pen mill

I'm making two pens with purple heart and some type of ebony. I'm using the pen mill in my drill press; been doing this for quite a while with no problems. Anyway, the wood starts smoking before I even get close to the blank being turned down to the tube. I checked the Janka scale and note that...

This is my drilling setup with a Wilton machinist's vise (from Lowe's) on the drill press table. I secured it with bolts and washers. I can move it by loosening the bolts and rotating the drill press table. Drilling consists of squaring the blank to the side of the drill bit. I also use it for...

Poor fits of the barrels to metal parts, whether diameter or squareness seems to be crucial to making a quality pen. I've read that some people use a disc sander to square the pen blanks and others will use a pen mill or a combination of the two. Is a pen mill the best method for getting the...