One of those “why didn’t I think of that” moments. I made a pen today just to try your drill press method. Works like a charm. Thanks for the great idea.
I know, I literally slapped my forehead when the thought occurred to me. I was hoping that it might be helpful for others, and it's great to hear that others are trying it out and liking it too :)
First comment, yay! I started with my drill press, tried everything since, including a store bought pen press, and still go back to the drill press. It's the best method I've found. Vertical is just better.
Thanks for the info. Some good ideas. I have tried bottle cap press and a reloading press before. Both work well, but drill press is right there and takes up no extra room. Thanks again for the ideas.
yep. ive used my drill press. didnt bother turning a block to fit in the chuck jaws. i had a small piece of flat scrap wood approx. a fourth of an inch thick, maybe an inch square. i was already holding the blank, so, i just held it on top of the blank, and pushed it down with the quill. it worked great!
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention I did try that a couple times too. It's handy if you are doing turning demonstrations at someone else's shop and may not have access to other press methods
One thing we do to not adjust table is we made a couple scrap rounds 2” and 3” we use the most to not have to adjust table. We use the 3” to do half pen assembly and remove it for longer assembling. Such as like the gatsby kit.
I like how you did that! I actually just mounted my press vertically on a vice in the interim and find it much nicer for assembly. Time will tell if I can get to my drill press if I switch! 🤣. Thanks for sharing!
Zac Higgins thanks Zac but don’t give me that much credit.... I’ve been watching you press them vertically for quite some time! I got the idea from you.... just recently came up with the time to make it happen 🤣
Great tip. Thank-you! Holding pen parts plum seems way easy than trying to fight gravity as you work to hold the parts level in between the jaws of a horizontal style press. Your drill press looks like it's built like a tank. What make is it?
Glad to share, this has been bugging me for a while now. It was always hard to answer people's questions about that little arbor press knowing it was so expensive. Now I can show a cheap and easy method in the videos that I would actually recommend :)
I couldn't see parting with my money to buy a pen press. I took a piece of pine and drilled a small hole in one end for click pens and turned the other so it would fit into my #2 morse taper on the tailstock. I have a piece of particle board that I salvaged from an old Ikea dresser and place that against the headstock of the lathe and I have a reasonable pen press. The drill press looks like a good idea and I think I will give it a try.
Great tip Zac, I have a pen press I purchased years ago...you know when it was required...Thin I may try the drill press idea tho...vertical sounds much more logical. I would probably add a piece of leather just to help avoid scratches but I love this idea. As always another great video.
Hi Zac, Great idea which I have tried but couldn't get on with. I use my lathe now and feel I have better control feeding the tailstock out than using the drill press. One tip I picked up from Bob at RJBWood Turner was, especially on acrylic blanks, was to insert one of the bushes into the tube, for the end that is not having something pressed into it, to support the blank and minimise the risk of cracking the blank if it's not perfectly upright. Cheers, Zac. Huw
@@ZacHiggins I had some HDPE rod left over from making some non-stick bushings for CA glue application on wood pen blanks so used that for the pen press application.
If you mounted a dowel on the base then that would even make it more secure and less likely to press it in at angle. I love this idea and will be using it on my junk cheap #^&*# drill press from Wen. It does the job though. Thanks for posting.
@@ZacHiggins for me the transmission sit really high in the tube and all it wants to do is go in sideways. I'm hoping that the new press will help me with this, giving me more control with the transmission. I only turn slimline pens as a donation for my daughters school fundraising event they do about 3 times a year I do love using my drill press for all other styles of pens works great.
@@davefarrell4911 Thanks for letting me know, I had forgotten about the transmissions on them, I can see that being a problem. I do like Jeff's idea below, might help out
This is probably a stupid question but do know what would happen if you were to put resin in an instant pot? I’m guessing it would be a huge mess but I don’t think anyone has tried it before.
Dude thank God I found this!!! Just getting back into turning pens after a long hiatus! And since I am furloughed I can't spend money on a press. I have a drill press and just found the solution to my problem! Thanks so much! Just subscribed brutha
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Thanks for the awesome idea, I made one today and it works amazingly.
Awesome tip Zac, thanks so much. You and Gretchen take care and be safe......
Thanks Val! You too :)
BOOM, what a super idea!! Yes, yes, yes.
Woohoo!! Let me know how it goes for you :)
Now that's a great idea & it's a good short video I can make time for. Tks Zac
Thanks Zac! I'll have to give this a try.
Take care, Dave
Let me know how it goes :)
I’ve been using my drill press to do this for years! Great video!
Nice! I still feel silly that it never occurred to me before, I'm loving it!
Absolutely fantastic Zac, thanks!! I can’t believe that never occurred to me either. Will definitely be using this method solely going forward.
Nice! I'll be interested to hear how you like it =D
Thank you for sharing. I really never thought about doing that. I like the idea.
You're welcome, let me know what you think if you try it out :)
One of those “why didn’t I think of that” moments. I made a pen today just to try your drill press method. Works like a charm. Thanks for the great idea.
I know, I literally slapped my forehead when the thought occurred to me. I was hoping that it might be helpful for others, and it's great to hear that others are trying it out and liking it too :)
Awesome idea
Let me know how you like it if you try it out 😄
First comment, yay! I started with my drill press, tried everything since, including a store bought pen press, and still go back to the drill press. It's the best method I've found. Vertical is just better.
You had it right off the bat! Glad to hear you're still liking it. I can't imagine anything that would work better
That’s a great idea, never would’ve thought of it! Certainly going to try it out!
Let me know how you like it :)
Great video Z.
Thanks brother!! 👊
Wow! Stupidly simple idea. Thanks! Was looking for a diy press and this is the best 💡
Great idea! I’m with you, it never occurred to me.
Give it a shot and let me know how it goes =D
I’ll be turning again Thursday assuming the work schedule allows
Nice i was thinking about that myself
Thanks for the info. Some good ideas.
I have tried bottle cap press and a reloading press before. Both work well, but drill press is right there and takes up no extra room.
Thanks again for the ideas.
🙈 I wonder how many out there never thought of just turning some pieces to chuck in the press for pens. Great stuff! Thanks Zack.
I hadn't until I really put my thinking cap on. Hope that it helps out :)
yep. ive used my drill press. didnt bother turning a block to fit in the chuck jaws. i had a small piece of flat scrap wood approx. a fourth of an inch thick, maybe an inch square. i was already holding the blank, so, i just held it on top of the blank, and pushed it down with the quill. it worked great!
Nice! I like the little wood block chucked in myself, give it a shot sometime and let me know if you like it better :)
Great idea, I've been using my lathe.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention I did try that a couple times too. It's handy if you are doing turning demonstrations at someone else's shop and may not have access to other press methods
Thanks for sharing your ideal.
My pleasure!
One thing we do to not adjust table is we made a couple scrap rounds 2” and 3” we use the most to not have to adjust table. We use the 3” to do half pen assembly and remove it for longer assembling. Such as like the gatsby kit.
That's brilliant!
I like how you did that! I actually just mounted my press vertically on a vice in the interim and find it much nicer for assembly. Time will tell if I can get to my drill press if I switch! 🤣. Thanks for sharing!
You bet Mert! At least you thought of doing it vertically already, I can't believe it never occurred to me until I saw OJ doing it 🤦♂️
Zac Higgins thanks Zac but don’t give me that much credit.... I’ve been watching you press them vertically for quite some time! I got the idea from you.... just recently came up with the time to make it happen 🤣
Great tip. Thank-you! Holding pen parts plum seems way easy than trying to fight gravity as you work to hold the parts level in between the jaws of a horizontal style press. Your drill press looks like it's built like a tank. What make is it?
Great idea thanks
Glad to share, this has been bugging me for a while now. It was always hard to answer people's questions about that little arbor press knowing it was so expensive. Now I can show a cheap and easy method in the videos that I would actually recommend :)
I may have to try this when I get a drill press. I live in an apartment and do everything on my lathe.
The lathe works great too, I've tried that a couple times. Perfect space saver :)
I couldn't see parting with my money to buy a pen press. I took a piece of pine and drilled a small hole in one end for click pens and turned the other so it would fit into my #2 morse taper on the tailstock. I have a piece of particle board that I salvaged from an old Ikea dresser and place that against the headstock of the lathe and I have a reasonable pen press. The drill press looks like a good idea and I think I will give it a try.
Yeah, those commercial pen presses never seemed to be worth the money for me either. I'd love to hear how you like the drill press vs the lathe setup
Great tip Zac, I have a pen press I purchased years ago...you know when it was required...Thin I may try the drill press idea tho...vertical sounds much more logical. I would probably add a piece of leather just to help avoid scratches but I love this idea. As always another great video.
I'm not sure why all the pen presses are horizontal, it seemed more logical to do it vertically to me too. Let me know how you like it
Also good for pressing Crush Grind mills together , however, you do have to turn some fittings to fit the mill.
Lee
Oh yeah, totally! I still haven't made a grinder yet, have to try it out soon :)
Hi Zac, Great idea which I have tried but couldn't get on with. I use my lathe now and feel I have better control feeding the tailstock out than using the drill press. One tip I picked up from Bob at RJBWood Turner was, especially on acrylic blanks, was to insert one of the bushes into the tube, for the end that is not having something pressed into it, to support the blank and minimise the risk of cracking the blank if it's not perfectly upright. Cheers, Zac. Huw
That's a great tip Huw, thanks for sharing :)
arbor press, drill press, woodworkers vise, regular vise - all this is can be used for pen assembly. I use my lathe for that.:)
Brilliant👍
Thanks Steve!
Amazing idea. I feel a bit foolish for having never thought of this.
That's exactly how I felt about it. Give it a shot and let me know how you like it =D
Nice idea if you have a drill press, I don't so I use my lathe with HDPE pieces to cushion the pen parts.
Great idea!
@@ZacHiggins I had some HDPE rod left over from making some non-stick bushings for CA glue application on wood pen blanks so used that for the pen press application.
If you mounted a dowel on the base then that would even make it more secure and less likely to press it in at angle. I love this idea and will be using it on my junk cheap #^&*# drill press from Wen. It does the job though. Thanks for posting.
I've used my drill press for years now. The only pen I struggle with is the slim line style. I just bought a pen press for those pens
I quit turning slimlines, so it's good to hear that feedback on it. If you don't mind me asking, why do they cause issues on the drill press?
@@ZacHiggins for me the transmission sit really high in the tube and all it wants to do is go in sideways. I'm hoping that the new press will help me with this, giving me more control with the transmission. I only turn slimline pens as a donation for my daughters school fundraising event they do about 3 times a year
I do love using my drill press for all other styles of pens works great.
Dave,
How I solved this was to drill a hole in my soft jaw to support the transmission.
@@davefarrell4911 Thanks for letting me know, I had forgotten about the transmissions on them, I can see that being a problem. I do like Jeff's idea below, might help out
@@N5XHIworkshop thanks that I will look into never thought about soft jaw stuff
Much easier than using a trigger type vice.
I thought so too, and way better than a screw device too
Duh.... Thanks for the tip, works flawlessly. No more cracked or twisted pens!
Woot! Yeah, I would run into issues every once in a while doing it horizontally. Haven't run into any issues since doing it vertical
I legit was thinking about using my drill press and the next thing you said was I use my drill press.
This is probably a stupid question but do know what would happen if you were to put resin in an instant pot? I’m guessing it would be a huge mess but I don’t think anyone has tried it before.
You definitely don't want to use a kitchen pressure cooker for resin casting
Give it to me!
Dude thank God I found this!!! Just getting back into turning pens after a long hiatus! And since I am furloughed I can't spend money on a press. I have a drill press and just found the solution to my problem! Thanks so much! Just subscribed brutha