Here are the blanks for the Change of Command pens ready for the lathe… at least for the drill. I have found that if I put the blank on the chuck and then use my jacob’s chuck with a 7mm drill bit in the tail stock, I am able to get the hole drilled directly down the centre of the blank. This is especially important in a segmented pen. If the bit were to wander, the design would not be as symmetrical as desired. Besides centering the hole, drilling a smaller hole also helps prevent heat buildup in the woods as the larger holes are drilled. Heat, especially on segmented blanks, is an enemy.
Because the Virage has two different sized barrels, I cannot do all of the drilling on the lathe, so I need to drill the pilot hole, remove the blank from the chuck, cut the barrel lengths to size and then move to the drill press to complete the drilling. It seems like extraneous steps, but the greater degree of accuracy helps a lot with my satisfaction in the finished pen.
To Everything, Turn...Turn...Turn 