Cutting Pen Blanks

[heinedan]

Hello,

I have a Craftsman 10" contractors type table saw that I have been using to cut my blanks with. I notice that the cut ends are very ragged lookinh and the saw is really chopping up the blanks. Is it worth buying a new fine cut blade, or should I just upgrade to a decent band saw? What do you use tom cut your blanks????

Thank You,
Dan Heine
see you at MPG Saturday???

 

[Russianwolf]

I use a good quality, thin kerf, combo blade in my tablesaw. I could save a bit more wood by getting my bandsaw in good working order, but haven't done it yet.

The Woodworker II blade is a prime example of what I'm using.

 

[TBone]

I use a Woodworker II on the table saw to cut some blanks, but cut most on a Rikon 18" band saw with a Timberwolf blade. I would try a new blade on the band saw first. A Craftsman band saw that is properly aligned and tuned will cut blanks just fine with a good blade. However, never let it be said that I talked somone out of buying a new tool, so buy a new blade for the Craftsman and then buy a bigger band saw too. :biggrin::biggrin:

 

[Tn-Steve]

boy, I feel behind the curve. I cut mine with a hand backsaw and a miter box. (but that's only because I haven't sold enough to get the bandsaw yet....)

SMW

 

[steve_mcloon]

I use a Woodworker II blade on my tablesaw to cut segmented pens. Otherwise I use my bandsaw. However, I think you could cut most of your blanks with a hammer and dull chisel as long as you use a good pen mill to flatten the ends.

 

[JimB]

I use a miter saw with a "finishing ' blade.

 

[GouletPens]

I use a bandsaw, I feel it's the safest way to go. I have a sled I built for it and I use clamps and whatnot to keep my fingers at least 6" away from the blade at all times. I am particularly careful since I had a bottle stopper literally BLOW UP in my face trying to cut it on the mitre saw. As far as all the bladed power tools go, the bandsaw is the safest to use for this purpose, IMHO.

 

[Sabaharr]

Well I have been bitten by every power saw imaginable and by some miracle I still have 10 complete and fully functional fingers. THe band saw is by far the safest and easiest to manage for this purpose IMHO. Its been about 25 years since I had a bite so I am doing much better. Respect of those saw teeth is the key. They have NO mercy.

 

[Bob Hewson]

I use my band saw with a sled and fixed stops to give uniform length for pen style being cut. I keep both hands on the sled and away from the blade!!!

I also have a second sled for small pieces used in whistle making which would require my fingers to get too close to the blade, so I use a toggle clamp to hold the piece and have a controlled depth of cut by an overhang that only allows the sled to go as far as required.

If this isn't clear I could post a photo if anyone is interested.

Bob

 

[juteck]

I saw this on Time Warp regarding "Saw Stop" on a table saw -- still pretty nervy to do what this guy does.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3mzhvMgrLE


I use the bandsaw to cut blanks.

Well I have been bitten by every power saw imaginable and by some miracle I still have 10 complete and fully functional fingers. THe band saw is by far the safest and easiest to manage for this purpose IMHO. Its been about 25 years since I had a bite so I am doing much better. Respect of those saw teeth is the key. They have NO mercy.

 

[DurocShark]

I usually use my table saw with a homemade sled and a 9" Delta blade (it's a 9" Rockwell saw).

Here's my sled: http://blog.woodscrub.info/2008/05/small-crosscut-sled.html

 

[JohnU]

I use both tablesaw and bandsaw, depending on the wood im cutting. If its a hard like an Oak knot I use the tablesaw, but for softer logs like boxelder, I use the band saw. I dont like the mess and time it take with the tablesaw but I like the perfect straight cuts, so.... pro's and con's to both. It all falls back on your opinion and preference.

 

[Bill Sampson]

I don't know if there is any one perfect way to cut blanks, but by using a WoodWorker ll on my table saw with the Dubby sled, I get accurate length and square blanks with consistency. Also safe.
You can adapt any tool, hand or power, to achieve the results of proper length and squareness of a pen blank.

Bill, Richmond, Va

 

[programmergeek]

I much much prefer the band saw for the following reasons.

Less wood lost.
Much safer.
Cut may not be as smooth but you are turnig it aaway anyhow.
Blades are much cheaper.

A table saw is safe until you get down to the last couple of pieces. In general though a table saw is not that safe especially with small pieces of wood. The band saw on the other hand is the right tool. Besides cutting blanks for pens if you have a lathe a band saw is a very good complementary tool.

 

[keithlong]

I use a table saw to cut my blanks. 10 inch 40 tooth carbide blade. I also clamp a piece of wood to my rip fence so that when you rip em, the piece has room between the balde and the rip fence.

 

[Bikerdad]

For cutting the blanks cleanly on the table saw, you want a good combination blade (the Forrest WW II certainly qualifies, but there are others) OR a good crosscut blade. For a 10" Tablesaw, you're looking at 40-50 teeth for a combi blade, 60-80 for a crosscut blade. The crosscut blade will actually give you a better cut, but whether it's enough better to justify is up to you.