Menards has a
Pefrormax brand 5" bench top disc sander for $40 that has the same spec's and looks almost identical to
the sander that PSI sells (ML9664X) for $90. They, PSI, also sell the
Pen Blank Squaring Jig with Cross Slide (PKSQML) that goes on the sander for $23.
I use a homemade jig that works very similarly to what PSI sells on my 4" belt / 6" disc sander. (I actually I designed it as an improvement over the PSI sanding jig that I had previously purchased for my disc sander
(PKSQUARE)).
Regardless, you will likely need to add a set of
Barrel Trimming Sleeves (PSI PKTRIMSET), $40 to either one. Rick Herrell also sells sets of barrel trimming sleeves. As an alternative, you could build a set using pen blanks with 7mm brass tubes that fit on the jig - I have made a few custom sizes that way - to fit an oddball tube size made to fit over the
Creative Trench Lighter that Drop Anchor Creations Sells.
For limited purposes, if I didn't already have a disc sander, I would likely buy the sander from Menards and then buy the Squaring Jig with Cross Slide and set of Barrel Trimming Sleeves from PSI ($40 + $23 + $40 = $103). Of course to guarantee that everything fits together as a turnkey unit, I would consider buying the PSI setup and a set of their Barrel Trimming Sleeves to get the job done ($90 + $40 = $130).
Regardless, and in my opinion of course, I would certainly use some kind of sanding equipment and process to do blank squaring over the typical Pen Mill barrel trimmer type. (Although they do work and many members are very successful in using Pen Mills for barrel trimmers).
Regards,
Dave