squaring blank

[RHossack]

I just finihed a tapa pacifica and don't have a way of squaring up the blank after drilling and gluing.

My barrel trimmer only goes to 3/8". What do you folks do?

 

[its_virgil]

Blank squaring jig (http://penmakersguild.com/articles/blanksquarejig.pdf) and disk sander, shims for the various size tubes. I use the disk sander for most all pens.

Pen mills with larger cutter heads are available.

Do a good turn daily!
Don

I just finihed a tapa pacifica and don't have a way of squaring up the blank after drilling and gluing.

My barrel trimmer only goes to 3/8". What do you folks do?

 

[Russianwolf]

I'm the oddball.

I turn between center and hate the trimmers, so

1) drill hole
2) glue tube
3) put between centers making sure that you are getting enough surface contact in the holes to center the tubes
4) turn round
5) chuck it in a self-centering chuck
6) use my skew to trim to length using the bushing to check for squareness


Sound long, but it's not really and I get perfect results regardless of tube size now.

 

[livertrans]

I made an adapter useing a brass tube from a slimline kit and glue in into a piece of corian and turn the corian down to the size of the inside diameter of the blanks tube that you dont have a pilot for. Then I use my 7mm adapter pilot to trim the ends of the blank. I also made a disc sander fixture like the one mentioned earlier in a post. I made a an adapter for every pen that I turn. They both work great.

 

[Hayseedboy]

I just did my first Jr. Gent. Earlier this week at the suggestion of Edman2 (Freddie) I took a 7 mm tube like mentioned above and used an old piece of oak I had laying around and turned one to match the bushing diameter for each of the tubes of the Jr. Gent.

Then you just slip that piece into your glued up pen blanks take it to your 7 mm sleeved pen mill and it will work fantabulously. Keeps it square and all it cost me was two 7 mm brass tubes.

I'm gonna do like Livertrans said and make one for every kit I make. Sure cheaper than buying the sleeves from a vendor.

If'n I wear it out... just make another

Larry

 

[Skye]

Yeah, and you'll find that unless you're using a drill press, the ends of that sleeve will get smaller causing it to cut unevenly. I'd use corian as it won't compress like wood will over time.

Mike, I've never heard of doing it that way. I'd say your pens are enough proof that it works, I'll have to give it a shot some time. Be careful doing that with acrylic though!

 

[hewunch]

I use the pilot for a 10mm tube (like a cigar) and then slide the brass from a 10mm kit down in the tube, perfect fit.

 

[Russianwolf]

Mike, I've never heard of doing it that way. I'd say your pens are enough proof that it works, I'll have to give it a shot some time. Be careful doing that with acrylic though!

No problems on the acrylics I've done. get more chipping getting them round initially, but the actual trimming/squaring goes easily.

 

[brokenbit]

Here is what I made
http://www.penturners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=7867

 

[RHossack]

What I ended up doing was using one of my HF transfer punches.

One was a perfect friction fit and I mounted the punch in the drill press
and used some 400 grit sand paper.

Only took seconds and I have a nice square blank.

Thanks for all the ideas.