A Primer FOR ON THE Dennis Belcher

rilling on the lathe is a basic dam created inside the hole makes it after every four rotations of the hand- operation that is frequently increasingly difficult to retract the bit wheel. But I also pay attention to the D ignored in teaching woodturn- from the hole. The blockage will cause stream of shavings coming out of the ing. And while much has been written the bit to stay in the blank when drill hole and adjust my clearing rate about the use of a bowl gouge or a spin- the quill is retracted, separating the as needed. Shavings can become so dle gouge, little information is available mating surfaces of the arbor packed into the bit’s cutting head that about how to drill efficiently or safely. and tailstock quill. Separate the two they require effort to remove. Use a Each of the drilling techniques I cover surfaces, and the revolves with toothbrush to clear the chips that have has advantages and disadvantages, and the wood at the speed of the lathe, adhered to the bit. the “best” method depends upon the rather than being held stationary by task at hand. Regardless of the drilling the tailstock. At this point, the turner 2. Maintain the condition of method, there are four requirements must hit the off button and resist Morse tapers that all approaches share. trying to grab the rotating drill chuck. Countering the rotational forces Not a safe experience. involved in drilling relies on the fric- Key principals The most important habit to form tion fit between the Morse taper of the 1. Clear the chips frequently when drilling on the lathe is to fre- chuck arbor and the inside of tailstock When chips build up behind the drill quently back the bit out to clear the quill. The holding power of the two bit, like those shown in Photo 1, the shavings. My rule of thumb is to clear mating surfaces is astounding, but not

Clear chips frequently Quill maintenance

2 3 Photo: Leon Olson 1 Clean the interior of the quill using a If your quill is damaged, a , used with Drill shavings eject nicely out of a sharp Morse taper cleaner. the lathe off but aligned using the drive Forstner bit at the start of a hole. But spindle, is turned with a wrench to redress deeper in the hole, the bit must be the interior walls of the tailstock quill. retracted frequently to help clear the chips.

22 American Woodturner August 2019 FEATURE

without limits. That holding power depends upon the two surfaces being in full contact with each other. Store tools properly Always be sure your tailstock quill is clean and free of dust and grime that would keep the mating surfaces from making full contact (Photo 2). If you find that the interior of the quill has been scored or damaged, try a Morse taper reamer—matching the taper size of your quill—to redress the interior walls. This must be done by hand and not under lathe power. Done incorrectly, reaming can damage the quill. Arbors are easy to 5 6 replace, quills are not. In the August 2014 (4) Closely inspect, clean, and dress the drill chuck arbor. issue of American Woodturner, Leon Olson (5-6) Store accessories with arbors so that they cannot crash into each published a helpful article, “Maintain 4 other. Open drawer storage leads to lots of scratches and dents. Your Morse Tapers.” Leon notes that reaming is different from cleaning and care must be taken (Photo 3). A Morse taper arbor can be separated investment in time and a few simple tools Dings in the arbor are another source from the head and replaced at about a to sharpen them (Photo 8). An Internet of problems (Photo 4). Storing or trans- third of the cost of a new drill chuck. search will yield a wealth of information porting drill chucks in a way that allows A sharp tap to the arbor through the and instructions on the topic. arbors to bump into other hard objects chuck jaws will cause the arbor to The metal used in drill bits is not can leave dents and scratches. These release (Photo 7). Close examination necessarily the same quality as the high- dings hold the mating surfaces apart, of my chuck found a stamped “J33,” speed steel used in today’s tools. compromising the holding power. the size of the end that fits in the Drill bits can lose temper from the heat Leon Olson’s 2014 AW article made chuck head. With that information, I generated in use. This is one reason to me look closely at my drill chucks. was able to search for a replacement, bring down the lathe speed when drill- I found that the arbors had been a Morse taper arbor J33-to-MT2 with ing. If you see a color change on the drill dinged. I was able to restore one arbor, ⅜"-16 threads for a drawbar. bit, the bit has been heated. If the color is but after weighing the consequences dark blue, the temper is probably gone, of a dangerous drilling event, I opted 3. Use sharp drill bits and when temper has been lost, the steel to recycle the most damaged arbor. I We all understand the importance of will not hold a sharp edge. have also changed the way I store tools sharp lathe tools. Sharp drill bits are no The usual response to slow drill- (Photos 5, 6). less important and are worth the modest ing—the sign of a dull bit—is to apply

Replace damaged Keep your bits sharp MAINTAIN YOUR MORSE TAPERS CHATTER

Maintain Your Morse Tapers WOODTURNERS Leon Olson CHATTER

I read with interest a sidebar in the April 2014 issue of AW no 2) regarding a tip for drilling arbors (vol 29, strength. How often should you on the lathe using the tailstock. clean a Morse taper? I clean mine The tip offered a solution to the every time I put a drive center, live Jacobs chuck coming loose in touch. The tailstock and quill center, Jacobs chuck, or any other the tailstock when retracting the need to be locked in place when accessory that uses a Morse taper for drill bit, something that seems to checking concentricity. If the attachment in either the headstock happen all too often. As I read, I lathe is not concentric, consult or tailstock. asked myself, “Why would a Morse the manual for your lathe or Leon Olson’s August 2014 There are other reasons Morse taper work loose on a lathe? Is a check with the manufacturer. tapers do not hold, but they are not Morse taper designed to hold only Most can be adjusted to as common. Some wood lathes have while pushing?” If you have used a achieve alignment. a short tailstock quill, and some drill press to drill a hole you have You should also verify that the Morse taper arbors are made to probably used a Morse taper to push arbor of your Jacobs chuck is not full length. If you try to use a full- a drill into material and then pull bent. Put the Jacobs chuck in the length arbor in a midi lathe with it out. As with lathes, most drill headstock with a known straight a short quill, the quill has to be presses use a Morse taper arbor shaft such as a drill bit chucked in article, “Maintain Your almost fully extended for the Morse AW (male part) to attach a chuck to it and run the lathe at low rpm. taper parts to mate properly. In this the spindle, or quill (female part). If the shaft runs true, the Morse scenario, there is little more than 1" If a Morse taper works so well on taper arbor is straight. If not, it (25mm) of quill travel remaining. a drill press, why would it fail to might be time to purchase a new If you were to drill a hole quickly, hold on a lathe so frequently? Jacobs chuck. cranking the drill in and out with The short answer: lack of the tailstock handwheel to clear the maintenance. Solutions chips, it is possible you could crank If your Jacobs chuck is pulling Morse Tapers” (vol 29, too far back and unknowingly Potential problems loose from your tailstock quill disengage the Jacobs chuck from Woodturners create a lot of dust, while drilling, you can improve the quill. When you drill forward which floats around pervasively performance by cleaning and, in again with a loose chuck, you could and settles on everything, includ some cases, repairing the Morse damage both mating surfaces of the ing the inside of the Morse taper in taper surfaces. Clean and refine Morse taper. the quill of a tailstock. On a drill - the surface of the arbor using a Another problem that could press, the Morse taper rarely fails small, hard or occur when drilling with the because the chuck’s arbor is almost extra fine, clean file. Gently run no 4, page 12) is a must tailstock is misalignment of the never removed from the quill, so it the stone or file across the arbor headstock spindle center with is not exposed to shop dust. Lathe to remove any raised material the tailstock center. If these two accessories with a Morse taper, on (Photo 1). Do not clean the arbor points are not concentric, you will the other hand, such as live centers with or a soft stone, as be drilling an off-center hole into and Jacobs chucks, are used and the grit will remain on a spinning object. Worse, if the removed from the lathe often and the surface and damage its mating centers are more than a few thou- possibly kept in the open where surface when you reassemble the sandths of an inch off and you dust and debris can readily accu Morse taper. read on this topic, which attempt to drill with a large diame mulate. If you use a Jacobs chuck To repair the female taper inside ter bit, the Morse taper of your drill without cleaning both mating - the quill, begin by cleaning the chuck could work loose and cause surfaces of the Morse taper, the - surface with a cotton cleaning damage. Do a quick visual check by chuck will not be held at maximum swab. I use a swab whose intended putting pointed centers in both the purpose is cleaning the barrel of headstock and tailstock and bring a shotgun ( ing them together so they almost Photo 2 imagine, a swab will). onlyAs you accom would is vital to safe drilling - plish a light cleaning. An appropri 12 ate size Morse taper ream, - 12_LeonOlson.indd 12 -

8 American Woodturner August 2014 A diamond hone, a card sharpener, and on the lathe. Log on at 7 7/9/14 10:38 AM A drill chuck arbor separates from the a ceramic hone are examples of the few head with a punch and sharp hammer simple tools needed to keep Forstner woodturner.org to access the Explore! tap for easy replacement. bits sharp and cutting cleanly. search tool.

woodturner.org 23 more force and turn up the lathe speed. up until the bit touches the wood, lock bed ways, and the drill bit is advanced Turning up the lathe speed increases the the tailstock, and advance the quill into the spinning wood by turning the heat of friction. The correct response is to against the wood with the handwheel. tailstock handwheel. Add to the scene maintain the appropriate lathe speed for Back the bit off the wood slightly and one hand placed on the drill chuck in an the bit’s diameter and sharpen the bit. start the lathe. This practice ensures the attempt to keep the arbor in full contact The larger the bit diameter, the slower drill chuck arbor is fully seated and the with the quill (Photo 9). the lathe speed should be. The bit manu- full holding power of the Morse taper is This method has the advantage of facturer should provide recommended engaged before you start to drill. having the tailstock locked at all times. speed guidelines, and look-up tables are There are a number of other vari- This results in an accurately drilled readily available online. Proper drilling ables that can contribute to the drill hole throughout the entire depth, as speeds are slower than one would think. chuck rotating in the quill. Differences long as the quill is not over-extended. There are also significant differences between the manufacturing processes This method is slow, and cranking in speed recommendations for drilling used to make an arbor or quill, the the handwheel is tedious. Holding the in hardwood versus softwood. I keep a composition and quality of the steel, chuck with one hand while retracting look-up table of recommended drilling country of manufacture, and level of the quill is dangerous because your speeds posted above my lathe. adherence to manufacturing standards grip may not be strong enough to can come into play. prevent the arbor and quill from sepa- 4. Fully seat the arbor Perhaps a dose of common sense rating, and then you are left holding With the lathe off, put the drill chuck should be the first requirement on this a spinning chuck and bit! Wearing a arbor into the quill, bring the tailstock list. If your arbor rotates in the quill, glove does not remove that risk. something is wrong. If it is not your technique, then it is the tool. Arbors can Drawbar Control bit extraction be repaired to some extent; quills can be Using a drawbar solves one of the cleaned and reamed. But if the tool con- problems associated with the common tinues to fail, it should be replaced. approach—the chuck and quill separating. Many drill chucks have a Drilling methods threaded hole in the end of the arbor The common approach (Photo 10). To take advantage of this 9 Most of us approach drilling on the lathe feature, pass a threaded rod through Maintain contact between the arbor with at least the intention of following the tailstock and thread it into the end and quill when extracting the bit from the blank by holding the back of the the requirements outlined above. What of the arbor. A nut tightened against chuck and exerting force towards the seems to be the most commonly used a washer on the handwheel side locks handwheel. The bit can bind and cause the assembly in place. But before the drill chuck to rotate with the blank; method to drill on the lathe is with a using a glove does not eliminate this risk. drill chuck mounted in the tailstock. pulling the chuck arbor into the quill, The tailstock is locked in place on the check for grime on the mating

Use a drawbar

10 11 12 Many arbors will accept a drawbar made Properly tensioned with a washer and nut, a Adjusting the nut and washer to allow a from threaded rod. drawbar maintains firm contact between the small amount of travel facilitates centering arbor and quill, even when extracting the bit. the bit in the blank. After centering, tighten the nut and washer to remove the travel and lock the drawbar.

24 American Woodturner August 2019 FEATURE

surfaces. Tightening the threaded rod can embed grit in the quill. Drilling with a drawbar ensures Use a spring-loaded drawbar the full holding power of the Morse taper. But, because the chuck is locked into the tailstock, the handwheel cannot advance the drill bit into the wood. Instead, the turner unlocks the tailstock and manually advances the bit into the wood by sliding the 13 14 tailstock along the ways (Photo 11). A strong spring over the threaded rod spring-loads the drawbar, applying a counter force to keep the arbor and quill snug. Because the tailstock is not secured to the bed ways, this method can allow the bit to wander. Any play in the tailstock can cause the initial entry point of the drill bit to be off- Skip the drill chuck center, and wood grain variation can encourage the bit to wander further as it is advanced. My approach with the drawbar has been to adjust the nut so that the quill can travel about a half-inch (Photo 12). I bring up the tailstock, lock it in place, 15 16 and advance the drill bit to the wood Twist bits can be purchased that are milled Arbors for using Forstner bits directly in with a Morse taper to fit directly into the quill. the tailstock quill are also available. with the handwheel. This ensures that the drilling begins on center. I then re- adjust the nut and washer to lock the quill, then unlock the tailstock, clear left hand while drilling. The disadvan- hand’s proximity to the bit’s sharp the chips, and continue drilling by tage is the travel length limit imposed cutting faces can lead to ugly cuts manually advancing the tailstock. by the spring. Exercise caution in if the bit were to bind in the hole. A selecting the spring; it needs to be glove on the left hand does not elimi- Spring-loaded drawbar sufficiently stiff to hold the tapers nate the risk of injury. The spring-loaded drawbar is a varia- together at all times. tion of the drawbar technique. A Adapters and extensions stiff spring is placed on the drawbar Tailstock-mounted twist bit This system uses an arbor that between the back of the quill and the Another system of drilling on mounts directly into the tailstock locking nut (Photos 13, 14). The spring the lathe relies on a twist drill bit and accepts Forstner bits (Photo 16). tension ensures full contact between mounted directly into the tailstock Extensions can be added to increase the arbor and quill, yet still allows quill (Photo 15). The turner’s left drilling depth. The left hand manages turning the handwheel to advance hand helps maintain contact arbor contact with the quill, and the bit into the wood. The strength of between the mating surfaces while the cutting edges are comfortably the spring determines the strength of retracting the bit. The tailstock can far from the hand. The bit can be the mating of the arbor-quill connec- be locked and the handwheel used to advanced with the handwheel or by tion. The length of the spring deter- advance the bit, or the tailstock can sliding the tailstock. mines the amount of travel. Backing be unlocked and used to push the This is my preferred method of drill- the drill bit out to periodically clear drill bit into the wood. ing. I seat the arbor and bit into the chips is still critical to success. Even though the relatively shorter tailstock and advanced the quill to The locked tailstock and leverage length of this arrangement reduces fully engage the arbor, advance the of the handwheel contribute to this play during drilling and produces tailstock until the bit meets the wood, method’s accuracy and eliminate the consistently straight holes, this is lock the tailstock, and advance the bit need to hold the drill chuck with your my least favorite technique. The left into the wood with the handwheel. woodturner.org 25 Once the hole is established, I will packed into the bit are critical Small diameter bits lock the quill, unlock the tailstock tasks. I tap the drill bit shank on I frequently drill tiny pilot holes for and push the bit into the wood to the the toolrest to help clear the bit. If eye screws in Christmas ornaments. I target depth. As always, I clear the necessary, I will use a toothbrush create a center reference with a skew, chips frequently. to remove any debris from the bit three-point tool, parting tool, or This technique is accurate, quick, before continuing. bedan. The best tool for this task is the and presents no sharp edges to tear at Begin hand drilling by establish- one at hand. This reference keeps the your hand. There is, of course, a ing a center-point with the tip of a drill bit from wandering before the financial cost to acquire the arbor skew presented flat on the toolrest, hole can get started. It is a small detail and extensions. or use the sharp corner of a parting that makes a great difference. tool. Mark the target depth with a Because of the shallow depth of pilot Drilling by hand piece of tape on the drill bit. Set the holes, hand drilling without a chuck or Establishing a hollowing depth for toolrest to align the center of the even the toolrest works well. Hold the a bowl or hollow form is a common drill bit and the center of the vessel, bit in a shopmade handle, locking vise drilling task on the lathe. This can be with the bit held horizontally. The grips, or the of a rotary carver done with any of the aforementioned shaft of the bit should be parallel to handpiece (Photo 18). techniques, but this task does not the bed ways. Set the lathe to about Small diameter bits are easily require precision and most turners 350 rpm, and push the drill bit into broken. My preferred method is to prefer hand drilling’s speed and lack the wood. As always, frequently use the handpiece from my rotary of setup. clear the shavings. carver to hold the bits. Small bits seat The diameter of the bit is important If the bit is pulled off-center, the deeply in the handpiece, exposing in hand drilling. The rotational forces shaft and handle will begin to travel a fraction of the overall length and on the bit increase with its diameter. in a wider circle away from the center reducing the odds of breaking the bit. I have ¼" (6mm) and 5⁄16" (8mm) bits of rotation. You can correct this I offered more tips and techniques in my kit. The handles for the bits problem by turning away waste until for sizing bits and drilling pilot holes are sized to fit my grip and provide you reach the bottom of the drill hole, in my December 2014 AW article, leverage against the force of rotation then re-establish the centerpoint to “Christmas from the Sea.” (Photo 17). resume drilling. Drilling always generates heat. Drilling by hand at slow speed Conclusion This is a particularly challenging is a reasonably safe practice. But When we master the fundamentals, problem when drilling wet wood avoid placing your hand or fingers woodturning is a great joy. Drilling with a handheld bit. Heat swells between the bit and the toolrest, on the lathe is one of those skills that, wood fibers, which then bind the and do not attempt to control the when mastered, adds to the joy and bit. Frequently clearing both the bit by gripping the cutting edge of encourages workshop safety. Without chips from the hole and any chips the tool. the mastery, drilling can ruin a project in the final steps. Clean your quill, file your dings, keep Handle the bit your bit sharp, and clear the chips.

Dennis Belcher retired from a 30+ year career in the investment world to his lifelong passion of working with wood. A member of the Wilmington 17 18 Area Woodturners Association (North Establishing a depth hole requires less Drilling small pilot holes does not demand the Carolina), Dennis demonstrates for precision than other drilling tasks, so a bit mechanical strength of a secure fixing method clubs and participates in juried art mounted in a wood handle is adequate for like a drill chuck, so shopmade bit holders or shows. For more, contact Dennis at the task. repurposed tools are suited to the task. [email protected] or visit his website, seabreezewoodworks.com.

26 American Woodturner August 2019