Pen Squaring Setup

[gtriever]

I have learned my (or at least 'a') lesson. Yesterday I shattered a 12 dollar blank while trying to square it with a pen mill. So, with apologies to all the guys I stole ideas from, last night I locked myself in Acme Corp along with Wile E. and came up with this contraption. It uses transfer punches along with the hold down clamp to align the blanks for sanding :

 

[randyrls]

Wilee would be proud! It looks good too!

 

[Woodchipper]

Beep! Beep! Curious how the blank shattered. Wood or another material? I haven't had that happen but the day isn't over.

 

[gtriever]

Clear Acrylic, and I should have known better. The cutter head caught and just shattered it like glass.

 

[Woodchipper]

Thanks for the info on the material and the cause of the disaster. Not an expert but is the cutter head sharp? Too much pressure on the cutter? Asking so I can avoid this myself.

 

[gtriever]

The cutter head is VERY sharp (ask me how I know that!) and yes, I probably did put too much pressure on it although I didn't think so at the time. I must have been seeing acrylic but thinking wood... stuff happens when ya get old.

 

[Woodchipper]

Let me know.....I have lots of bandaids. I find myself putting pressure on the cutter, getting impatient, I guess.

 

[TonyL]

Very well made. Does this design rely on the pen rough-cut, blank being cut squarely? In other words, will it still "work" if the sides of the pre-turned blank are not all close to 90 degrees or very close to round. I do love the design and the workmanship.

 

[gtriever]

Tony, thank you for the compliments. It works just like the Universal Squaring Jig that so many companies offer, minus having to fool with a miter gauge. The contraption is designed so the v-groove for the transfer punches is square to the belt. The shape of the rough cut blank doesn't matter. When you slide the blank over the punch and lock it down, the tube is squared to the belt.

 

[TonyL]

Thank you for explaining and sharing your invention!

 

[gtriever]

You're welcome. Now if I can just learn to make a decent pen...