JES WoodCrafting

Whether wood or antler, each pen half must be drilled straight through and come out the other end roughly in the middle of the material.  With wood, the process is easier but not fool-proof.  Usually the wood is straight and square and it is a simple matter to line up the bit in the center of the wood and make the hole.  However, deep holes tend to wander off center, and sometimes it is too close to the side when it comes out the other end.  To aid in drilling, special parabolic-fluted drill bits are used which aggressively pull the chips up and out of the hole, as you can see in the photo at right.

With antler the process is several times more difficult since the material is not straight or square.  In either case, the piece is held on the drill press table with a special clamp that allows the piece to be positioned under the bit.  With antler the drill press table is usually angled to account for the curvature.  As long as there is enough material to fully surround the pen tube when it's turned, it doesn't matter how thick or thin as the final layer of material is usually about 1/16" thick anyway!