Pen turning question?

[Zacharytanner]

Hey Guys- my buddy is starting to turn and is doing pens - does anyone have a picture or plans to build a jig to hold the blanks for drilling?

Thanks
Frank

 

[mouppe]

What I have done is mount the drill bit in the tailstock, put the blank in between the drill bit and headstock and slowly move the tailstock forward.

Then remove the drill bit, insert the mandrel in the hole, and turn it from there.

 

[dltflt]

I used two pieces of 1" x 2" wood that were hinged and have "V" cutout of each piece to make a square when they were together.  The one end was reduced in size to be use as a handle.

 

[nclemmons]

I use a wooden handscrew clamp.  Mark a line square to the face, clamp the blank aligned to the line and then drill from the top.  Works well for me.

neil

 

[Zacharytanner]

Any pictures guys - I'm a visual guy

 

[Wooden Skye]

I bought one of the drilling jigs from woodcraft. It just made more sense than trying to build one.  I use with my drill press and it works great.  This is the one I use.  They have a better model that is on sale at the moment.

http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/143609/Pen-Makers'-Center-Drilling-Vise.aspx

http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/151256/WoodRiver-Deluxe-Self-Centering-Pen-and-Bottle-Stopper-Drilling-Vise.aspx

 

[nclemmons]

Any pictures guys - I'm a visual guy

Here's a simple solution that I've used and it's inexpensive!

neil

 

[waho6o9]

This is what I use
[attachimg=1]

 

[dltflt]

This is what I use
[attachimg=1]

That is what mine looks like but without the threaded rods.

 

[Zacharytanner]

Ended up doing a few

 

[Zacharytanner]

Thanks for the help guys

 

[gkaiseril]

There are lots of resources on the web:

Basic Pen Turning
How to turn a pen