The one thing I've been extra terrible at is boring square cork/Eva/wood using my Delta Midi lathe. Right now I'm using a PSI 3-jaw chuck with a Jacobs to hold the drill bit, and am completely unable to get the bore perfectly centered in square stock.

Would I be better off buying a cheap < $100 drill press to bore our square stock less than 6" long, or buying a 4-jaw chuck for my lathe?

I built a big contraption (should be spelled con-crap-tion) to bore out EVA, but it's just impossible for me to get it perfect. I've tried shaping wood first, then boring second, adn that's half way decent, btu I'm unable to do this using a solid 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" x 6" piece of Cork as I cannot use a Spur drive in cork as it's too soft.

Any ideas/thoughts?

I use a four jawed chuck boring 1 1/2" X 1 1/2" X 7" wooden blocks with fair accuracy and I think it might do as well or better using EVA blocks but I have only bored a couple of them and don't remember any problem. A four jaw chuck should definitely be an improvement over the PSI 3 jaw you are using. One problem you may run into with a drill press is finding an inexpensive one with a 12" throw.

Stan Grace
Helena, MT
"Our best is none too good"

Put your stock in a 4 jaw chuck . That way when you put your piece on a mandrel to shape/turn, it will turn concentric to the hole whether it's a little off or not. It's pretty difficult to bore a perfectly straight hole (I don't think that I ever have) With a drill press you would need a tall enough one with a enough draw to drill all the way through your stock.

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/16/2007 03:51PM by Mike Barkley.

I failed ot mention the need for center accuracy - I'm doing Ray Jorgenson Petal style grips which an off center bore results in uneven petals/curves when sanded down. I'm not worried about getting the grip sanded coencentric once I have the hole bored - my 3-jaw with a mandrel does a sufficient job at that. I didn't think of the space neccesary for the drill press, thanks

I used to have the same problem, especially if I was attempting to drill vertically on my drill press.

My drill press allows the table to pivot, so now I adjust the table so it is parallel to the drill bit, and clamp the wood tightly onto the table with a big soft jawed clamp, making sure it is perfectly parallel using a square. I use a VERY sharp brad point bit for positive cutting and it nails it every time. I'm not entirely sure if it is my technique or the brad point bit or both, but whatever the case, it solved my problem.

Hope this helps,


Walt

P.S.: After reading the other's responses, I think I may need to invest in a four-jaw chuck, as this process seems easier than mine...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/16/2007 04:16PM by Walt Natzke.

Im a complete novice with lathe turning, but I went to PSI and got a lathe and accessories last week and got this chuck but the reccomendation of the guy working there...I like it and I bored holes dead nuts into a few 1 1/2" square X 6" long sections of hard wood...Not sure if that helps ya or not...

[www.pennstateind.com]





"There is a principle which is a bar against all information,which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance--that principle is contempt prior to investigation."
- Herbert Spencer

Billy,

I use my Rikon and a 4 jaw chuck, it's not perfect, but it does a good enough job that I can stick square stock in the chuck, drill it 1/2 way through the stock, then take the stock out , flip it, and drill from the other end and MEET the same hole in the center of the stock that I started from the other side with a 1/4" brad bit. The key is getting the stock LEVEL and lined up STRAIGHT in chuck before you tighten the chuck all the way. I usually spin the lathe with my hand and watch the stock, I adjust it until I dont see it wobble.

Like I said, it's not perfect, but it's very close!

DR

It's very difficult to bore a perfectly centered bore with a drill press - it's much harder to get things lined up than with a lathe. But Walt's suggestion to use the table as a clamping aid parallel to the quill is an old woodworking trick that will do the job about as well as it can be done on a drill press.

You still have to make sure that you're square both fore and aft.

.............

Duane, I've done that with EVA a few times, adn it does work. Problem I have is while I get a stright bore on both sides which do meet up in the center, these 2 bores are never perfectly straight in teh center axis of the grip. I don't know why someone hasn't posted tha tI should just stick to thread, lol. AS Tom said regarding the drill press - I'm not starting square somewhere, and sinc I don't do it often enough I really dont' notice until I'm done and swear to myself "Next time this won't happen again". Then next itme I forget again, lol.

Billy...One note of caution re: 4 jaw chucks. If you buy a self centering 4 jaw it will not grip non square stock evenly and depending on the degree of non squareness, may not hold tight enough. On the other hand, an independently adjusted 4 jaw will take tedious alingment of the stock (even if it's perfectly square) with a dial indicator. FWIW...Rodge

Roger just hit the nail on the head. A 4 jaw self centering chuck won't center up any better than a 3 jaw chuck, most of them won't anyway.
Must be capable of tightening each jaw individually in order to get the accuracy . Personally, I would never buy a self centering 4 jaw chuck. And you really need a little magnetic dial indicator, they are not too expensive. Roger must be a Machinist.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/16/2007 08:27PM by Jay Hunt.

I use a 4 jaw self centering chuck on all of my stuff (as does everyone that I know) and have not had one little bit of trouble with it. I'm not a machinist or even an accomplished wood worker but I usually center it by eye as close as I can. I find the center of one end and mark it and line it up with the bit in the tail stock and then tighten up the 4 jaw chuck. I'm sure it's not precision but works for me. Once I put it on a mandrel, it turns concentric so I really don't see the problem. I admit that I am definately mechanically challenged but I have seen some awful good rod builder turn out some beautiful work this way

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!

Mike, you are doing everything correctly. Roger and I may have been a little too precise for making handles. But on the other hand, Roger is correct. If one had a 4 jaw chuck with independent tightening capabilities ( which would be quite pricey I suspect ) and a dial indicator he could get her centered up dead nuts.

I have no doubt that you and Roger are 100% correct, I just don't know that that degree of accuracy has much, if any, bearing on the kind of turning that I do (keep in mind that I am a complete novice with lathes and anything mechanical or precision)

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!

You are 100% correct. We are not building watches here. But just throwing the info out there. There is a more accurate way if one needs it and wants to spend the money. Personally, I don't need that kind of accuracy either. But if I were buying a new lathe with a 4 jaw chuck, I would buy one with individually adjustable jaws even if I had to pay more for it. The chuck, most likely would be for a metal lathe. And I already have a dial indicator.

I have an old (circa 1950's) Craftsman lathe that came with a self centering 3 jaw chuck. I watched @#$%& for a few weeks and finally won a matching (3/4 16tpi) 4 jaw independently adjustable chuck for around $50. Since this purchase I have not used the 3 jaw chuck, ever. On the face of the 4 jaw there are alignment rings so that you can compare the relationship of all four jaw with a quick glance. By using these rings and starting off with a truly square stock, I don't have the slightest problem getting things centered relatively quickly. I'm sure that if I were to purchase a base magnet that things would go a little quicker but I don't think it would be any more accurate. Just my .02 worth.


John

I've had good success boring non square pen blanks, typically 3/4" on each side, with my 4 jaw self centering chuck. Sometimes you have to play around with how you grip the piece a bit. But, if you are doing segmented type work as Billy describes, your piece should be square within reason - and if the hole comes out off by 0.002 nobody is going to notice. We aren't building pianos. On longer pieces, start with a shorter drill bit, drill to the depth you can achieve with that bit (back out the bit and clear out the chips OFTEN - like every 1/4 - 1/2". Then, switch to a longer bit to finish out the bore. Long bits flying around introduce more slop than anything else.

The nice thing about the 4 jaw self centering chuck is that if you do get into woodturning, bowls, hollow forms, etc, you will love having it. I don't know a woodturner that doesn't have a 4 jaw self-centering chuck. In my AAW turning club, we have some INCREDIBLE turners, guys that study with Jimmy Clewes and David Ellsworth.

Anyways, Billy - I'd take Mike's advice and go that route. If you want a nice chuck for a good price, check out the PSI Barracuda series. Import chuck, but by all accounts very well made. They must have found a factory with some quality control over there :-)

THanks for all teh replies. WHen I first bought my lathe, all I saw available in 4-jaw was teh individually adjusted jaws, which I know would have driven me crazy as I don't like to tinker with stuff too much, I want to stand in front o fthe lathe, turn it on, do what I need to do and go away. MEasuring stuff is a major headache, as is switching jaws and chucks every 15 seconds. However, for teh stuff I want to do now, I see it will be neccesary to do that or I will be wasting time and materials not getting it right the lazy way.

I wish I was able to take a woodturning/inlay type of class somewhere. I've read a few books, and scraped info off various websites, adn have done a bit of trial and error, but I really don't know what I'm doing ot the degree I want to know how - it's similar to reading a ROd Building book and asking a few Q's on this forum, and building a few rods. Then sitting down with someone and having them show you, and all of a sudden the first few rods you did which were masterpieces when you did them, turn out ot be not so masterpieceful once you are armed with all the new info.

Billy - go to the American Association of Woodturners website:

[www.woodturner.org]

Click on Local Chapters, and see if there is one in your area. I live in a pretty rural area of northern Wisconsin, I was blown away to find a local AAW chapter (45 members!) that meets at a guy's house 2 miles from mine! I joined before I even got my lathe :-) Anyways, you will find (I think), them to be very helpfull and friendly. In my club, they are happy to help with tool sharpening, technique, all kinds of suggestions. Beware though - pretty soon you will be driving into the ditch while looking at trees and wondering if they would make a good reelseat or handle :-)
I'm still very much a beginner at turning, but I've learned a LOT from going to these meetings and joining the club. Even won some wood in the raffles. As soon as I get done with this batch of rods I'm working on for co-workers/buddies, I'm going to really start playing with the wood grips/reelseats. Mark B. has been an unbelievably helpfull resource too - super guy.

Also, go to penturners.org and find the The Library, under Features - there are some segmented pen tuturials that are probably too rudimentary for you, but they may help :-) A lot of the penturning stuff can be applied to rodbuilding, same as pool cues.

Now, if I could get the time to start playing with this stuff more! :-)

Billy,

I use a Nova 4 jaw (self centering). I've found that the key to getting a dead center hole drilled is: 1. Get a centerfinder tool. It's made of plastic and fairly cheap and easy to use. 2. Start your drilling with a shorter (standard length) brad point bit. If you start with a lond bit, there is a lot of flex in it, so if you hit a knot or a harder section of wood it will wander. 3. Switch to a longer bit to finish the drilling and proceed SLOWLY. Using this method, it knocks out the step of having to flip the stock around to finish the drilling. If the hole comes out a little off , no big deal! Putting it on the mandrel will allow it to be turned concentrically to the hole, as Mike has already said.

Bill in WV