Pen turning advice

[Hutzul]

Has anyone used 'no nails' to glue the brass tube into wood or acrylic ?
I've drilled a few pieces and am surprised at what a sloppy fit they are. I used the supplied 7mm drill in Rutlands pen kit. Tried with pilot hole first then 7mm but still sloppy
I've seen on youtube that some guys prefer araldite, but I'm trying to keep out of DIY shops, I spend too much. #-o
Any other ideas on adhesives etc, eg silicone, got a shedload of that ?

Cheers guys.

 

[cornucopia]

you can use an expanding PU glue if there really loose or if there just slightly loose 2 part epoxy is best, i'm not sure if no more nails would give a strong enough bond

 

[=Adam=]

I had the same issue with my pens!

I ended up getting some thick CA glue an that did the trick! If you have a toolstation near you then they sell the everbuild thick CA for about £2 a tube which is very good value!

 

[Paul.J]

Is your drill bit too big to start with.?
To check,Put your drill in the drill press,if you are doing em this way, and drill into a scrap piece of wood,peferably the same as you are using for the blanks,and check the hole for size with the tube.If its a nice fit then there is movemnet when you are drilling the blanks and the drill bit is ok.
When drilling the blanks they are best put into some sort of holding device/jig and they have got to be kept still from any movement.How are you drilling the holes.??

 

[Neil Farrer]

Tubes sloppy fit in the blanks? If the right drill is being used, ie not a metric equivalent to what should be an imperial drill then there is a fundamental problem. Firstly you could be drilling to fast into a punky wood using a drill press and not withdrawing the drill often enough as well. Even if its a solid hardwood the grain could be causing the drill to run off true because the drill is being used too forcefully or it is blunt or the drill speed is too low. Running off true will cause the hole to be larger than it should. I take it that if you are drilling off lathe then you have a vice to hod the blanks in?

Use PU glue as George suggests but it is horrible and you must wear gloves, the best way is to find out what is causing the sloppy fit!

Another issue may be if you are using the colt drill and drilling 7mm tubes. This drill is great but far too long and will flex and run off the face of a hardwood blank with ease, either drill the first few mill very very slowly or as I do use a jobber drill for 7mm pen blanks.


So in summary the following could be the issue:
Not removing the debris by backing up the drill
Drill speed too slow and or too much pressure
Flexing drill bit/blunt drill
Drill running off the face of the blank and going in at an angle
Drill vibration/Very soft wood

Hope this helps.

(Edited - OK call me a muppet! Didn't read the original post fully, its not a colt drill and the 7mm drill bit is new, so its unlikely to be blunt but the rest still applies, you should be able to drill a 7mm hole with a 7mm drill but its larger - its got to be due to one of the other reasons)

 

[=Adam=]

I hope I am not stepping on anyones toes, but I thought I would post in here as opposed to starting a new thread.....

I would like to get a new pen mandrel for my new lathe, I have used the rutlands kit before and wasn't that impressed with the quality of the kit, now thankfully I have upgraded my lathe and require a different morse taper fitment.

I have been looking at the axminster deluxe mandrel and it seems to have some good reviews however it is a tad pricey, from everyones experience, would you say that they are worth it? or should I just get the cheaper version?

Secondly, I need to get some drill bits to drill the blanks. At the moment I have only got 7mm kits so for the time being I will only require the 7mm bit, however I would like to do some better kits in the future!

Now I have read that the Colt drill bits are the best, however is this true? Could I just not get a standard 7mm drill bit (HSS jobber), or would these not be suitable?

I do appologise if the questions are basic however I don't want to waste money

Thanks guys!

 

[Paul.J]

I use the Rutlands mandrel,2mt,which i bought a few years ago and its been fine for all the pens i have done on it,biggest been the Sierra kit with a 10.5mm tube.
Whether the the quality has changed since then i don't know but i think i paid about £17 for my mandrel,but like most things they seem to have shot up in price now??
I also just use normal twist drill bits for drilling my blanks,but they must be kept nice and sharp.The 10.5mm one is my latest buy and that cost me £1.99 from a local tool shop.

 

[jpt]

The system I use and have found to be the best is the evolution system from Turners Retreat https://www.turners-retreat.co.uk/produ ... rel-system

As for drills the colt drills are very good but they are too long for accurate work, especially in heavy grained or segmented blanks. Due to their length they tend to bend a bit when they hit this type of grain or segmented joints, also if you are drilling on the lathe you can get an enlarged entry hole where the drill moves slightly as it is moved in and out. You would be much better off buying individual short drills as needed I use mainly lip and spur ones for drilling pen blanks.

john

 

[Melinda_dd]

I use a cheap 2 part epoxy from £1 land!!!

Fills gaps sets nice and tight/hard.... although does take longer to set in the cold weather...(I usually take mine in to the house in the winter to glue up, but as standard, hot or cold, I leave overnight to set... no reason other than just to make sure!)

 

[Hutzul]

Is your drill bit too big to start with.?
To check,Put your drill in the drill press,if you are doing em this way, and drill into a scrap piece of wood,peferably the same as you are using for the blanks,and check the hole for size with the tube.If its a nice fit then there is movemnet when you are drilling the blanks and the drill bit is ok.
When drilling the blanks they are best put into some sort of holding device/jig and they have got to be kept still from any movement.How are you drilling the holes.??

I am using a large pillar drill, with the blank gripped between a v block and t'other side gripped by v in the vice, I did have vice resting on wood blocks to gain height. which did wobble a bit. I'll try with drill table at correct height and without wood blocks.
The drill bit is a 7mm lip & spur as came with the pen kit from Rutlands, as previously stated.

To =ADAM= I reckon a 7mm jobber drill will be just as good as owt else imho.

Thanks to all, I shall experiment.

 

[Spindle]

Hi

A couple of things to have a look at:

Are you able to accurately measure the brass tubes? I've just measured a few of mine and they are 6.77mm which will give a little slop that is easily taken up by the adhesive, (I use rapid epoxy).

Is your drill ground accurately? if the spur is not central the drill will bore oversize. An easy way to check is to bore a hole in a scrap of wood securely clamped to the table of your drill press and then remove the drill and insert the plain shank into the hole - there should be very little slop if the drill is well ground.

Regards Mick

 

[woodyturner]

I hope I am not stepping on anyones toes, but I thought I would post in here as opposed to starting a new thread.....

I would like to get a new pen mandrel for my new lathe, I have used the rutlands kit before and wasn't that impressed with the quality of the kit, now thankfully I have upgraded my lathe and require a different morse taper fitment.

I have been looking at the axminster deluxe mandrel and it seems to have some good reviews however it is a tad pricey, from everyones experience, would you say that they are worth it? or should I just get the cheaper version?

Secondly, I need to get some drill bits to drill the blanks. At the moment I have only got 7mm kits so for the time being I will only require the 7mm bit, however I would like to do some better kits in the future!

Now I have read that the Colt drill bits are the best, however is this true? Could I just not get a standard 7mm drill bit (HSS jobber), or would these not be suitable?

I do appologise if the questions are basic however I don't want to waste money

Thanks guys!

Hi Adam I was using the Axminster deluxe for a few years and it was great well worth that bit extra of cash with a collet that grips the mandrel bar and all the axminster collets that fit it it makes a great collet chuck as well I dont like the type with a grub screw in the Mt some of them do mark the mandrel bar and effect the fit of your bushings and 7mm tubes

 

[heatherw]

I had the same problem with the Rutlands bit, it does indeed drill a hole larger than 7mm. 2 other bits, a normal lip and spur, and a bog standard metal drill drilled the hole to the perfect size, even on my rather dodgy pillar drill. The colt is wonderful for longer blanks though.