flushing wood CB's and banding

[Woodnknots]

How does anyone get a good fit when turning pens with wooden CB's? I have had a few work out, but several have had unsightly gaps when twisted. I use a skew chisel to true the mating surface, but either due to my inexperience, or improper technique (I'm self-taught), I rarely get the flawless mating I am looking for. The gaps are tiny, to be sure, but enough to tick me off. I see the absolutely flawless joint lines on some of the bands and CB's that are posted, and I want to be able to replicate that.

 

[GregD]

Well, first you get a big hammer...
I turn my center bands with my pen blanks to get them the right size. Then I take the center band to a flat surface with a piece of 400 grit sandpaper. I lay the paper on the flat surface and make a figure 8 with the center band. I keep checking the fit until it's what I want.

 

[woodscavenger]

It comes down to not having a perfect 90 degree surface. I am no expert but this is how I do mine.
1. Drill 1/4" hole and put on the mandrel
2. round off
3. use a small sharp parting tool and make a nice cut almost all the way to the mandrel. I usually cut multiple pieces at once and create several different width bands. Doing it on the mandrel will give you the 90 degree fit if you are careful with your parting tool.
4. If you have cut down very close to the mandrel you can take the blank off the mandrel and finishe the cut with a sharp razor knife. I do not have any gaps anymore.

Good luck.

 

[Fleabit]

I have found that using a pen mill gets me the squared ends. I use it right before I turn them down and then touch them up afterwards. Works for me. I personally get my butt kicked when I try using the parting tool.

 

[dougle40]

The main thing is to make absolutely sure that your pen blank is square first , otherwise no matter what you do your CB's won't line up properly .

 

[its_virgil]

The squareness of the blank itself is not the secret. The secret is that the end of the blank must be perpendicular to the hole drilled in the blank, not the side surfaces of the blank. To square the end of the blank with the drilled hole, I use a squaring jig on my disk sander. I also use the disk sander to make the blank its final size. The pen mill can be used, but I find my disk sander and a squaring jig to be much quicker and just as accurate as the pen mill. The pen mill will often shorten the blank by removing brass from the tube and I can control this better with the jig and sander. Some kits are very sensitive to the length of the tubes. Just my thoughts. Take em or leave em.
Do a good turn daily!
Don

 

[tipusnr]

I use the pen mill as well and then insert the band in place of the center bushing on the mandrel. Still I have had to "touch up the band and it's mate a couple of times which I've done with the sanding technique GregD mentioned. I have a piece of plate glass with sandpaper taped to it that is set aside for just such an occasion.

 

[jdavis]

I also use the pen mill and finish with figure 8 motion on flat sandpaper ( 80 grit ). My sandpaper is taped to a piecs of polished alum I got in our metal shop.

 

[dougle40]

The squareness of the blank itself is not the secret. The secret is that the end of the blank must be perpendicular to the hole drilled in the blank,

Obviously I didn't explain it correctly but that is what I meant about the surface being square .
Thanks for adding that Don .