Wood Turners, Drill press or Lathe?

I don’t see the need for a special pen drilling chuck. I use a regular lathe chuck (One Way Talon) and it works just fine.

If you don’t already have a regular chuck for your lathe, I am sure you will buy one someday. Most regular chucks have 4 jaws and that is what you want. (A few only have 3 jaws.) Once you have a regular chuck, this special pen drilling chuck will serve no purpose in your shop.

With respect to chucks there is a wide variety available from $50 to $300+. In my opinion, you can get a pretty good one for about $200. If you decide to pursue this, help is available on this board to help you decide which chuck is best for you.

-- Rich, Cedar Rapids, IA - I'm a woodworker. I don't create beauty, I reveal it.

richgreer, I was planning on getting a 4 jaw chuck but wasn’t sure it was right for this purpose. You make a good point though. Maybe I will just go that route.

-- http://www.etsy.com/shop/KandJWoodCrafts

I went for a drill press with a longer quill travel (3 1/8”).

I made my own drilling jig …

A Jacobs chuck is still a good investment for the lathe … I use mine with Forstner bits to drill out the bulk of the waste in bowls.

I bought the 4 jaw utility chuck from PSI for $89 … so far, I’m satisfied with it.

—Gerry

-- Gerry -- "I don't plan to ever really grow up ... I'm just going to learn how to act in public!"

I’ve never had a problem drilling holes in pen blanks with my lathe and chuck.

In my opinion, you want a mid sized chuck and mid sized jaws. If you want a recommendation, here it is – -

http://www.pennstateind.com/store/CSC3000C.html

I do not own this chuck but I have used a friends on occasion. This is probably what I would buy if my One Way ever wore out – - of course, that will never happen.

-- Rich, Cedar Rapids, IA - I'm a woodworker. I don't create beauty, I reveal it.

Does the old delta 12” drill press have a 3 1/8” quill travel? Someone told me it does but I cannot confirm. There is one for sale in my area pretty cheap and that wouldn’t eat up much more room in my shop.

-- http://www.etsy.com/shop/KandJWoodCrafts

I personally much prefer to drill on the lath, this way the hole is perfectly centered every time and you are only limited by the length of the drill and of the bench.
In addition you save the cost of another drill press.
You can buy a chuck for less than $15.00 at hf.
http://www.harborfreight.com/1-2-half-inch-mt2-mini-lathe-drill-chuck-42340.html

This is the way I do it.

-- Bert

Thanks Bert. I have a bunch of those already (my dad is a machinist). I just need a jawed chuck for the head stock.

Rich, you like that PSI chuck over the Nova G3? The One Way Talon looks awesome, but I think that is a little too much chuck for my needs.

-- http://www.etsy.com/shop/KandJWoodCrafts

b

-- Bert

lumberjoe—What lathe do you have? If you have a mini or midi, drilling on the lathe may not be so much fun. I have a Delta 46-460, which is a great machine, but the quill in the tailstock only has a 2” travel. If I need to drill anything deeper than that, I have to back the quill out, reposition the tailstock, and go for it again.

—Gerry

-- Gerry -- "I don't plan to ever really grow up ... I'm just going to learn how to act in public!"

There are two types of four jaw chucks. One has a scroll that automatically centers the work and the other type is called an “independentl” four jaw chuck. The latter chuck jaws are each adjusted individually and requires the use of a dial indicator to center the work. You wand the former type chuck.

Seriously, people center their work with a dial indicator? Thanks for the heads up. I would get sick of turning real quick. To me a dial indicator means many many many tiny adjustments until I get it close enough

-- http://www.etsy.com/shop/KandJWoodCrafts

Drill on the lathe by using a regular chuck and bell hanger drill bits – these come in 12”, 18”, 24” and longer lengths. Or you can use the 12” bell hanger drill bit in your drill press if your table is adjustable.

-- Raymond, Charlotte, NC -------- Demonstrate the difference!

My drill press only has 2 1/3” quill travel. No matter how long of a bit I use, it’s not going through a 2 5/8” blank. Gerry, my lathe only has 2” of travel on the tail stock, but moving the tail stock closer to finish is easier than flipping the piece on the drill press (and a lot more accurate)

-- http://www.etsy.com/shop/KandJWoodCrafts

I ordered the Barracuda2 from PSI last night. After looking at a lot of different chuck options, that seemed to be the way to go unless I want to spend double for a one way. I have a feeling this will open a whole new world of turning possibilities that are not possible with just my faceplate and spur center.

-- http://www.etsy.com/shop/KandJWoodCrafts

Well again I didn’t read all posts here but the easy way to drill all the way through is to just drill as far as you can, stop the drillpress with the bit in the wood, raise the quill and put a board under the blank and restart and continue drilling. This works well untill you get the proper drillpress or chuck.
MIKE

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