Squaring Blanks to Tubes

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wfsteadman

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Aug 10, 2016
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Folks,
Do you use a pen mill to square your blanks or do you use another technique? Was planning on getting the offset sanding jig to square my blanks but looking for whatever methods others use.
 
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UWCBrad

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Oct 23, 2016
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Greenville SC
I was using a Forester bit in my lathe, but realized the accuracy was lacking.

What I made last night was a 90 degeree fixture with dowels that clamped to my belt sander. I just feed the perpendicular rigid block against the belt.

My first attempt worked too good. Everything was square, but it sanded down the blank so fast that the blank/tube were about 1/4" too short.

Next time I will use my caliper and mark the outside of the blank so I know when to start slowing down and stopping.

The whole think cost about $1 worth of parts I already had on hand.
 

wfsteadman

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Aug 10, 2016
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Colorado
Yeah I am probably going to pull the trigger on buying both. I find with reverse painted acrylic blanks that when I use the Pen Mill it sometimes dislodges the tube from the blank. This might also be due to my processes but I let everything dry for days. Going to start using Primer Spray paint for my reverse painting as I have heard that it works decent.


Abrasives and turning tools.

Pen mills have many limitations and some of those limits are distructive.

Off set sanding jigs and other sanding nigs are my preferance to the piloted mill.

I like Rick Herrell's piloted sanding mill for final cleanup before assembly.
 

campzeke

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Jun 28, 2015
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Tampa, FL
I use Rick Harrell's offset jig and a homemade disc on the headstock. After using this method I see no reason to ever use a pen mill again. Make a disc similar to the one Ed from Exotic Blanks made in this video. If you don't have them already, you will also need a set of transfer punches. You can pick them up at Harbor Freight for less than $10 with a coupon.

Once you get used to using this method, many times you can tell when you have touched the brass tube by the sound. Just be careful because you can sand too much off rather easily. I use 120 to 220 grit hook and loop (Velcro) backed paper on my setup.
 

JimB

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Mar 18, 2008
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West Henrietta, NY, USA.
Yeah I am probably going to pull the trigger on buying both. I find with reverse painted acrylic blanks that when I use the Pen Mill it sometimes dislodges the tube from the blank. This might also be due to my processes but I let everything dry for days. Going to start using Primer Spray paint for my reverse painting as I have heard that it works decent.


Abrasives and turning tools.

Pen mills have many limitations and some of those limits are distructive.

Off set sanding jigs and other sanding nigs are my preferance to the piloted mill.

I like Rick Herrell's piloted sanding mill for final cleanup before assembly.

A pen mill should not cause the tube to dislodge. You may not be getting complete glue coverage on your tube or it might be the glue you are using. What glue do you use?

Changing to a sanding disc may not resolve the dislodging problem because it may happen when you are turning instead.
 

Anglesachse

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Dec 29, 2014
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Rhauderfehn, Germany
this is my version of a faceplate sander to square my blanks.
the rod that you see is swopable with others that are close to the inside diameter of the tube so that I don`t have a lot of "shake" in the blank.
 

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wfsteadman

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I use something called 2P-10 professional wood formula. I am up for trying anything that someone can share for me to try. Never had an issue with wooden blanks but I have with the acrylic blanks that I reverse painted.


Yeah I am probably going to pull the trigger on buying both. I find with reverse painted acrylic blanks that when I use the Pen Mill it sometimes dislodges the tube from the blank. This might also be due to my processes but I let everything dry for days. Going to start using Primer Spray paint for my reverse painting as I have heard that it works decent.


Abrasives and turning tools.

Pen mills have many limitations and some of those limits are distructive.

Off set sanding jigs and other sanding nigs are my preferance to the piloted mill.

I like Rick Herrell's piloted sanding mill for final cleanup before assembly.

A pen mill should not cause the tube to dislodge. You may not be getting complete glue coverage on your tube or it might be the glue you are using. What glue do you use?

Changing to a sanding disc may not resolve the dislodging problem because it may happen when you are turning instead.
 

JimB

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Mar 18, 2008
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West Henrietta, NY, USA.
I'm not familiar with that particular glue but it looks to be intended for wood. You are not gluing wood. I don't do acrylics but I believe most people who do use 2 part apoxy.
 

Brian G

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Jul 2, 2013
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Bloomington, MN
I use both methods. I prefer using a pen mill for plastics, but sanding for wood (especially burls and cross-grained wood).

I speculate that most frustrations with pen mills happen because the cutters get dull, people feel the need to apply more pressure, the cutters grab, and the material splits or cracks or chips.

Sharpen the cutters; it's easy if you follow this tutorial.

Sanding with the lathe works great, but I find having to switch between the drill bits (I have a 115 piece set) in the chuck annoying when I'm making a run of pens with different barrel tube diameters. I purchased a barrel trimming sleeve set, which makes changing between pen tube diameters easy. This isn't an endorsement of one brand over another.

I wish the pen mill shaft came with a quick connect so that I could use one of my smaller drills. Sure, I could use an adapter, but that adds one more source of slop that I don't want to introduce.
 

jttheclockman

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NJ, USA.
I use something called 2P-10 professional wood formula. I am up for trying anything that someone can share for me to try. Never had an issue with wooden blanks but I have with the acrylic blanks that I reverse painted.


Yeah I am probably going to pull the trigger on buying both. I find with reverse painted acrylic blanks that when I use the Pen Mill it sometimes dislodges the tube from the blank. This might also be due to my processes but I let everything dry for days. Going to start using Primer Spray paint for my reverse painting as I have heard that it works decent.


Abrasives and turning tools.




Pen mills have many limitations and some of those limits are distructive.

Off set sanding jigs and other sanding nigs are my preferance to the piloted mill.

I like Rick Herrell's piloted sanding mill for final cleanup before assembly.

A pen mill should not cause the tube to dislodge. You may not be getting complete glue coverage on your tube or it might be the glue you are using. What glue do you use?

Changing to a sanding disc may not resolve the dislodging problem because it may happen when you are turning instead.




You ask this question in another thread and I posted an answer. To do a quick answer here that glue is made for gluing wood to wood and not wood to metal or acrylic to metal with metal being the tubes. Need to make that change and hope you read the rest of my post there.
 

farmer

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Jun 16, 2012
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NV
Epart epoxy

There are allot of different 2 part epoxies on the market.....

Not all epoxies stick to all plastics, phenolic , Micarta, melamine, acrylics, ABS or PVC's.
Super glue might be the safest way to go, and I am not a super glue fan .


I use west systems epoxy most all the time.
Personally I stay away from the faster drying epoxy .


And how is it spelled epoxies or epoxy's ????????
 
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Paul in OKC

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Jul 26, 2004
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Oklahoma City, OK, USA.
I'm a pen mill guy. A few years ago I bought an 4 flute aircraft piloted counter bore tool. It is 7/8" diameter, HSS (I think a lot of pen mills are just hardened carbon steel, or maybe a tool steel). Made a pilot and sleeves for the different tubes. Works excellent.
 

qquake

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Northern California
I have several piloted counterbores that my b-in-law gave me several years ago. He also had several pilots made for me from drill blanks. I also have different sleeves I use with it, including steel, brass, plastic and wood. I also have a commercial pen mill and a few pilots that I use as well.
 

wfsteadman

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Aug 10, 2016
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Colorado
So a crazy thought just hit me. Do you all just use a hand drill with your pen mills or do you use your drill press or lathe and pen jaws? hmmmmm might have to try milling on the lathe.
 

qquake

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I use my drill press. I hold the blank witrh a homemade "gate jig". I learned about those from the old Yahoo penturners group. I like the gate jig, because you can hold the blank loosely, allowing it to move a little if necessary. For round blanks, I use a piece of sheet rubber I got at Lowe's in the plumbing section.
 

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keithncsu

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Catawba, SC 29704
I use my drill press. I hold the blank witrh a homemade "gate jig". I learned about those from the old Yahoo penturners group. I like the gate jig, because you can hold the blank loosely, allowing it to move a little if necessary. For round blanks, I use a piece of sheet rubber I got at Lowe's in the plumbing section.

Now THIS is something I need in my life. Blisters and cuts are a thing of the past!!!! Now to see if I have any scraps I can use and still get a decent one. Cause Lord knows I'll mess the first one or three up. Haha!
 

jttheclockman

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NJ, USA.
So a crazy thought just hit me. Do you all just use a hand drill with your pen mills or do you use your drill press or lathe and pen jaws? hmmmmm might have to try milling on the lathe.


Hand drill. I have a 4 flute carbide mill. But I will always sand as my final step.Can not beat sanding.
 

JimB

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West Henrietta, NY, USA.
I use a hand drill. I wear a leather glove on the hand that is holding the blank to avoid any problems. If you do even a half way decent job of cutting the blank to the proper length you will not need to remove much material with the mill. I don't have a carbide mill so I sharpen it frequently. Like John I do sanding as my final step.
 

qquake

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Feb 8, 2004
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Northern California
I use my drill press. I hold the blank witrh a homemade "gate jig". I learned about those from the old Yahoo penturners group. I like the gate jig, because you can hold the blank loosely, allowing it to move a little if necessary. For round blanks, I use a piece of sheet rubber I got at Lowe's in the plumbing section.

Now THIS is something I need in my life. Blisters and cuts are a thing of the past!!!! Now to see if I have any scraps I can use and still get a decent one. Cause Lord knows I'll mess the first one or three up. Haha!

Here are some detail photos. It's just two pieces of 1x2, a piece of plywood, and a hinge. One arm is rigid, the other is movable. I cut the notches with my bandsaw.
 

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Penstyle

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Dec 8, 2012
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Bedfordshire
I use my lathe for just about every function...I used to use a barrel trimmer but found them to be less than perfect - instead I made up a 125mm sanding jig for my lather which uses a lathe faceplate to mount. The faceplate makes it an easy on / off tool. For the horizontal 'bed & sled' - I have an attachment that I made which fits onto my tool rest - it is very quick and easy to attach, is solidly mounted and a doddle to square to the sanding disc. I have found this arrangement to give great results, and use this method exclusively now.
 

TonyL

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Mar 9, 2014
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Georgia
Rick sells a taper that fits inside the ts ram. I also shorten up the amount of transfer punch extending from the jig to ensure a real square surface. Enjoy...I haven't blown a blank while trimming in years.
 

Woodchipper

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Mar 15, 2017
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Cleveland, TN
For round blanks, I use a piece of sheet rubber I got at Lowe's in the plumbing section.
I use pieces of old tire or bicycle inner tube. Free at the tire store or bike shop. "Free" is my favorite word!
 
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