I am looking for an accurate way to trim the ends.

[daveeisler]

I have a cheap disc sander from Harbor Freight, and nothing I do will keep it aligned, I have barrel trimmers, but they are not good to use on laminated or segmented woods, and I have tried the mini sanding disc on the drill press, but the paper needs to be replaced too often and is not easy to, any thoughts.

 

[PaulDoug]

I use the mini disk sander in my lathe and only as a final "clean-up" of the ends after turning and finishing. Works great for that. I square the ends before turning on the types of blanks your mentioned, using the belt portion of my combo sander laying the blank on a simple jig I made.

 

[daveeisler]

I think I will go for a better quality disc/belt sander, I think the disc I have is not flat, and that is typical of a Harbor Freight product, you get what you pay for, I have the pen tool that you use with the T slide on the sander.

 

[RussBoyd]

trimming

I use the barrel trimmer on both laminated and segmented with no problems. Keep it sharp. I personally don't see how you can get perfectly square using a disc sander or the like, when your pen blank is not flat after turning. Could someone enlighten me as I know a lot of you use this method?

 

[Russianwolf]

Do you have any kind of chuck?

If so, mount the tubed blank between centers and turn it round so that the sides are parallel to the tube. Then mount in a chuck and trim the ends with a skew. Works wonderfully.

 

[killer-beez]

Here is what I use. Works great for delicate work.

http://www.penturners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=42098

 

[daveeisler]

This is what I use.

This offers a fast easy set up and the disc can be cleaned and used for a very long time, and if you use a gentle hand, you will get amazing results, but be sure your sander is square, mine is not, you can use any size pen tube, as long as you have a "sleave" to keep it stable, I made one sleeve for each kit I have and they last for ever.

 

[daveeisler]

It's called "Universal Pen Blank Squaring Jig" it's about $18.00 bucks from Steebar or Pen State, Barry Gross may have it for less money, it's not on his site , but he can get them, and fast too, his web site link is below and it has contact info.

http://www.bgartforms.com/

 

[jtdesigns]

I just bought a 1" sanding kit from Harbor Freight. It comes with 10 disks of varying grit with a 1/4" mandrel. I plan to use it in my Beall chuck and use the HF punch set in a jaw chuck mounted in the tail stock that is close to the inside diameter of the pen tube. The individual disks have a special plastic thread on the back. I figure if the grit wears off, I can reuse the plastic threaded platform by glueing a new piece of sandpaper on. I will post pictures of the setup when I get a chance. The kit is $5.99.

 

[byounghusband]

Try this....

Dave,
I don't know if you have a pendant backer plate, but this is what I came up with for sandig laminates and segemnted, as well as laser cut pen blanks:

Pen Blank Sanding Jig

Might be what you are looking for....

 

[Rangertrek]

I use the pen blank squaring jig pictued in above post.
The most important item is to square the ROD on the jig to the SANDER FACE PLATE. The angle of the table does not matter that much. The rod has to be square. I use a small machinest square to check the alignment in two directions. It works well for me, simple and easy.

 

[RussFairfield]

Sharpen your barrel trimmer. A sharp barrel trimmer will cut as well or better, and leave as accurate an end as anything else we might use. A dull barrel trimmer is probably the worst tool we can use to trim the ands of a pen barrel. There are folks here who will sharpen it for you if you don't want to do it yourself.

 

[daveeisler]

wow , some great info, one more question, where or who is Johnny CNC,

 

[byounghusband]

One of the best guys here and a great Machinist. He made the shafts for my Sanding Jig and has QUITE a few of other great tools for us turners!!!
Go here:
JohnnyCNC

wow , some great info, one more question, where or who is Johnny CNC,

 

[ROOKIETURNER]

wow , some great info, one more question, where or who is Johnny CNC,

Who is Johnnycnc? I think that's like not knowing who Elvis was...okay maybe not Elivs...How about Santa Claus? Yeah, more like Santa. They both makes kids happy, in Johnny's case, Big Kids. They both give out presents. You can pretty much ask him to make anything and he'll do it.

 

[daveeisler]

I found Johnny and we have been talking, but who is this Elvis you speak of ? Now I know Santa, he turns pens on another forum.

 

[daveeisler]

John Carlisle , got it , thanks, the rod was not square, I like this set up the best for trimming and squaring barrels, it is faster and easier to do, for me, I use a lot of mixed material, like metals and stone, that dulls the barrel trimmers and to re sharpen those little buggers as often as I would need , would be crazy.

 

[JBCustomPens]

http://www.penturners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=59097

Might want to look here. Nolan's mills are carbide and they will cut anything like butter! Hope this helps!