trying to square up leftover pen blanks

[jeff3285]

I have a lot of leftover pen blanks,,,all are different sizes and some are too small to hold using a belt sander to square them,,i know if you had a milling machine it would be no problem,,but needless to say I don't have one,,can anyone give me some ideas on how to do this,,i hate throwing them away when you could glue them up and make a nice segmented pen,,thank you,

 

[stonepecker]

What about glueing them up first and then using a sander to make them equal/sguare ????
Maybe glue them into a 'block' and then cut it down to a size you can use?

I use most of my leftovers for accents to plain wood. Gives the 'spruce' a little class!

 

[scotian12]

Hi Jeff....I use the ends of blanks for centre bands on slimline pens ( see Nautical Pens at www.scotianpens.com) and hopefully this weekend I will be making frig magnets if I can find a design. Thanks Darrell

 

[GaryMGg]

Depends on the tools you own.
A table saw with sled and hold-downs can be used to cut very small bits.

 

[jttheclockman]

Depends on the tools you own.
A table saw with sled and hold-downs can be used to cut very small bits.

I agree here 100% Easiest way to do it.

 

[MTViper]

I've got a box of leftover bits and pieces, too. I bought a bead making mandrel from PSI and once a week or so I turn a few beads, also in various sizes and shapes. I'm eventually going to string them into necklaces for my wife and daughters-in-law. They're good practice for precise tool control.

I also use them as accent pieces on the ends of less figured woods and to fix mistakes.

 

[low_48]

Are you talking about cutting the ends square to the length of the blank, or making the long sides square to each other? Milling machine? You can get your fingers really close to a disc sander with a fence. Some guys make a disc sander attachment for their wood lathes.