Milling vs. Sanding to length

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putnamm

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I never know if I'm dredging up old discussions or not, and this seems like it must have come up at some point. So apologies if it's repetitive...

Is there a prevailing theory on which method of trimming blanks to barrel length is most effective and precise--a pen mill/reamer or sander? I've been using a pen mill recently and have noticed that often my blanks end up with frays at the end. I wonder if this is due to incorrect use of the mill. Or, would sanding be better for this? I have not tried sanding because I don't own an upright belt or circular sander that I can get perfectly flush.

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

-Mark
 
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I use a combination of mill and sanding. I just find some woods are better using one or the other or a combination. Have you sharpened your mill? They do need sharpening or you will get frays, gouges or even chunks taken out of your blank. Sometimes I use a disc sander to remove material but not to get the blank square. To square the blank I use the mill and/or a homemade jig on my lathe.

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Check out this link in the IAP Vendor Catalogs & scroll about 3/4 of the way down to the Sanding Mill 2.0 product.
http://www.penturners.org/forum/f172/custom-made-penturning-tools-accessories-92501/

I do the same as Jim & use a combination of pen mill and sanding disk (both on the lathe & my disk sander, just depending on which is easier at the time).

For common hard woods, I generally use a pen mill because it's fast & easy and also easy to see how much material I'm taking off. For acrylics, soft woods & special wood blanks that I don't want to take a chance on ruining, I use a sanding disk.

But, regardless of which method I use for initial trimming, I always finish up with my Rick Herrell sanding jig. It's strictly intended as a finishing tool to make sure that your ends are perfectly square and neatly trimmed. It's a great $20 investment and has definitely improved the fit of my blanks.
 
I can't tell you what is better, but I have had significantly more success with sanding especially on the more brittle and/or less pressurized materials. Even though I used a carbide barrel trimmer, I would blow or tear blanks. I was probable way too aggressive with it. I think much has to do with the "hands" of the turner; I feel the same way about carbide versus HSS tools.
 
I have the one from Rockler and never had a issue.

It has 6 flutes, maybe that makes a difference.
 
I recently converted from milling the ends of blanks with the basic PSI trimmers...to sanding. It was a good decision, forced by blowing out yet another important blank. Like Tony, I'm sure I was just too heavy-handed, but who needs that risk? I use a faceplate with sandpaper (spray adhesive) in the headstock. In the tailstock, I mount a fixed chuck and insert whatever size shaft I need for the blank. For shafts, I use a steel punch set from Harbor Freight, $17 I think for a whole bunch of 'em. Oh, and I also probably start with my blanks a little shorter than most. I think I've seen most recommendations to cut blanks 1/4 inch longer than needed. I do only about 1/8 - 3/16...less to sand off. Haven't had any problems w/ that...yet. If all of that isn't clear, PM me and I'll send you some pics.
 
One other thing I do is I trim the ends on a table saw sled to under a 1/16" so I have less to mill.
 
I got done with the mill quite some time ago. After it tore apart the second wood blank I whipped together a disc sander to mount on the lathe. Have been using the HF punch set in an HF drill chuck. Works well, but a bit slow as you're just using the center of the paper.

Today, my off-set sanding jig from Rick Herrell arrived--nice looking piece of work. It allows you to use three different alignments so you can use more of the paper. BTW, the jig is now $43.00 shipped (plus another couple of bucks at Home Depot for two more stainless steel screws as it only comes with one).

Regards,
Michael
 
I use Ricks sanding jig with a transfer punch, but in a different way. I use a 12" disk sander. I hold the jig square against the miter gauge and sand my blanks square very quickly.

The disk sander I use is a Harbor Freight model.

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I prefer using a pen mill. I generally get the ends square better with that than with anything else I've tried. When I am working with end grain wood or laminated banks, I use the belt sander to prevent tear out. Learned that the hard way. I sharpen my pen mill cutters about once a month.
 
I find that a pen mill works well when sharp. When dull, not so good. I know they can be sharpened but that does not always work well. When grinding hand held it is difficult to grind each face exactly the same. They were originally ground and sharpened on a tool and cutter grinder. So unless one can make some kind of indexing jig sharpening will not be the best. I know many sharpen by hand as I have done. If one edge is a little shorter than the rest it will become a three flute cutter. If two edges are a little shorter it becomes a two flute cutter. Ultimately I switched to sanding on a disk sander with a homemade jig using transfer punches.
 
Rockytime said:
I find that a pen mill works well when sharp. When dull, not so good. I know they can be sharpened but that does not always work well. When grinding hand held it is difficult to grind each face exactly the same. They were originally ground and sharpened on a tool and cutter grinder. So unless one can make some kind of indexing jig sharpening will not be the best. I know many sharpen by hand as I have done. If one edge is a little shorter than the rest it will become a three flute cutter. If two edges are a little shorter it becomes a two flute cutter. Ultimately I switched to sanding on a disk sander with a homemade jig using transfer punches.
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Are you sure you are sharpening on the correct surface? You should sharpen on the flat surface not the short angled surface. Just a few strokes on each surface with a diamond credit card file does it. Do the same number of strokes on each surface. I believe there is a document in the library on how to do it.
 
I commonly use a mill on wood, particularly if the wood is nothing special. I sand acrylic and other resin blanks. Sanding is particularly important for blanks that are cast on tube, such as my stamp blanks that Roy sells. The stamps are a discontinuity in the structure, and a possible point of failure. Catch the barrel of the trimmer inside the tube, and you may spin it and ruin the blank. I assume other types of materials cast on tubes present similar risks, to one degree or another, and urge my customers to always sand.
 
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