Greylights
Member
I'd like to fit a drill chuck to the tailstock. It's 15mm. Any suggestions please? And is it just a case of buying one and just fitting it or are there other things to consider? It's only a small lathe - Scheppach.
Drill for tailstock
- Thread starter Greylights
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Tris
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Stigmorgan
Established Member
Morse taper drill chuck, easy to get hold of, bought mine from Yandles
AES
Established Member
I know NOTHING about wood turning lathes, but for a metal working lathe, you can buy drills up to about 25 mm dia with an MT shank (No.1; No. 2, 3, etc, whatever you need). They are not cheap but I presume you only need one, and used sensibly, it'll last a lifetime and only need re-sharpening very seldom, if ever. And to further save money, and ideal for smaller lathes, you can get short series drills of this type, some call them blacksmiths drills.
I saw an add recently for Banggood (China - spelling?) who were offering a set of about 4 different dias for very little money, but no idea as to quality - or lead time.
But if either/both these points are important to you then try someone like Arc Eurotrade (their details are in the sticky at the top of the Metal Working Section here). Several others too who no doubt offer same/similar products.
I stress here I'm talking here about metal working drills, NOT brad point or anything else "specially woody", but especially for use in a lathe (well supported) and especially if a short drill (pretty stiff) my GUESS is that this type of drill will do you fine. The advantage of a suitable MT shank drill is you don't need a drill chuck (it plugs straight into the tailstock) and on a small lathe that saves length.
But DO double check with an expert, as said I know NIL about wood turning.
HTH
I saw an add recently for Banggood (China - spelling?) who were offering a set of about 4 different dias for very little money, but no idea as to quality - or lead time.
But if either/both these points are important to you then try someone like Arc Eurotrade (their details are in the sticky at the top of the Metal Working Section here). Several others too who no doubt offer same/similar products.
I stress here I'm talking here about metal working drills, NOT brad point or anything else "specially woody", but especially for use in a lathe (well supported) and especially if a short drill (pretty stiff) my GUESS is that this type of drill will do you fine. The advantage of a suitable MT shank drill is you don't need a drill chuck (it plugs straight into the tailstock) and on a small lathe that saves length.
But DO double check with an expert, as said I know NIL about wood turning.
HTH
Richard_C
Established Member
I think the previous post is about drills, not drill chucks. You say you want a chuck.
Most lathe tail stocks are either #1 or #2 morse taper like the 1MT one suggested above. Your lathe specification should say which, sounds like it is #1. MT is a pretty universal standard and used in other machinery as well so a search for 1MT drill chuck will find loads. Some super cheap ones on ebay might be a bit rubbish so buying from people like Ockenden or similar is a safe bet.
Once you have sorted out the morse taper you need to decide chuck capacity. 13mm is typical and should be fine, if you need bigger holes you can use forstner, spade or stepped drill bits. I think 16mm might be the next up common size, but think about minimum as well. Some bigger chucks won't happily go small enough if you want to drill 2 or 3mm. 13ish is a good compromise.
That would summarise as a 1MT 13mm drill chuck if you are searching. Just what Tris linked to.
Most lathe tail stocks are either #1 or #2 morse taper like the 1MT one suggested above. Your lathe specification should say which, sounds like it is #1. MT is a pretty universal standard and used in other machinery as well so a search for 1MT drill chuck will find loads. Some super cheap ones on ebay might be a bit rubbish so buying from people like Ockenden or similar is a safe bet.
Once you have sorted out the morse taper you need to decide chuck capacity. 13mm is typical and should be fine, if you need bigger holes you can use forstner, spade or stepped drill bits. I think 16mm might be the next up common size, but think about minimum as well. Some bigger chucks won't happily go small enough if you want to drill 2 or 3mm. 13ish is a good compromise.
That would summarise as a 1MT 13mm drill chuck if you are searching. Just what Tris linked to.
Phil Pascoe
Established Member
https://www.ukdrills.com/morse-taper-shank/morse-taper-metric-bit
are worth thinking about if you only need a couple of sizes, though the larger ones are MT2 - your lathe probably has a MT1. Jacob's type chucks are easily obtained.
are worth thinking about if you only need a couple of sizes, though the larger ones are MT2 - your lathe probably has a MT1. Jacob's type chucks are easily obtained.
Greylights
Member
Thanks so much for all the replies.
You can also buy large drills, up to about 25mm, with a 13mm shank. Ok if you take it easy. I have used these for drilling aluminium, so should be fine in wood. UK Drills sell them, and other places.
Phil Pascoe
Established Member
^^^^ blacksmith's drills.
paulm
IG paulm_outdoors
For drilling large holes in end grain on the lathe I used to use saw toothed forstner bits, but they are quite slow and tend to overheat quite easily.
Now using these type https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sourcingma...7082&sprefix=large+drill,aps,101&sr=8-31&th=1 They cut very efficiently, clear the shavings well, don't overheat so much and the carbide cutters stay sharp
Now using these type https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sourcingma...7082&sprefix=large+drill,aps,101&sr=8-31&th=1 They cut very efficiently, clear the shavings well, don't overheat so much and the carbide cutters stay sharp
Some thoughts:
Lathe tailstocks are normally made with a tapered bore in either 1 morse taper (small) or 2 morse taper (bigger), aka 1MT or 2MT. If you don't know which you have, check the instructions or read up about them and measure the hole in your tailstock.
Morse taper shanks come with either a squared off tang on the end (fits into a slot inside the taper and prevents twisting) or can have a threaded hole in the end. The threaded hole type are primarily intended for milling machines which cut sideways more than they drill. These rely on a threaded "draw bar" to pull the taper shank tightly into the socket. Your lathe will almost certainly want morse taper shanks with a tang, not the "threaded hole in the end" kind.
A drill chuck fitted with a morse taper shank is convenient to hold jobber drills and other straight shank cutters. The drill chuck does use up some of the available distance between centres, so for long holes it can be useful to use a long drill bit with its own morse taper shank, fitted straight into the tailstock. No chuck needed.
Don't use a long drill to start a hole, especially a deep one. They flex. Use a short, stiff drill first. "Stub drills" are very stiff and especially suited to starting holes that you will continue with other progressively longer bits, but begin with short jobber bits.
You can buy MT adapters, so if you have a tailstock with 2MT taper, you can buy a 1MT to 2MT adapter cheaply so that you can also put slimmer 1MT drill bits into your tailstock. Beware, you can convert 1 to 2MT and 2 to 1MT, if you shop for one of these, make sure it is the flavour you want.
Lathe tailstocks are normally made with a tapered bore in either 1 morse taper (small) or 2 morse taper (bigger), aka 1MT or 2MT. If you don't know which you have, check the instructions or read up about them and measure the hole in your tailstock.
Morse taper shanks come with either a squared off tang on the end (fits into a slot inside the taper and prevents twisting) or can have a threaded hole in the end. The threaded hole type are primarily intended for milling machines which cut sideways more than they drill. These rely on a threaded "draw bar" to pull the taper shank tightly into the socket. Your lathe will almost certainly want morse taper shanks with a tang, not the "threaded hole in the end" kind.
A drill chuck fitted with a morse taper shank is convenient to hold jobber drills and other straight shank cutters. The drill chuck does use up some of the available distance between centres, so for long holes it can be useful to use a long drill bit with its own morse taper shank, fitted straight into the tailstock. No chuck needed.
Don't use a long drill to start a hole, especially a deep one. They flex. Use a short, stiff drill first. "Stub drills" are very stiff and especially suited to starting holes that you will continue with other progressively longer bits, but begin with short jobber bits.
You can buy MT adapters, so if you have a tailstock with 2MT taper, you can buy a 1MT to 2MT adapter cheaply so that you can also put slimmer 1MT drill bits into your tailstock. Beware, you can convert 1 to 2MT and 2 to 1MT, if you shop for one of these, make sure it is the flavour you want.
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