Drilling side grain on the lathe

[turningal]

I hope that I can get some help and advice , I am struggling to drill into the side grain of wood being spindle turned between centres, I’ve tried making a wooden post fixed in the toolrest banjo and drilling a hole in that to drill through or use as a drill guide, but I’m using forstener bits (28mm) and although supported on the stem there is too much play to keep the bit at right angles to the wood, even after drilling a pilot hole, it’s too inaccurate. I am happy to drill wood in the square on a drill press before turning but that doesn’t work when trying to drill holes at 120 degree points.
Any advice would be welcome but be gentle I’m not a carpenter or joiner, so not too complex please, or is there a jig that I can buy?

[Bill21]

You don’t say what the item is but could it be drilled after turning? You’d need to support it and find a way of indexing it though. If your chuck has indexing you could perhaps leave the workpiece attached to the chuck and move the whole lot to the drill press?

[turningal]

Hi Bill
It needs to be drilled on the lathe, it won’t fit under my drill press (not with a drill bit in it!)

[Duncan A]

Buy or make a jig that holds your drill, rather than the drill bit. Obviously it will need to slide in order to feed the drill bit into the wood.
Oneway and, I think, Sorby make such jigs and Paul Howard makes a routing jig. All of these could be used for inspiration when making your own if you don't want to buy one.
Duncan

[turningal]

Thanks Duncan, as they say, ‘why didn’t I think about that!’
I think the Paul Howard jig is beyond my price range, but I’ll explore one way and Sorby, in the meantime look at ‘cobbling up something myself’.
Kind regards
Alan

[Bill21]

I am happy to drill wood in the square on a drill press before turning.

I assumed from that the piece fitted under you drill press?

It needs to be drilled on the lathe, it won’t fit under my drill press

If this makes it any easier to make a jig you can buy drill clamps.

[Twisted Trees]

When drilling the side of a spindle it is always easier to do it when it is still square, is that possible? controlling the path of a drill bit can be difficult especially when hand held, just measured one of my larger forstner bits about half way down the guide point it is 4mm so I would be aiming to use a 4mm drill bit to create a pilot hole that is deep enough to get the head of the forstner bit into the wood from there it should be much easier to control.

That for you would mean making a guide post for a 4mm drill bit, much easier! then using that to help get the forstner bit into the wood accurately freehand.

Though even then I would probably be looking to get the hole drilled first so I could do it on a solid floor or bench whichever gives me the best access then cutting around the hole to my final shape.

[BrianH]

Have you thought of temporary mods to your drill stand? Remove the bed or swing the head out of line with the base perhaps. This might increase the headroom enough for your needs.
Brian

[The Bowler Hatted Turner]

I have a pillar drill big enough to cope with the pieces I make, but this post has got me thinking what would I do if it wasn't big enough? The hole through the post is fine until you need to use a bigger drill. You might try making a hole in the stem big enough to take the shaft of the forstner bit But make it wider to take more of the stem than you would think. Use it to start the hole and then switch to a narrower one. This way the start of the hole and the stem with the hole will work together to guide the drill bit.

[turningal]

Well thanks for all your help and advice, I followed Duncan’s advice and built a sled to hold my drill steady while drilling on the lathe. It also encouraged me to make the sled adaptable for using a router on the lathe.A success!

[Duncan A]

Brilliant! Now enjoy your new toy.