Pen segmenting and the drum sander

[Crungler]

Let me preface this by saying I'm not a traditional woodworker. I more or less stumbled into woodturning about five years ago, and that's where most of my experience lives.


My fiancée is a pen turner and has developed a strong preference for segmented blanks. Naturally, as a supportive partner, I set up our bandsaw for ripping pen blanks and added a jointer and a benchtop drum sander to the shop.


Our current goal is to produce 100 segmented pen blanks, all with the same pattern.


Starting with stock pen blanks arranged as (111) and (222), the plan is to rip them into strips and reassemble them into (121) and (212), with veneer or aluminum accents in between.


I'm comfortable ripping the strips—we're getting them reasonably straight off the bandsaw using a thin-rip jig. What I'm not comfortable with is hand-sanding dozens (hundreds…) of tiny strips, which is why the drum sander entered the picture.


The issue is that the pen-blank strips are simply too short. They tend to shift, get pulled, or dig in under the drum. I've tried very light pressure, heavier pressure, and different feed speeds with little success.


Please tell me that adhering the strips to a piece of MDF with double-sided tape will give me the flat, consistent results I'm after.


If not, I'm looking for ideas or examples of a drum-sander jig for sanding small parts efficiently—ideally without relying on a consumable for every batch. I'm envisioning something like "micro clamps" mounted to an MDF carrier that could hold multiple strips securely at once.


I'm stubborn and have committed to solving this with the drum sander rather than switching methods. For anyone curious, the machine is a Grizzly G0459, which I picked up for just under $1,200 delivered.


Thanks in advance for any guidance—photos of jigs or real-world solutions would be especially appreciated.

 

[jttheclockman]

A few things come to mind and need to be addressed. What is 111 and 222? Next is when you say you are taking pen blanks and cutting into strips, why would you do this? next thing is why would you want that many same style blanks? Are you making as an order or just to sell? If to sell you would be way better to make various styles. use you imagination.

Now suggestions as to how. I would skip ripping small pen blanks and use long strips. I see in your first photo such a piece. You cut, sand, and then cut to size making it easier to handle and send through a sander or planer. Next you can buy a small drum sander if you can find one made by Byrnes. There are some home made ideas out there too. other thing is you can buy thin veneer lumber already milled to thickness and cut it to size. next you can make a carrier board to send through your drumsander with cleats attached to a straight flat board. You set up a cleat before the strip and one after to lock it in place. Do a bunch of rows like this. Put a bunch of strips all the same length in a row side by side behind the cleat. Make as wide as you want. No need to doubleside tape unless you want to make sure they stay in place. Because it is possible the small strips could warp upwards and send them flying as they go through sander. The tape is an insurance policy. This is called jig making. Think outside the box.

Finally not knowing what design you are planning on, when using metals as inlays you will need to use epoxy. CA and wood glues will not work. Blow apart when turned. If selling these blanks you will have more returns with metals as inlays because they are not easy to glue securly. Same goes for acrylics as inlays. Wood to wood is safest way to mass produce segmented blanks and even that can blow apart. Third and final, whatever design you make make sure the blank is square and the design is straight and even. Drilling them becomes an issue. You are in for a challenge that is for sure. Good luck and show us what you have in mind and maybe we have more suggestions.

 

[d_bondi]

Why not skip the band saw, which is not a finish cut and use a table saw with a zero clearance plate and a thin rig jig.

That and what John T (@jttheclockman) noted, don't start with pen blanks, use longer stock.

 

[GaryMGg]

Aidan,

The suggestion to not start with pen blanks is a good one.
Pen blanks typically start as timber or boards.
For example, let's say you're using Black Cherry and Hard Maple.
Let's say you're paying $3.00/blank.
But, let's say those timbers can be had for around $4.00/Board foot (BF).
One BF is 144 square inches. So, a piece of wood 1" thick, 2' long, and 6" wide is 1BF.
And, from a BF with those dimensions, I can create 26 — 3/4" X 3/4" X 5-1/2" blanks.
So, from the $4 BF, I can make $78 worth of blanks.
Even if you're paying $7/BF and paying $1/blank, it's still worth getting the lumber and making the blanks.

Now, if you have a piece of 6' long, 6" wide, 3/4" thick black cherry and a similar piece of maple AND you start ripping those boards into 1/8" wide pieces, you'll have a ton of long thin pieces to glue back together and then cut them into short blanks.
It's a fair amount of work—no matter how you do it—but easier to rip long pieces, glue them back together, then crosscut into blanks.

Having said this, you'll want a tablesaw with a good and well adjusted fence, a very clean cutting blade, some safety equipment such as push sticks and/or a Gripper and plenty of clamps.
My $.02 and worth twice what you paid for it.