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Hi friends,
To fix solidly the wooden block under the press drill, do you have an effective way? The vice of classic drill does not satisfy me. Could we use a chuck in 4 bits of wood lathe? Thanks for your opinions.

I got a $20 vise for my drill press and it works just fine. If I were to upgrade, I'd get one that adjusts on two axes, but all it needs to do is hold the piece steady. Now, I tend to do most of my drilling on a wood lathe anyways.

I have no lathe, maybe later. To drill a straight pipe, no problem, it's true. But for a bent pipe, the block moves under the pressure. And I drill before shaping !

If your block moves under pressure, your drill press is probably too flimsy or your drill bits too dull. I've drilled bent pipes and off-axis pipes with a little creative clamping on my drill press. I've done drill first and shape first on the drill press. It's certainly not the most efficient way to work, but it's not the vise.

This is the drill press I use: http://www.lowes.com/pd_78742-46069-PCB ... Id=3162489

The lesson to be learned is that if you buy cheap on tools, you tend to buy twice. Save a little while longer and get the right tools.

My drill press is good, but maybe my drill bits not. What is the best drill bit for a drill press, PIMO, J. Alan, Ken Lamb ?

A sharp one hope this helps

When I was drilling on a drill press, I used a milling vise and it worked very well. When drilling the tobacco chamber on a drill press, you can relieve some of the downward pressure on the block by drilling a pilot hole before drilling with a chamber bit. The tip of chamber bits don't drill very well and take a lot of pressure. The pilot hole will make it so the chamber bit doesn't need as much pressure to drill. Doesn't matter what kind of chamber bit you use; they all require a good amount of pressure if a pilot hole isn't drilled first. I have found that S&D bits take the least amount of pressure without a pilot hole.

I don't need much pressure with my sharpened spade bits. I just hone the edges before each chamber to make sure especially the tip is sharp and on center. Make sure you're taking plenty of time to line up your holes right.

Also, I've found Viking brand drill bits hold an edge much better than the cheap hardware store variety of split points for the airway and mortise. They are also straight and fairly rigid, and that makes a difference as well.

Also if your drilling table is deflecting from the pressure of drilling, use something to support it. Some wooden chocks and a small jack would be perfect and make things much more rigid.

sandahlpipe wrote:I don't need much pressure with my sharpened spade bits. I just hone the edges before each chamber to make sure especially the tip is sharp and on center. Make sure you're taking plenty of time to line up your holes right.

Also, I've found Viking brand drill bits hold an edge much better than the cheap hardware store variety of split points for the airway and mortise. They are also straight and fairly rigid, and that makes a difference as well.

Depends on if you prefer your chambers bits to have a point or if you prefer them rounded. I prefer mine rounded. I'm guessing you grind yours to a point. Makes a big difference but pointy tobacco chambers suck.

wdteipen wrote:

sandahlpipe wrote:I don't need much pressure with my sharpened spade bits. I just hone the edges before each chamber to make sure especially the tip is sharp and on center. Make sure you're taking plenty of time to line up your holes right.

Also, I've found Viking brand drill bits hold an edge much better than the cheap hardware store variety of split points for the airway and mortise. They are also straight and fairly rigid, and that makes a difference as well.

Depends on if you prefer your chambers bits to have a point or if you prefer them rounded. I prefer mine rounded. I'm guessing you grind yours to a point. Makes a big difference but pointy tobacco chambers suck.

You can make the angle of the point fairly oblique and still obtain good results.