I've had something happen to me twice so I think there might be something wrong with my technique. Any suggestions welcome:
When I'm down to the right size on the end of a pen blank, I notice small chips out of the blank. I thought it was from taking too much with a bite with a gouge, but this last time, I used sand paper for the last .10".
I suspect it might be my drilling and it's causing stress in the blank before I ever start working on it. I don't notice the chips until I get close to finishing. I drill on a drill press at the slowest speed and keep everything cool. I drill then trim down the blank. Next time, my plan is to step drill with progressively larger bits.
Has anyone dealt with this?
A different but related question. If I take off 1/32" off the end of the blank on the nib of a gent, is there enough tolerance to still fit the pen? It looks like it, but it also looks really tight.
Thanks in advance.
When I'm down to the right size on the end of a pen blank, I notice small chips out of the blank. I thought it was from taking too much with a bite with a gouge, but this last time, I used sand paper for the last .10".
I suspect it might be my drilling and it's causing stress in the blank before I ever start working on it. I don't notice the chips until I get close to finishing. I drill on a drill press at the slowest speed and keep everything cool. I drill then trim down the blank. Next time, my plan is to step drill with progressively larger bits.
Has anyone dealt with this?
A different but related question. If I take off 1/32" off the end of the blank on the nib of a gent, is there enough tolerance to still fit the pen? It looks like it, but it also looks really tight.
Thanks in advance.