glued in place or they will just split.

These are a few of the pens that I turned after cutting, the Celtic knot on the left

Pens2.jpg
 
l2wis
- dont worry too much about the pillar drill. i have one and i still cant drill in a straight line :oops:
then again with the jacobs chuck its much the same, maybe its my drill bits or (more likely) my incompetence :mrgreen:

jonzjob
is your celtic cross 2 pairs of 45 deg slots at 90 to each other? :?
 
I have just finished cutting a pen blank to do a Celtic knot today, BUT I broke my golden rule and didn't drill the hole first. I only thought about it after the second cut and said sod it, too late so did the other 2. I will drill it out at low speed and see if it makes any differeence?
 
Sorry Nev, I didn't see your post..

Yes the Celtic knot is done by the 45% cuts and I am very careful not to cut completly through. Stop just before that, then you can slot the insert in and clamp it easily. Not my idea, I learned that from another, can't remember who sorry!

That is where the second part of my cunning jig comes in. You just put the second bit onto the first bit of the jig and each time you cut it has to line up. It doesn't have to be 45% it can be any angle you wish, but it will always be the same. Good 'ere init :mrgreen:

Bye the way. You can see what happens to the Celtic knot if yu don't get yer 'ole in the middle! On this one it ain't simetrikel is it :oops: :oops: Still looks lovely though!

While I'm confessing :oops: The reason for the different wood on the right hand one was because when it was being turned the wood near the center split on one 1/2. So I cut the last 1/4" of both 1/2s off down to the brass tube, took a couples of slices off of a short, drilled, black walnut blank I had. Glued them onto the exposed tubes and turned them down to the same level again. Well, I like it :mrgreen: and it saved a lot of mucking about too...

I'm too free with me screw-ups!! But if it helps?
 
got myself the pack of 3 chucks this morning! Very nice chap and bargain price, they were £5.95 individually so well worth getting the 3.
 
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