Thread: Pen mill tearout

Russell, I was having that problem with the 4 Head pen mill and the 6 head mill from addictive solved much of problem, however on some cross cut blanks I occassionally have that problem, so sometimes I use the sander, but make sure it is squared up and use care not to take too much off, Amos

Russell some thin CA on the end grain helps also if the cutter is blunt it will tear the grain as well.

Russel. Does the cutting edge still feel sharp to the touch? There is a tutorial in the IAP library showing how to sharpen. Easiest if you have a set of diamond files, if not then a good hand file will work. DO NOT try to sharpen the beveled edge, just the long side on the mill. Hold the file flat to the surface & file in one direction. That will give you a new edge. Give it a try.

Thanks guys,

All sounds like good suggestions. I'm actually getting the 6-head cutter from Brett, and my grub screws are still giving me problems, but just using the old one until it arrives.

I have used the sander once or twice, with mixed results, as I don't have a very accurate sanding table. Will check the IAP article and consider the CA option as well.

Thanks again. Russell.

Russell
The tool can be sharpened by using a dremel if you have one.

Sounds like it's blunt.if you have to push a bit hard to cut that will cause it to grab and bite as it gets past a harder part into the soft, Even new tools are rarely sharpened to the point they need to be for real use, just a rough sharpen to look good

Another trick is to use a bit of rough sandpaper with a hole punched in to suit your shaft size , you can then face the blank with the cutting tool supporting the sandpaper and driving it with a drill press or power drill on a slower speed setting ,also helps to rough the blank down a bit before squaring the ends, less milling or sanding that way

Originally Posted by gawdelpus

Another trick is to use a bit of rough sandpaper with a hole punched in to suit your shaft size , you can then face the blank with the cutting tool supporting the sandpaper and driving it with a drill press or power drill on a slower speed setting ,also helps to rough the blank down a bit before squaring the ends, less milling or sanding that way

Saw an up close and personal demo of something like this today. It was made on a metal
lathe. It amounts to a 7mm shaft with a 1" disc in the middle. Glues to the disc is another
disc of sandpaper. You use it just like a mill, except that it sands.

Since it was one piece, I'm not sure how it works on sizes other than 7mm, since there
would be room for wobble unless you use some sort of sleeve. But it squares the blanks
nicely, and it also cleans off the glue that rounds over if you're turning without a mandrel.

There's a guy on IAP that makes/sells them. Can't call his name right now. You have to use the spacers you make when you mill.

Russell,
I stopped using a pen mill a long time ago. This is what I use.
The photo's explain it all.
http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...ad.php?t=54158

Terry

Originally Posted by schaf

Russell,
I stopped using a pen mill a long time ago. This is what I use.
The photo's explain it all.
http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...ad.php?t=54158

Terry

Looks like a decent idea, similar to the jig for the disk sander. I think it'd be too much hassle for me to swap around with the mandrel though, which sits permanently on my lathe, ready to go. Maybe when I get into more than 1 or two pens at a time it'd be more efficient.

Thanks. Russell.

Originally Posted by Mobil Man

There's a guy on IAP that makes/sells them. Can't call his name right now. You have to use the spacers you make when you mill.

Would that be firefyter-emt ?

Here's my low-tech method. Once my pen blanks are round, I take them down to close to final size (makes the sanding easier), then put them on this sander. I rotate them with my thumb and finger while sanding, and once you hear the sound change, its on the brass. Even if my jig isn't perfectly 90 degrees, the blanks come out square because of the rotating. I usually use a fairly fine grit. I think I have 220 on it. I don't apply too much pressure to the sanding strip because I don't want to take too much off too quickly. Works great, and I've never damaged a blank.

Alan

Originally Posted by Mobil Man

There's a guy on IAP that makes/sells them. Can't call his name right now. You have to use the spacers you make when you mill.

Have just made one of these, see here.