Carbide Pen Mill

[bca1313]

I just got my new carbide pen mill last week and did my first pen with it. For some reason the cuts it made seem to not be flat. What I mean is that they go up and down as it goes around and when I put the pen together there is a small gap in one spot. Any idea what could cause this?

Ben

 

[ctEaglesc]

Bad pen mill

 

[Jerryconn]

Could be a soft spot in the wood, are you pushing the mill into the blank real hard? That could cause some chatter with the mill creating low spots.

 

[beaverfsu]

I have had a chatter problems when pressing to hard.

 

[gerryr]

I've also had the same problem, not always associated with pushing too hard. With some wood, I have to use the drill on a fairly high speed to avoid it. Also, with only two cutting heads, I would always run it pretty fast.

 

[Dario]

How are you doing it? With a drill or DP?

I used to have that problem when using the hand drill but none after I switched to DP.

 

[bca1313]

It was with a hand drill. I will try the dp soon.

 

[Paul in OKC]

BTW. I can sharpen these as well, should the need arise.

 

[Dario]

Ben,

If you use the Drill Press...hold the blank with the vise like when you are drilling. Do not tighten too much, leave it some slack (just a bit) and let the guide do it's job. I just put a small block on the bottom to prop up the blank.

Good luck!