# Pen Blank Drilling- What is the Best...



## JMillerWoodworks (Jun 14, 2017)

I have been wanting to get a pen drilling vise for a while now and am wondering- would it be a good idea to skip the idea of getting a drilling vise and to simply buy a cross-sliding vise and then get v-grips for it? The idea I had would be then I could drill the blanks without having to loosen the locks and re-adjust the vise each time by simple twisting to adjust. Feel free to comment- I would love to hear your opinion!

cross sliding vise I had in mind- https://www.homedepot.com/p/WEN-3-25-in-Compound-Cross-Slide-Industrial-Strength-Benchtop-and-Drill-Press-Vise-413CV/303357076


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## John Smith_inFL (Dec 15, 2017)

Joel, I don't do any pen turning.
but - I do have that vise and once you get it all adjusted and tuned up,
it is a pretty nifty addition to the drill press. (I have the HF version that came 
loaded with grease and must be cleaned thoroughly before setting it up).
making "V" blocks out of hardwood would be fairly simple. they would be
mounted to the jaws with the existing screws. a new high quality and sharp
drill bit would probably suit your needs well.
the best mounting method that I found was to mount the vise securely to
a piece of 3/4" plywood - then securing the plywood to the DP table as the
itty bitty feet on the vise do not match anything on the DP table.


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## TheDane (May 15, 2008)

Joel … I have two drilling vises (1 shop-made, 1 commercial) ... I don't use either of them.

Bought a set of Nova 6034 Pen Plus Jaws for about $30 and do all of my drilling on the lathe.

I had a Nova G3 that wasn't getting much use, so the pen jaws live on it.

More accurate, no screwing around adjusting a vise, and (IMHO) it is faster.


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## Woodmaster1 (Apr 26, 2011)

I use a wooden parallel jaw clamp. It seems to work fine for me.


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## woodbutcherbynight (Oct 21, 2011)

Made this one a number of years ago. Still works and does alot more than originally intended.

http://lumberjocks.com/projects/82136


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## jeffski1 (Nov 29, 2008)

Nova pen jaws and they live in one of my Nova G3 chucks. Fast and accurate…


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## tonylumps (Feb 11, 2016)

Nova Jaws and Chuck.I do not think you would get more accurate or easier than that.


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## DustyM (May 16, 2016)

Another one for the Nova pen jaws and drilling on the lathe. No guess work, always centered.


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## OSU55 (Dec 14, 2012)

The few I have done were with PSI Barracuda chuck pen jaws - worked great.


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## lew (Feb 13, 2008)

+1 for drilling on the lathe.


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## Notw (Aug 7, 2013)

I would say save your money on the dedicated vise and either use a wood clamp or drill on the lathe, your money is better spent on a barrel trimmer


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## moke (Oct 19, 2010)

I used one of these for years,

https://www.pennstateind.com/store/CSCPENCHK.html

I have the g3 with pens jaws but I still use this occasionally with no issues and far cheaper than a Nova chuck!!!


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## JMillerWoodworks (Jun 14, 2017)

Thanks for the comments! The reason that I have not bought a chuck for drilling is because my lathe is an old craftsman http://lumberjocks.com/projects/340089 and it would probably take me at least 10 minutes to drill 1 blanks due to the slowness of the tailstock. I will look into building a clamp though.


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## Wildwood (Jul 22, 2012)

Have same vice and prefer to use that & drill press over lathe. Have done it both ways using drill press & lathe just feel have more control drilling using the drill press. JMHO, drill press lot easier for me.


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