Fixing untidy edges?

[Dan_F]

Is there a way to repair small chips at the ends of barrels? These occured as I was using the pen mill to true up the ends, the mill chattered, even though it just came back from being sharpened. It left the ends of the blank and even the brass tubes kind of ugly. The chips are actually quite small, and wouldn't be noticed by the casual observer, but then who wants those? If I waxed my bushings, could I apply some thick CA mixed with sawdust between the blank and bushing to fill in the chips without the CA sticking to the bushings and causing ever more problems? ?

This brings up another question, which is, can a 3/4" mill be used on blanks larger than the mill? Not sure if this was the source of the chatter, seems the first few pens I did were free of this problem, but they were harder wood, whereas the pen in question here is buckeye burl, kind of soft but not quite punky.

Well, on further investigation it seems that I used the wrong diameter pilot for the mill (one size smaller than the largest in the WC kit), so that might have been part of the problem (he admitted sheepishly).

Dan

 

[BRobbins629]

Originally posted by Dan_F

] If I waxed my bushings, could I apply some thick CA mixed with sawdust between the blank and bushing to fill in the chips without the CA sticking to the bushings and causing ever more problems? ?

You're on the right track. I would do this off the lathe without the bushings. Just carefully trim the ends before putting back on lathe. You also can minimize this in the future by CA-ing the ends before and after milling.

 

[Rifleman1776]

You solved your own problem. Use the right sized pilot and a light touch.

 

[doddman70]

I agree it sounds like your on the right track!!!

 

[workinforwood]

If you get one of those barrel trimmers like firefyter is selling, you can use the normal trimmer and stop just before you get to the tubes. Turn down you pen and come back with his sanding barrel trimmer to sweeten the ends.

 

[thewishman]

Originally posted by Dan_F
If I waxed my bushings, could I apply some thick CA mixed with sawdust between the blank and bushing to fill in the chips without the CA sticking to the bushings and causing ever more problems? ?

This brings up another question, which is, can a 3/4" mill be used on blanks larger than the mill?
Dan

CA and sawdust work well for many burls - buckeye is usually very easy to blend in.

You can use the mill safely on blanks that are larger than the head.

Good luck on the repairs!

Chris

 

[jwoodwright]

Sounds like the wood is real soft. Let it soak up some thin CA and wait for it to cure...

 

[Firefyter-emt]

Yes, first some woods will "chip out" and when this happens the best fix is thin CA to stabalize the wood before you get it milled all the way down. Once it's hard you can finish milling it. Now, you also need the proper sleeve before you can do this.
Next, you may want to hand true up the very last bit on soft woods.

I do make a sander-mill with a 7/8" head to final sand blanks or to even finish off kits larger than 3/4" where the pen mill will not cut big enough to fit the bushings. I do recomend still cutting most of the blank down with the cutter to save you sandpaper.
My mills are also used wonderfully to clean up CA off the edges of the blanks after you finish them. I do all my pens with the bushings off and between centers. This stops any stuck bushings and chipped CA. Plus, with the overlap of CA on the tube edge, you protect the wood from sucking in oils from your hand at the bare wood part at the end of your blank.

Oh, and I have four more getting finished this weekend so that list has a short wait time now!

www.penturners.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=30970 <= Shamless self plug

 

[schaf]

Hi,
From time to time there has been posts about pen mills,so thought I would show you mine.

It is a jig I made to slide in the lath bed upto a faceplate sander.The 1/4 in bolt in the jig is drilled by the headstock so it is square to the face plate. The top half of the jig is hinged to the base plate so that it can be moved accross the face plate sander.Turned blanks are used on the bolt to accommodate different pens the same as with a pen mill.
I have been using this system for 10 months and find it easier,quicker and very accurate.I never use a pen mill these days.

Not my idea,passed on to me by a friend,but I love it.

Regards
terry
Attached Thumbnails

 

[schaf]

Lost the photos ,will come back later.,

 

[schaf]

Hi,

Another try with the photos of my pen mill.

 

[schaf]

Boy,what a balls up.

I found them in my photos, have a look there,if you wish.

terry

 

[Dan_F]

Well, the problem is that I already turned the cap right down to the bushings, so I can't just fill and remill, at least on this piece. I can for the barrel however. Any suggestions as to how to repair the cap? The blank is nice enough that I'd like to save it if possible, elst I'd just toss it and move on.

Schaf---Thanks for your perseverence re: your pics, but I went ahead and ordered one of Randy's sanding mills for convenience sake.

Dan

 

[rherrell]

I don't believe you said what kind of pen it was BUT the length of the cap on MOST pens is not as critical as the lower barrel. Depending on the pen you SHOULD be able to remove the chipped part and re-turn it to the right diameter. I've had the same thing happen to me and I've shortened the caps by as much as 1/4" with no problem, DEPENDING ON THE STYLE OF PEN.

 

[Firefyter-emt]

To really say how it can or if it can be saved, we need to see the blank. You can go with an "opps ring", but I am not a big fan of them myself. You can try to see if the cap can be be shortened and still clear everything. You could also try to make a new cap in solid black to see if that works well. I kind of like a solid black cap on a capped pen, many comercial pens are made like this and it does work.

 

[Dan_F]

Rick---It's a cigar pen.

Lee---I won't be able to get a pic done until late tonight.

Dan