Taking off edges

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I do work with planes -- and think you will be more satisfied with a decent block plane.

If you are going to get new, Lee Valley planes are moderate in cost (but hardly cheap) and work well. I have cleaned up old block planes from yard sales and had good success.

You will need scary-sharp edge on the plane -

However -- unless the wood is especially brittle, I use a Hunter cup carbide tool from the ends if there is any question about the wood. Also is my "go-to" for chippy acrylics. Slow feed and stream of curlies.
 
hand planes can do a great job if properly sharpened and the materials properly held. I have a wide collection of them, well packed now as we are moving.. but find that the simpler the tool sometimes work better. I collected planes for years and now find myself with an abundance. One day I will unpack them and try to sell them. I bought most at yard sales and eBay.. but Craigslist would be a good source as well. And remember, unless you buy a really high quality tool, the blade will most likely NOT be properly sharpened out of the box. It might appear sharp, but doubt it is really sharp
 
Man I would not even consider a plane for the operation you have in mind unless you are using a long board. You do know not to plane in from the ends and to plane away from the ends (right??) Not worth the effort. Do you have a belt sander or a disc sander??? That would be more safer in my opinion. To be frank though put it on the lathe and use a sharp turning tool. Most people use a roughing gouge and you get it round in a hurry. There are articles here that show people here have made sleds for their bandsaws to cut the edges off. If you have a bandsaw you may want to look into that. Good luck.
 
I use a carbide square cutter or sand them off on the lathe with 40 grit sand paper. I use the same to trim the barrel.
 
There's a commercial jig made specifically to cut pen blank corners. I bought one, but don't like it. I made my own jig to cut the corners off bigger blanks, such as 2"x2"'s. I just use a small roughing gouge on the lathe. It's just more convenient for me. YMMV
 
I think you'll be very disappointed in the trimming plane you posted.

You just want to round the corners, right? I would do as John suggested: mount the blank on your lathe and use a roughing gouge.

For acrylic blanks which can be chippy, I file the corners round, with the blank on the lathe, using a half-round file, before using any gouge.

When you then use the gouge make sure it is sharp and take light cuts.
 
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For plastics I like to use the belt sander....woods get the hss roughing gouge treatment.
 
personally I use the lathe to round everything.. sure it can be tricky at times with brittle acrylics or wood.. but it works for me.. if you are really worried about it.. do as George suggested and use a flap sander in an angle grinder while the lathe is turning the blank... works like a charm
 
wyone said:
personally I use the lathe to round everything.. sure it can be tricky at times with brittle acrylics or wood.. but it works for me.. if you are really worried about it.. do as George suggested and use a flap sander in an angle grinder while the lathe is turning the blank... works like a charm
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I tried that flap sander - not quite what I expected. :frown:
 
Neededwill said:
So has anyone used a small hand planer to remove the edges on pen blanks or bottle stopper blanks?
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Yes, I have. I have an inexpensive, but routinely and easily sharpened mini-block plan that is one of the most useful planes I own. It's a Buck Bros. that I bought at Home Depot many years ago.

I made a holder out of a scrap of "v-block" and screwed a stop on the end. I clamp it in my tail vice and knock down the corners of blanks that might have a risk of disaster on a catch, like this celtic knot blank. That's not blood at the heel of the plane. It's paint.

Edge1.jpg

Just a half-dozen or a few more swipes and the edges are knocked down.

Edge2.jpg

Why?

1.) Shop is in the basement. I can knock down edges in the quiet of the night when the rest of the house is sleeping.
2.) It's quiet
3.) Less dust
4.) I worry less about blowing up segmented blanks.
5.) It's fast
6.) It's safe
7.) Because I want to, sometimes
8.) It's easy
9.) It takes less time than using my belt/disc sander and it's safer.
 
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Everyone's response have been an interesting alternative.

Brian your method inspires me, I have a newborn and if I could make a mobile small jig to be able to do this in the other room while the baby is sleeping in hers would give me a head start when I get the moment to be in the shop.

I also do a lot of laminates so same as you this would help with a possible blowout.
 
I have a method that I have not seen anywhere. (That may well mean it isn't the best method!) Clamp your stopper in a vise (I use my pen blank vise) and center it under the drill press. The blank should "stick out" about halfway above the vice. Cut an old pilot drill off so that it does not protrude into the center of a hole saw. With the hole saw mounted above the blank GENTLY lower it into the blank. You will be able to create a perfect cylinder about halfway down. Flip the blank over and repeat on the other side.

This also works really well with pen blanks. Simpy replace the pilot shaft on the hole saw with the pilot shaft from the appropriate sized barrel trimmer.

Hope that is clear enough! Works for me.
 
I can understand taking the extra time for a segmented blank to knock the corners off. Even some PR blanks that are cast over tube-on castings.

but for just about anything else - put it straight on the lathe and go to town.

why all the extra steps?
 
Neededwill said:
No issues I now use a roughing gouge or my straight carbide tool. I like to look for new ways to do things that may make more sense.
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I'm glad your not having any issues. It's good to try new ways of doing things. I've only ever tried different turning tools... Roughing gouge, skew, bowl gouge, spindle gouge. I always seem to end up going back to the roughing gouge to knock off the corners and bulk of material then I usually finish with the skew.
 
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