Some good news for a change.

[Woodchipper]

First, a humongous "Thank you" to Ed at Exotic Blanks! He called to answer some questions about alumilite blanks I bought. He clarified that a pen mill is a no-no due to chipping and/or cracking. The blanks were very long compared to the tube dim's for the baseball kits and needed some TLC. He spent about 15 minutes with me, even with his busy schedule. He called attention to his videos and suggested I look at some of them. That plus some YT videos were invaluable. One video was a guy, Lynn Lacey, who had a nice and accurate setup to square blanks. Attached is my version. Takes a bit of time to "sand" and measure but worth it. Comments are welcome. I can take criticism as I'm married.

 

[jrista]

Looks really nice! I do basically the same thing on a disc & belt sander, using a little puch holder I bought from...I think WoodTurningz. You angle the miter 90 degrees, slode the punch holder with an appropriately sized punch to that, slip on the blank and push into the disc. Works pretty well.

Your on-the-lathe approach seems to have an advantage in that you don't have to worry about holding the miter and punch holder together, which gets a little annoying at times. You can just slide the blank forward and that's it. I like that.

 

[Woodchipper]

Thanks, jrista. I checked the blank to see if the ends were square by taking dim's from several places. As perfect as it can be. I'm pleased. I'll ask my son to see if he can sharpen the pen mill as a backup.

 

[Edgar]

IMHO, that's the best way to square blanks. I use a Rick Harrel Squaring Jig and a set of Harbor Freight punches, but it accomplished the same thing as your setup.

The only thing I use a pen mill for anymore is to scrape glue from the inside of my tubes.

I bought a full size lathe a few years ago, so my older mini lathe is almost exclusively used for squaring blanks these days.

 

[jttheclockman]

I often see here these large discs setup on a lathe and people sand a small pen blank. What a waste of paper in my opinion. The method I use is to cut small squares of sticky back paper and move the paper around to sand blanks. I usually can move that same one piece of small sandpaper 4 times. No waste of paper. If I am sanding a larger project then use a larger piece of sand paper. Works for me.

 

[RGVPens]

I used the jig and punch setup on a 4" belt sander w/wheel for a while. then I got this little jewell and really like it!

 

[Woodchipper]

I often see here these large discs setup on a lathe and people sand a small pen blank. What a waste of paper in my opinion. The method I use is to cut small squares of sticky back paper and move the paper around to sand blanks. I usually can move that same one piece of small sandpaper 4 times. No waste of paper. If I am sanding a larger project then use a larger piece of sand paper. Works for me.

I understand what you are saying but the PSA disk doesn't wear but very little. I touch the area with a stiff bristle brush to clean it. Sandpaper, to me, is the cheapest part of woodworking, etc. Plus, the disk is used for squaring other things so the larger diameter is used. Two birds with one stone.

 

[tomtedesco]

I like your check list on the wall behind the lathe, good idea.

 

[Woodchipper]

I like your check list on the wall behind the lathe, good idea.

I started to turn and realized I didn't have the face mask on. If I was to add to the sign, I would add "Use Common Sense." I can post it on another thread.