JonathanF1968
Member
Thinking lately about centering blanks: finding their exact center and drilling there. And whether it is actually unnecessary and possibly counter-productive.
I'm about twenty or thirty pens into this endeavor, and about five pens ago, I started to wonder if it actually made sense to measure to the center of blanks, per the common wisdom. And I stopped doing it, instead choosing a spot by eye. (I drill blanks on a drill press.)
Choosing my spot, rather than measuring it, lets me select grain patterns that are likely to be more interesting. Also, if there's a possible flaw in the blank that could lead to cracking, etc., I can avoid it. And even if I do want the blank to be centered, I don't think I'm off by more than a mm or so doing it by eye, vs. trying to actually measure it. In turning, it all evens out anyway.
Almost exclusively, I am using blanks from wood that I claim and reuse for the purpose, rather than buying blanks. I tend to cut them to about an inch on a side, if I can, so I have a little more wiggle room than you'd have on a typical 3/4 inch bought blank.
Is there some benefit to using the measured center that I'm missing? My pens don't seem worse or more fragile as a result of my doing this. It saves a little time and I think gives me more control, not centering them.
I'm about twenty or thirty pens into this endeavor, and about five pens ago, I started to wonder if it actually made sense to measure to the center of blanks, per the common wisdom. And I stopped doing it, instead choosing a spot by eye. (I drill blanks on a drill press.)
Choosing my spot, rather than measuring it, lets me select grain patterns that are likely to be more interesting. Also, if there's a possible flaw in the blank that could lead to cracking, etc., I can avoid it. And even if I do want the blank to be centered, I don't think I'm off by more than a mm or so doing it by eye, vs. trying to actually measure it. In turning, it all evens out anyway.
Almost exclusively, I am using blanks from wood that I claim and reuse for the purpose, rather than buying blanks. I tend to cut them to about an inch on a side, if I can, so I have a little more wiggle room than you'd have on a typical 3/4 inch bought blank.
Is there some benefit to using the measured center that I'm missing? My pens don't seem worse or more fragile as a result of my doing this. It saves a little time and I think gives me more control, not centering them.