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What drill bits will work for drilling pen blanks?
Why are some of the drill bits such odd sizes?
How long will my drill bit last?
What is the best speed for drilling?
How do I hold the pen blank when drilling?
What is the best technique for drilling? Especially for drilling dense and oily woods.
How do I drill the larger holes?

What drill bits will work for drilling pen blanks?
Any drill bit that is designed to drill wood will work for drilling pen blanks. Some of the drill bits are odd sizes and can be difficult to find. Bear Tooth Woods carries drill bits for every pen kit that we sell.
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Why are some of the drill bits such odd sizes?
 The brass tubes that form the foundation of the pen are of standard sizes that do not necessarily correspond with common fractional drill bits. Therefore some of the kits use odd sized drills so that the proper glue thickness can be achieved. Too small a drill bit will cause the glue to set before the tube is fully inserted. Too large a drill bit will cause the tube to possibly slip out before the glue sets and may prevent a strong bond between the tube and the wood.

Take for example the Flat Top Pen and Pencil. The tubes for this kit are 0.310 in diameter. Some people recommend the "O" letter bit, which has a diameter of 0.316, however I find this to be too tight. With that bit I found that oftentimes the CA glue I use to glue the tubes to the wood will set up before the tube is fully inserted. I sell the 21/64" drill bit for this kit, which has a diameter of 0.328, however this can be a little too loose. A large amount of CA glue is needed, and care must be taken to ensure that the tube does not slide out of the wood blank before it has set. Therefore, I am going to start offering 8.2mm drill bits which have a diameter of 0.323 and seems to be the perfect solution.
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How long will my drill bit last?
The life of your drill bit will vary with the types of blanks that you drill. Generally you should be able to drill anywhere from 80-200 blanks with your drill bit before it becomes too dull. If it becomes noticeably harder to drill or the blanks begin to smoke, your drill bit is dull. Drilling antler, stabilized woods, acrylics, and other synthetic materials will shorten the life of the drill bit.
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What is the best speed for drilling?
Opinion widely varies on this one. Generally the recommended speed is somewhere from 800-1200 RPMs.
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How do I hold the pen blank when drilling?
The best device is the Pen Makers' Center Drilling Vise. This product is available in the drill bits category. It is the best product to hold your pen blank while drilling, especially when drilling the larger sized holes.
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What is the best technique for drilling? Especially for drilling dense and oily woods.
One of the most important techniques is to monitor the shavings pulled out by the drill bit. Dense/oily woods, and many other woods, will clog up the drill bit and the shavings will no longer be extracted. When this happens you need to raise the drill bit out of the wood and clean off the clogged shavings from the bottom of the bit. I like to use the corner of a pen blank to scrape against the drill bit as it turns. This will remove most of the clogged shavings. Some woods like walnut may never need to have the drill bit unclogged. While dense/oily woods like cocobolo may clog after every 1/4" you drill. Some people like to raise the drill bit every 1/4" just to make sure, especially when working with expensive and dense/oily woods. Additionally, you may wish to drill some woods over a longer time frame, allowing the drill bit to cool. This is especially true with Gaboon Ebony and Snakewood.

Some of the dense/oily woods that I have found to clog the drill bits are:
- Any rosewood, especially cocobolo and tulipwood.
- Padauk.
- Bocote.
- Any ebony.
- Snakewood.
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How do I drill the larger holes?
While you can experience blow out with even a 7mm drill bit, the possibility increases with the size of the drill bit. It becomes more likely with the 9.7mm, 10mm, and 27/64" drill bits, and much more likely with the 31/64" and 13.3mm drill bits.

Blow outs can occur anytime during drilling, but happen most often right as the drill bit is exiting the lower end of the pen blank. One idea that is very successful is to cut the pen blanks about 1/4" longer than necessary. If you leave a 1/4" of extra wood on the pen blank, you can monitor the depth of the drilling process and stop before the drill bit exits the bottom of the blank. I like to have one of the pen tubes handy so that I can drop it in and confirm that the hole is deep enough. You can then cut the excess portion of wood from the blank. For example, the top tube of the El Grande is xxxx inches long. If you cut the top blank yyyy inches, you can set your drill depth gage to stop you when you've drilled xxxx inches deep. If done properly, the drill bit will never exit the wood. Check the depth with the top tube and if it is deep enough, cut off the excess with your saw.

If the wood you are using is not long enough to drill without the bit coming through the end, you can glue other pieces of wood (scrap lumber or old pen blank scrap pieces) onto the shorter pen blank. This will give you enough room to use this technique of drilling.

Here are some tips to help minimize blow out and successfully drill the larger holes:
- Clear clogs from the drill bits as soon as they happen (see previous question).
- Slow down as you approach the end of the blank.
- Leave excess wood on the cut pen blanks (see previous 2 paragraphs).
- Use larger pen blanks for the larger kits (don't try to drill the holes for an El Grande with an 11/16" square pen blank).
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