Squaring and sanding attachment

[skiprat]

Hi all, if you have a lathe with a useable left side of the headstock, then this must be the cheapest method of squaring up and trimming.
The wheel simply has a sheet of 180 grit stuck on to a it with spray adhesive. My lathe came with left and right hand plates, which I think are for bowls. I roughed out a piece of MDF with a jigsaw. Turned it round by mounting on the right hand plate in the normal way. Then I re-mounted it on the left handed plate My base has a single bolt through the bottom to clamp it down. I hold a small engineers square against the wheel and the 'fence' while tightening it up.

 

[LEAP]

Won't that just square the end to the side of the blank. Unless your tube is perfectly aligned with which ever side you have against the fence the end won't be square to the tube. Great idea but looks like a little more engineering is on the way.

 

[GaryMGg]

I think Philip is correct.
The engineering trick will be to mount a rod perpendicular to the sanding disk's face so that when you slide a blank over it, you're squaring to the tube.

 

[DCBluesman]

Here's an article on how to make a blank squaring jig. It's so quick and easy that even I can do it. Thanks, Jay, for the "how-to". http://content.penturners.org/articles/2005/blanksquaring.pdf

 

[skiprat]

Of course, it will only true it up to the side against the fence.[B)] But I seem to get good results as I drill my blanks on the lathe. If I have a very wonkey drilled blank, then I will cut it close to the tubes by hand, then turn till just round, between centres or between bushes. Once the blank is round, I can then square up and trim the ends. I sometimes round up a blank between centres enough to then hold it in my scroll chuck and then drill it
Just another way of doing the same thing I suppose.

The object here was to get around the small mill diameter, say for a Panache and the bigger than 7mm tubes. I don't make enough pens or sell any, to warrant buying the extra kit. I'm also too tight[}]

 

[stevers]

Hey Lue, thanks for the link. I have been waiting to see something like that. I have a heck of a time with Jr. Gents and Cigars and stuff like that. I think I'll start building that jig very soon.