Next pen SOS

[tomthumbtom8]

Ok I'm going to turn my next pen at the weekend BUT I need a colt Drill 12mm or 15/32 but I'm not really impressed at paying

£42.00 for a Colt from Axminster even the cw-tyzack (i think) is charging £42.00

Is there any one else that sells these drills a bit cheaper

Here is the link for axminster

http://www.axminster.co.uk/colt-hss-m2- ... rod783313/

ebay link
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Colt-HSS-M2-2 ... 2828wt_952

Tom

 

[woodyturner]

I only ever use ordinary drill bits just be careful how you exit the pen blank some materials you will need to cut to long drill to the depth and then trim it up after drilling

 

[tomthumbtom8]

woodyturner these drill bits are the dogs b's

until you use one you don't know how good they are BUT after you've used it you'll never go back they are that good (only used on Acrylic)

Tom

 

[grumpygrandad]

Hi Tom,
I have made pens for a few years now and always used a standard
drill bit with very few problems
as Woodyturner says leave a little extra and trim the blank
Regards
Tom,,

 

[CHJ]

woodyturner these drill bits are the dogs b's
until you use one you don't know how good they are BUT after you've used it you'll never go back they are that good (only used on Acrylic)
Tom

Then what's the problem with spending £42 on one.

Must say I don't think I have spent that much in total on drills in the past 30 years let alone on one drill, never had a problem drilling anything, just adjusted the cutting angles and clearance to suit the material being drilled.
That and a little patience and care noting what is going on at the sharp end so to speak.

 

[woodyturner]

woodyturner these drill bits are the dogs b's

until you use one you don't know how good they are BUT after you've used it you'll never go back they are that good (only used on Acrylic)

Tom

I dont doubt for one moment they are good Tom I just cant justify spending all that money on one drill bit I have been using ordinary drill bits for to long now to change you know the old saying old dog and new tricks LOL

 

[Neil Farrer]

£42 for a hole! A roller might be the db's but a mini will do to pick up the chinese take away, it does the job. I made over a thousand pens last year, and probably over that already this year and I use a jobber drill bit quite satisfactorily in a drill press and one of those clamps from Ax. I get a wobbly hole sometimes using the colt because the things are too long, every drills got its pros and cons, no drill does every job perfectly but at £2 tops for a drill the ones you can pick up from engineering supplies shops do me just fine. But then if you want a £42 hole you'll need a £42 drill!

 

[Paul Hannaby]

Try tilgear, £3.60 + VAT for a 12mm drill

Here's a link http://www.tilgear.info/sections/6104/hss_drills/60/10/

Or Tracy tools also do a wide range of drill bits.

 

[tomthumbtom8]

thank you all for the all the advice I was never going to pay £42.00 for a hole
But I was asking if any one could source this drill bit any cheaper.

As the answer is no would it be better to drill a 10mm hole out too 12mm or a 7mm hole out to a 12mm

Tom

 

[John. B]

My problem is making pens with awkward size holes.

For large holes like (31/64) 12.3 and (33/64) 13.1mm I do tend to drill in two stages.

You can use a 12mm spur drill, stop drilling as the point emerges turn it around drill from the other side, no fear of breakout.

OR. drill straight through with a longer blank and it doesn't matter if you do breakout.

If you drill carefully you probably won't get any breakout anyway.

Just take care to get the drill speed right, and clear the swarf frequently.

Just drill CAREFULLY!

John. B

 

[chipmunk]

Hi Tom,
Have you seen these drill bits?

http://www.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-12mm-extreme-2-hss-drill-bit/31989

They aren't cheap either but are a good compromise between ordinary twist drills and lip-and-spur drills.

HTH
Jon

 

[nev]

You may well find Tom that almost all the kits you may purchase, from various manufacturers in the future ,will all have different size holes in, so it could well become an (even more ) expensive hobby. New bog standard HSS drill bits from the likes of UKDrills and kept just for your pens should be fine.
Two more tips.
1. placing a small piece of hardwood (pen blank ends?) under the blank to be drilled will help prevent blow outs too as there is less change in speed and pressure as you move from one material to the next.
2. holding the blank whilst drilling with a 'full sized' vise/ vice/ clamp may also help.like Chas' about halfway down this page.

 

[jumps]

facinating thread

so much depends on how you are drilling as much as what IMO

I use high quality engineering bits on MTs direct to the head stock, which is a compromise between the p of standard bits and the £££ of a long 1/2" colt (which is a bit counterintuitive to me as the length counts against it until it's up at 20mm or so in my book). Even this is relatively expensive approach and I can understand why people simply use a good quality chuck and 'normal bits' in various diameters.