Pen Mill On Lathe- yes or no?

[LK&T]

Trimming the blanks down to the tube ends using my Whiteside pen mill. I did the first couple with a hand drill, but following my propensity to overdo everything I'm thinking about using the lathe. Since I bore the hole in the blank on the lathe using my chuck and pen jaws, I don't see why this won't work using the same setup and possibly give better/more consistent concentricity and perpendicular sides (ends?). I know what you're thinking- stop being cheap and buy a collet jaw! To that I say yes, I need a collet jaw for the ultimate in drilling overkill. But I just ordered darn near $100 in parts for the pen my wife wants for Christmas. Collet gotta wait, baby needs a new pen!

Anyway, back to pen milling on the lathe. Pros and cons? Overthinking it? Having too much fun?

 

[Monty]

I found that a pen mill can be too aggressive on many pen blanks and may even crack the blank. Several years ago I switched to one of Rick Harrel's offset sanding jigs.
One of the best changes I made in pen turning.

 

[jttheclockman]

I agree 100% with Monty. Ditch the pen mill. I did years ago. Get yourself a flat faceplate and some sticky back sandpaper and sand the ends down. Before you do that you can real close by trimming on a bandsaw. This way you do not have to sand so much. Now if the faceplate has a center hole then just doubside tape some plexiglass and then the sand paper. I actually put a piece of thin sheet metal on mine. Works great. Use the punch set from Harbor freight and a drill chuck in the tailstock.

 

[mmayo]

I agree, not only are they too aggressive but they are dangerous if they bite into the tube. Don't ask how I know that. Look up Rick Herrell and buy his offset jig for your lathe.

If I can do something on the lathe, I do

 

[leehljp]

Some people use them and like them. But for me, like the guys above, they are iffy, and a sudden surge and it becomes too aggressive. It didn't matter if it was steel or carbide bits, the results were the same.

I bought a "sanding mill" from Rick about 10 - 12 years ago and it works great. Not too aggressive and does an excellent job.

 

[Charlie_W]

Right there with you JT......sand on lathe to square. Likewise with the punch in the tailstock.
Another way to create a small sanding disc for squaring blanks is to take a scrap of wood, turn a #2 MT, stick that in the spindle Morse taper and then turn the end square. Check with straight edge then, add double stick tape and sandpaper. Now you can cut your sand paper in tiny pieces and change paper as needed.

 

[dogcatcher]

I also use a sander, but mine was a sander that I made to face off the ends of game calls. I had 2 that were made using a 3 inch disc with a 1/4 inch drill rod through the center. Course grit in one side medium on the other side, the second one had fine grit. I could use in on the lathe, the drill press or the hand drill. Hold the blank and keep it squared to the rod. When I was in production turning, I had about 4 of each grit ready and could do 50 game calls in less than 30 minutes.

You can also use the back side of the pen mill as a sanding face plate, use a 1" leather punch to make sanding discs. I used the spray adhesive to stick the discs, and brake cleaner to remove the sticky stuff.

 

[LK&T]

Firstly, you folks are really ruining my spending money on new tools for this hobby. Two days in and I've ditched my pen mandrel and now, potentially, my shiny new pen mill (for which I JUST ordered two new shafts for the pen my wife wants). However, thank you all for the good advice. I'm sure one day I'll ditch the pen mill for a sanding setup, but right now it's too fun to use and works really well. Almost too good; I milled a couple blanks today on the lathe and was into the brass tube a little bit before I knew it. There was no change in sound or effort to let me know I was there. Thankfully it was just a couple of shavings, because I knew I was close. Might have had something to do with it being WAY sharper after I sharpened it. I'm really good at sharpening tools; it's part of how I make a living these days. If I get to a point where the pen mill is causing me problems I'll switch to a sanding setup.

 

[leehljp]

Here is an old thread but can give you an idea of things others learned AFTER getting into turning:

If I had known this earlier . .

I am on a fact finding mission. Can you help? What do you wish you had known earlier in pen turning? or in different words: Knowing what you know now - IF you could go back and start over in pen turning - what would you skip, change or do differently? answers for instance: - I wish...

www.penturners.org

 

[socdad]

+ 1 for Rick's offset sanding jig, on the bright side the pen mill shafts can be used on Rick's jig ...

 

[TonyL]

I own 3....in case he stops making them.

 

[Wmcullen]

Rick's jig looks amazing: smart and precise. What a great idea.
Like you, I have a pen mill. I use it in a drill press. My experience was not positive until I made two changes:
1. I upgraded from steel to carbide and immediately noticed an improvement. It suddenly felt like I was cutting through butter. (Which is probably more an indictment of how dull I let the steel get... which is on me.)
2. I clamped a nice bright light nearby pointed down into the drilled hole and worked slowly. When I got to the right depth the brass tube would catch the light and shine bright... "like the top of the Crysler Building."
In my experience, which pales compared to others here, shaving off a couple of atoms of brass is okay-ish... more of a misdemeanor than a high crime. But taking off any more can be problematic.
-Cullen

 

[leehljp]

By scrolling way down same page linked by Monty (in link #2 above), Rick offers the Pen MILL which is very simple but truly effective.

 

[LK&T]

Rick's jig looks amazing: smart and precise. What a great idea.
Like you, I have a pen mill. I use it in a drill press. My experience was not positive until I made two changes:
1. I upgraded from steel to carbide and immediately noticed an improvement. It suddenly felt like I was cutting through butter. (Which is probably more an indictment of how dull I let the steel get... which is on me.)
2. I clamped a nice bright light nearby pointed down into the drilled hole and worked slowly. When I got to the right depth the brass tube would catch the light and shine bright... "like the top of the Crysler Building."
In my experience, which pales compared to others here, shaving off a couple of atoms of brass is okay-ish... more of a misdemeanor than a high crime. But taking off any more can be problematic.
-Cullen

I have the steel Whiteside mill. Part of my business is me sharpening all things knives and tools. I used the mill a couple times and was underwhelmed at how it cut, so I gave it a good sharpening. Dramatically improved! It is now what I consider a bada** cutting tool. As for carbide, that's a good choice. As long as you're cutting wood (and a little brass every now and then) it should be ages before it needs sharpening- if ever. Carbide is almost impossible to get as sharp as steel, but it can always be sharp enough to do the job. My steel mill cut well the first few goes, then dulled quickly. This happens because there was a big burr left on the cutting edge when manufactured. That burr cuts like a laser, but it falls off quickly and leaves a cutting edge that isn't properly sharp. That's why your steel cutter (and mine) "dulled" quickly. The way I sharpened mine, it should last quite awhile before needing another touchup. This burr problem doesn't happen to carbide because the stuff is so hard it doesn't develop a burr when sharpened.

 

[Paul in OKC]

I'm a pen mill guy. Factory sharpen on most leaves a bit to be desired. I have a tool grinder at the shop I work at and after a make over, works great.