Carbide barrel trimmer

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I didn't even know they made a carbide one. Interesting. Of course, I just sharpen my regular one periodically and it works just fine.
 
I use to use them all the time or at least a version of them, but since I went to sanding the ends on the lathe I have stopped. I sand close to end on my disc sander first and finish on lathe. Much better results and no failures or blow ups from catches. I use them now if I sell a blank or give a blank away. Just in case the person does not have the ability to do as I do to prep.
 
Some people use them. Carbide trimmers have been around for several years. I gave two carbide ones away. They are OK but one needs to be careful.

I think many well experienced pen turners use different "sanding" jigs instead of trimmers as they are more reliable across different kinds of wood and different cuts of wood.
 
I've been turning pens for 20 years now, and have turned literally hundreds. Over the years I've tried different methods, and even made a jig a couple of years ago using a sanding disc mounted on the lathe. It was tedious to set up, though, and I find I prefer the simplicity of a barrel trimmer. I don't turn a lot of pens theses days, but am currently working on nine for the girls at work. I'm using purpleheart for eight of them, which is fairly dense, that is what got me to thinking about a carbide trimmer. The steel trimmer I have has maybe 50 pens or less on it, and when I used it on the purpleheart, it burned the ends of the blanks a bit. I didn't have any problems with an olive wood blank, but I realize that it's softer than the purpleheart. Since the carbide cutter is less than $20, I might order one the next time I order pen kits. I've spent a lot more than that on tools that didn't work out, so it's worth a try. I also like the fact that it's 5/8" instead of 3/4".
 

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I had one and gave it away after I started using a sanding jig (Rick Herrell's). I did like it better than the non-carbide barrel trimmer.
 
I have used both the normal trimmer and the carbide trimmer. The carbide trimmer works better than the standard one for many applications.
 
I use the standard, plain vanilla cutter head. I hit the edges with a DMT diamond file occasionally. Yes, purple heart is hard to square but soft compared to Lignum vita. LV was my grandson's choice for his father's pen. Like tool steel!
 
MTViper said:
I have not used that one, but I did bite the bullet and buy one of the WoodPecker 13 piece pen mills: https://www.woodpeck.com/ultra-shear-pen-mill-inserts.html . It uses the same type cutters as on EasyWood tools. Works like a charm. I got tired of sharpening the traditional pen mills. The WoodPecker set is a precision tool, like all their tools. It's a joy to use.
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Those are nice but at that price I'll just have to keep sharpening my cheapies. Lol
 
MTViper said:
I have not used that one, but I did bite the bullet and buy one of the WoodPecker 13 piece pen mills: https://www.woodpeck.com/ultra-shear-pen-mill-inserts.html . It uses the same type cutters as on EasyWood tools. Works like a charm. I got tired of sharpening the traditional pen mills. The WoodPecker set is a precision tool, like all their tools. It's a joy to use.
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I will say, that's the coolest pen mill I've ever seen. I especially like how it uses carbide inserts. But considering how few pens I turn these days, I just can't justify the cost. Maybe if I could use my existing pilots with it, but it says it requires their pilots.
 
I use the 3/4 carbide mill with good results. There is a chance of a catch with it that will destroy your blank so if it is an expensive blank or a blank I have a lot of time into I use a sanding jig. The sanding jig works great but the mill is just as good and is super easy and fast to use.
 
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