Pen mill cutters

[Woodchipper]

I have worn out two steel cutters. Tried to sharpen them per YouTube videos. Didn't work. My son told me about a place in Chattanooga that sharpened various tools for milling, turning, etc. Had to stop at Woodcraft so we made the trip. Fellow who would sharpen them was out but told he would look at them. Said if it was in the 16-20 dollar range we could talk. Always good to have extras. So...then i realized I didn't have any way to square pen blanks! Back to Woodcraft. Talked with one fellow and we decided to try the two blade carbide cutter. I squared the problem blank referred to in another post. Cut the blank like a hot knife going through warm butter. Will keep you informed about the performance. FYI, it's the Woodcraft's Whiteside #154510.

 

[NJturner]

That's my go-to cutter when I don't sand instead. The full set of sized shafts and cutters was pricey, especially since I normally sand my stuff square on the lathe, but I have found lots of uses for it and don't regret the purchase. Carbides in it are really good and long wearing. Have fun!

Kevin

 

[Woodchipper]

This replaced the steel cutter. Have eight shafts so I'm OK there. As for the cutter, so far, so good.

 

[Kenny Durrant]

I've been turning and casting pens for quite some time and always used a pen mill. I bought a Whiteside set from Woodcraft and the carbon cutter head to go with it. It's worked well over the years. A couple of years ago I was tearing up some segmented blanks and bought a sanding jig from Rick here on the IAP. It was great for fixing the problem. I still used the mill most of the time. The last few months I had trouble pressing pens together. I filed the inside of the tubes for burs and I was still nervous at times pressing. A few weeks ago I turned several snakeskin blanks and was afraid of the resin separating from the skin so I used the sanding jig on the rest. The kits went together with such ease I'll use it from now on. I'm not saying the pen mills aren't any good but why risk issues when pressing pens when it's already turned and finished. It was well worth the money and time spent setting everything up. Now I just replace the sandpaper instead of sharpening or replacing the cutting heads.