Coring on an Engine Lathe

K

KentCNC

New member
I plan to use an engine lathe to core dowels. I have an outboard chuck, but some of the dowels will not reach all the way through the lathe spindle to that chuck. Do I need to support the loose end of the dowel inside the spindle or will the front chuck alone be sufficient?

Also, do you have suggestions on RPM and feed rate?
 
In 30 plus years I've never built a cue or cored a piece of wood with a lathe that had an outboard chuck on it.
Cut all of the dowels to the same diameter and slip a delrin cap over the back side of the long pieces of wood that will slide in not to loose, not to tight and core away. Short pieces no worries if you have a good chuck. Mine are all cored and bored at 1.375 diameter.

Most important is the core drill setup, RPM, feed speed and air pressure to evac chips. Then there's the whole other set up for catching all those chips so you don't spend half a day cleaning those chips up.
 
I dont' support the rear of the wood. My chuck has about 2 inches of contact with the wood and I leave about 3 inches sticking out the front for my dust collection setup. The rest of the wood is running free behind the chuck inside the spindle hole. I pre bore the trailing end about an inch deep so the gun drill doesn't bust out of the end grain. Or if you have extra length you can stop a half inch short of the end and then saw it off without pre drilling.

IMO the most important thing you can to is to take a clean up pass on the wood just prior to coring so it's 100% straight. I don't recall ever losing a piece of wood due to mishap. I did break a gun drill on a knot in a piece of cocobolo once but I was probably feeding it too fast. Go slower than you think you should even if it's coring like butter cuz there could be stuff lurking deep in the blank.
 
Here is what I have done for dust collection. Mounts like an easy rest but with a simple knob to tighten it. Does a very good job of dust collection. I guess I am hooked on dust collection. I have sold dust shoes for CNC machines since 2009 (kentcnc.net).
 

Attachments

  • 20260629_142734.jpg
    20260629_142734.jpg
    156.5 KB · Views: 40
KentCNC said:
Here is what I have done for dust collection. Mounts like an easy rest but with a simple knob to tighten it. Does a very good job of dust collection. I guess I am hooked on dust collection. I have sold dust shoes for CNC machines since 2009 (kentcnc.net).
Click to expand...
That setup looks to me like it's going to shoot chips down the v groove of the gun drill out toward the tailstock in unacceptable quantities. I don't allow anything to escape. Nothing!
 
KentCNC said:
Here is what I have done for dust collection. Mounts like an easy rest but with a simple knob to tighten it. Does a very good job of dust collection. I guess I am hooked on dust collection. I have sold dust shoes for CNC machines since 2009 (kentcnc.net).
Click to expand...
Is the box enclosed around the bit?
Hard to tell with no end or bottom photo picture.
 
Here is a rather long and arduous video showing how I do it. What I didn't show was I stuff a piece of paper towel in the hole in my dust collector box and the groove of the gun drill otherwise chips will blow out the groove of the gun drill in spite of the vacuum due to the air pressure.

This is just how I do things. Not sure if it's right or wrong but it seems to make sense and work. Actually I have modified a couple process' since then. I now use 16 TPI to make it easier as my thread mill will engage on any mark without cross threading. With 14 you have to engage on a mark the same as you started wither odd or even. With 16 you can't screw it up as you have 16 marks that will work so you can engage it just about anywhere on a mark or half mark. I also cut the forstner bit hole before threading it works better and won't chip off your last thread. But it's been a few years since I made this. I found facing the wood perpendicular to the core is really important if you have even a .001" out of perpendicular it will noticeably warp your a joint. Also torque is critical of that joint to not deform it as once the epoxy is there it's a lot slicker and easy to over tighten. I mark it dry and stop there wet pretty closely.

rumble.com

Pool Cue Building-Coring The Forearm On A Coos Cue

How I core my forearm wood for Coos Cues Please like and subscribe to my channel!
rumble.com rumble.com
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top