Drilling Question

[tigercasual]

Well, my lathe has far too much bit wander. I've used many drill presses in my time, but never for pipemaking. My assumption is that a decent drill press will be much more accurate, and much easier to use than a lathe. If my assumption is correct, it looks like I'll be purchasing a drill press.

So, do any of you have recommendations for a press that is under $200?

Thanks,
TC

[KurtHuhn]

I forget, which lathe do you have?

I consider my lathes to be much more stable and consistent platforms for drilling than a drill press.

For drill presses under $200 you're going to be looking a bunch of identical drill presses with different brand names on them. By and large, they're going to be all the same.
http://pipecrafter.blogspot.com/2008/08 ... press.html

[tigercasual]

Kurt,

I have the Delta LA 200.

I drilled an acrylic rod that was approximately three inches long and had about an eighth on an inch bit wander- and I took it very slow. Needless to say, I'm afraid to drill my briar.

Thanks,
Danny

[KurtHuhn]

A collection of thoughts that may or may not help....

- Small diameter drill bits are very flexible. The difference in rigidity between a 1/8 and 5/32 drill bit is fairly substantial.
- The longer the drill bit, the more it's going to flex. Start holes with the drill bit "choked up" into the chuck as far as you can get it, and adjust it to length after the hole is started.
- Make sure the face that you're drilling into is flat and even. A face that isn't flat can push the drill bit off-center.
- If needed, use a center drill to start the hole.
- Make sure the lathe is actually straight and in-line. Put the drive center that came with our wood lathe in the spindle. Then chuck a long bit that you know is straight in the chuck in the tailstock. The points should meet. If not, you will need to adjust, either with shims or otherwise.

[Sasquatch]

Also you can't just drill a hole in briar without backing the bit out 87 times and clearing chips.

I find if I wipe a tiny bit of linseed oil on my drill bits they work ten times better in briar.

[RadDavis]

Also you can't just drill a hole in briar without backing the bit out 87 times and clearing chips.

This is totally unnecessary. I only back mine out about 85 times. 87 is overkill.

Rad

[tigercasual]

Ok, now I have to admit to not knowing what a center bit is....

[RadDavis]

http://www.grizzly.com/products/5-16-Gr ... rill/H4463

[Sasquatch]

Also you can't just drill a hole in briar without backing the bit out 87 times and clearing chips.

This is totally unnecessary. I only back mine out about 85 times. 87 is overkill.

Rad

Yes but you also admitted to breaking up to two 1/16" bits a year Rad. Think about it.

[tigercasual]

So... I think that I diagnosed my problem. My tailstock has a little play in it. When I line the head and tailstock, everything looks perfect, but when I put pressure on the tailstock, it moves about a millimeter or two. However, when I tighten the tailstock, it's too tight to slide it forward.

Any suggestions?

Cheers,
Danny

[TRS]

Is that to say you're not clamping down the tailstock and using the handwheel to advance bits into the workpiece?

[Sasquatch]

There's a lock-lever on the tailstock ram, and if you tighten it down, it prevents any wandering, but it also prevents the thing from moving (that's it's job).

Can you partially apply that lever, Danny? I'm curious about this too - I just got set up for drilling on the lathe and I see a bit of play there....

[smokindawg]

When I use my Delta to drill I lock down the tailstock and start with the center drill. I then insert the drill bit and lock the tailstock down as close to the item I'm drilling as possible. I then drill with the tailstock locked down. This will cut down on the wandering.

As mentioned, you must also go slow and also back the bit out every little bit to clean it. If you can't drill as far as you want to with the tailstock in the starting location, you can move it. Drill as far as you can with it locked down then back it out. Shut the machine off and then unlock the tailstock and push the tailstock in towards the item until the drill bit bottoms in the hole you just drilled. Then back it out slightly, lock the tailstock back down and then start the lathe back up and finish your drilling.

Make sure you mark the depth you want to drill on the drill bit so that you don't drill too deep.

You do have to drill extremely slowly when drilling acrylic and back it out a lot more.

Sas, I'll have to try your hint a bit.

[Tyler]

Try this:

1. With the briar spinning in the chuck and a bit chucked in the tailstock, slide the tailstock up to just touching the briar. Assuming the surface is squared off, the bit will center itself when it is gently brought into contact with the wood.
2. While watching the bit to make sure you don't induce wobble, lock the tailstock down.
3. Advance the bit by turning the hand wheel.

(To be honest, I often don't do 2 & 3. Once the bit centers I just keep pushing! I have the same Delta lathe, and mine tailstock has plenty of slop. Drilling straight holes is not a problem.)

Assuming the tailstock and headstock aren't skewed in relationship to one another, and assuming decent bits, this will drill straight holes. The amount of play in the tailstock is not a big issue provided somewhere in that play is proper alignment. That is found when we allow the bit to center before locking the tailstock.

The type of bit you use is significant when drilling long distances. I use a 6" long, 5/32" brad point bit for draught holes. It's great.

[tigercasual]

Hey guys, I just realized another problem. The chuck itself has a great deal of movement- way more than the tailstock, in fact. Does anyone know of a fix for this, or do I just have to keep trying different chucks until I find one that fits?

Here's my chuck, by the way...

http://www.amazon.com/PSI-Woodworking-P ... 19&sr=1-14

Thanks again for all of the advice, everyone.

Cheers,
Danny

[KurtHuhn]

Hey guys, I just realized another problem. The chuck itself has a great deal of movement- way more than the tailstock, in fact. Does anyone know of a fix for this, or do I just have to keep trying different chucks until I find one that fits?

Here's my chuck, by the way...

http://www.amazon.com/PSI-Woodworking-P ... 19&sr=1-14

IIRC, I have that chuck. At least it looks the same. I don't have any problems, and more often than not, I do exactly as Tyler described - leaving out step 2 and 3.

If your CHUCK has play in it - meaning that the bit moves around in the chuck, or the chuck moves around on the taper, you've got a defective chuck and you should send it back for replacement.

However, it occurs to me that if the ram is backed up all the way in the tailstock, and you don't properly seat the MT2 taper in the ram, the chuck will wobble and be completely unstable. When you insert the taper into the ram, crank the handwheel moving the ram forward until the taper is fully seated. Additionally, I tend to give the face of the chuck a good whack with a dead blow hammer to make sure it's really secure. If you do all that, the chuck shouldn't move at all.

[BriarWorldNick]

Can we get a sticky from Kurt and Tyler about Lathes and tools required to use them. A general knowledge of beginning your setup and what knowledge you can recommend for the beginning lathe user, outside of using it of course?

[Dixie_piper]

Can we get a sticky from Kurt and Tyler about Lathes and tools required to use them. A general knowledge of beginning your setup and what knowledge you can recommend for the beginning lathe user, outside of using it of course?

Already got a few, the "Learning about lathes, this one goes out to TJ" post covers most all of that along with a few others stickies in tools and tooling. A few comprehensive starters guides are recomended there as well, too much info for a thread