Reorganizing Shop for More Efficient Woodturning

In an effort to clean and organize my shop I had an area that had a Jet jdp-17dx drill press https://amzn.to/2QbHmGR, next to it was a cheap steel tool cabinet, purchased at Menards, and next the the cabinet was an exterior door.

Drilling Speed Guide For Metal,
Wood and Different Bit Types

Before I tell the story, I’m going to link to a drilling speed guide for using various drill bits with different materials. Might save you some time and aggravation when trying to drill steel versus wood, and if you are not used to differentiating between the two this chart will help you cut clean holes with the bits that you have. Drill speedchart

I do not drill a lot of steel, but since I started turning wood I’ve been learning and doing more steel work…..that probably does not make sense but if you start making turning tools or making hacks to your lathe it will be helpful to learn how to drill steel and cast iron.

Make a Drill Press Jig to Hold
Your Wood Bowl Blanks

It all started with the bowl blank jig I made for the drill press. Typically my bowl blanks are flat across the face and round, following the curvature of the tree on the outside, bark included.

For a standard bowl, I would drill a 2-1/8″ forstner hole  https://amzn.to/37tfnbd in the center of the flat face of the bowl blank, I push then mount the bowl blank on my Nova Chuck https://amzn.to/36cE8br and push the live center into the back of the wood blank.

I would then shape the profile of the exterior bowl and put a tenon or recess at the bottom of the bowl.

I had a problem with the drill press. It is a floor model and I bolted it to a harbor freight moving dolly. That turned out to be very unstable so I shimmed it so the drill press table was close to level. It wasn’t level though and I always had problems so when I put my bowl blank jig in place the Forstner hole  https://amzn.to/2QbrXpL was uneven and I had the shim the jig ….big pain in the behind if you know what I mean.

So, I decided to fix it. I drilled some concrete bolts, shimmed, and shimmed some more and secured the drill press to the floor. I moved my tool box next to the drill press and lo and behold…… I put the f’ing drill press in the wrong place!

I called it a night and approached it the next day.

Fresh Outlook with A New Day

I moved the drill press over, drilled some new holes for the lag and shields in the concrete and finally got my drill press in the correct location. The drill press table is as close to level as I could get, now I simply stick my roughly constructed bowl blank jig on the drill press table, level out the bowl blank and adjust so the laser cross hairs hit center and BAM!!!! only takes a couple of minutes to drill a hole for the nova chuck and get started on a new bowl.

What’s the Difference With My Approach to
Start Turning A Wood Bowl Blank

Many woodturners will start a new wood bowl blank with a worm screw. That is, they drill a hole in the center and place the worm screw in the chuck and twist the blank until it backs onto the jaws of the scroll chuck. There is nothing wrong with that, however, I found it easier and more accurate to drill the 2″+ hole for the jaws of the scroll chuck. I have more options and I think it holds the bowl blank more securely.

By the way, the tool chest fits in nicely. I had to replace the cheap ass wheels with some I had laying around. You get what you pay for, I might go and fight with Menards and see if they will flip for some new wheels …..I kind of know what they will say 🙂 …..although, legitimate returns are always handled well at Menards.

I’m talking about the drill press and woodturning because drilling a 2-1/8″ hole in a wood blank is perfect for the Super2 Nova Chuck jaws and is a fast way to get your wood blank on the chuck and turning. I use it all the time, I have a simple jig

I set the blank in, drill 3/8″x 2-1/8″ hole for a recess and attach it to the Nova Chuck Jaws.

I usually pull up the tailstock to help keep the blank in place.

Then I shape the exterior of the bowl or project. I will leave the tailstock against the piece if I decide to turn a tenon, if I decide to form a mortise or recess I will pull the tailstock away and cut the tenon along with the dovetail profile.

Once again, everything depends on the original hole by the forstner bit (recess or mortise) to be squared to the piece as much as possible, that requires the drill press table to be level or leveling the wood blank by hand….a big pain in the backside……that’s why I spent so much time leveling my drill press!