Thread: squaring off blank

greg if you have some of fred bushes you will that his stuff is great
drop him a pm he does an amazing mill it uses sandpaper so its gunna take chunks out of the end of the blank
im a happy user should have got them sooner
i sent david a message some time ago asking when the majestic was going to be back in stock and he replied that he was going out of them BUT looking at refining the kit
we can all only wait

Hey Greg. I do the squaring off of the pen blanks the same as David. Never had an issue, quick and easy. Though you will need a disc / belt sander. Anyway, here's a link to Davids video on the subject. The squaring up of the blank is 2/3rd the way into the clip. Hope this helps mate. I ruined 2 magnificent Red Malley Burl blanks yesterday due to mega blowouts. Sometimes you can have everything set & perfect, but sh*t still happens How I glue up and square the cheeks of the pen blanks « TimberBits Blog

Greg ! PSI sells the Majestics (Pennstate in the USA)
I find Penn are dear on postage so buy most of what I want from them through Woodturningz who are resellers for Penn. Gary at GPW has his version of a Majestic Jnr ,has a blue crystal in the clip ,not a bad price though . Like riding a bike hehe,once learned the skills remain ,but can be a bit wobbly after a spell away Cheers ~ John

Thanks for your assistance. Troy, I think there is a video on the forum somewhere so I can have a look at Fred's squaring method. I can hardly wait until the new bushes arrive but patience is everything.

Steve, I had a look at the video and will give it a go as I have a disc/belt sander. I hate it too when I blow out a good blank. Since I bought a Woodchuck Pen Pro from Wood N Workshop near Caloundra I haven't had a problem with chunks of wood being taken out. They are incredibly sharp and very easy to use. The blade replacements are also reasonably priced at $9-95. Before I got the tool I must say that when turning burl I always gave it a bit of a coat of CA first and again if I felt the slightest catch. That seemed to work.

Thanks John, I will check the Woodturningz website as I know from experience that the dearest thing from PSI is usually the cost of postage. I had a look at the GPW Majestic Jn but it isn't quiet what I want. I am after the larger size for use at a wedding. I made a set for my daughter and son-in-law for their wedding and now everyone wants one.

I might have a chance to get to the shed this afternoon and get a few more blanks set up. I am starting to get a good collection of timber blanks with another lot of mixed blanks arriving this week from Mapleman.

Greg

Greg another place to buy some majestics from would be wood& whimsies they are also in the USA and I have dealt with them a few times.

I have no trouble reccomending tracey from wood&whimsies they were great and only charge the actual postage that it costs to send you goods not like Pen State Industries who seem to charge a fortune in postage.

WoodNWhimsies
Tim and Tracey
email [email protected]
website Wood-N-Whimsies | Page 1 of 1

Cheers Ian

with regards to the Majestic kits it appears that David (timberbits) is going out of Dayacom kits and will be stocking his own lines. I have no idea why ? but I am sure if david sees this thread he will explain whats going on.

Cheers Ian

[QUOTE=plantagenon;hate it too when I blow out a good blank. Since I bought a Woodchuck Pen Pro from Wood N Workshop near Caloundra I haven't had a problem with chunks of wood being taken out. They are incredibly sharp and very easy to use.

Hey Greg. I used my Pen Pro to turn the 2 blown out RMB pen blanks, and I even used a fresh sharp side too. As usual, BOTH TIMES, it was at the final turning procedure when the blank is to the perfect shape you want, and you stand back and look at it, then say to yourself, "just a tiny fraction off that end" then POOF, the damn end flies off into thin air, and it's the size of a postage stamp. One blank was epoxy'd to the tube, the other was glued with thick CA, both failed this time.

Hey Steve

When you have got it that close turn to sandpaper and finish it slowly and you won't have a problem, particularly with burl. It takes a bit longer but I think it is worth it. I still use the Sika poly glue to give a bit of elasticity between the tube and the blank but burl can be a real bugger when you get that tiny little catch and bang goes the blank.

Greg

Thanks Ian, I will give them a try

Greg

Ian, I just had a look at their site. They have some brilliant bits of gear at a very cheap price compared to in Australia. Their Majestics are not the type I am after but there are a couple of little items I am going to order including the blank holder for the drum/disc sander. Thanks

Greg

Originally Posted by plantagenon

Ian, I just had a look at their site. They have some brilliant bits of gear at a very cheap price compared to in Australia. Their Majestics are not the type I am after but there are a couple of little items I am going to order including the blank holder for the drum/disc sander. Thanks

Greg

Just remember that resellers dont list all the PSI products on their own sites, just ask for what you want in an email and they can get them for you, usually at better prices than PSI

Barrel trimmers will work if razer sharp and a light touch is used, otherwise it tears the grain, rips off CA coatings and all sorts of other painful experiences.

These days I rough sand the blanks square with a disc sander, then turn and finish pen (but not polish) on lathe, before doing a final trim with a special sander. It is a M2 with a small disc in the headstock to which a small disc of sand paper is placed. I put a suitable transfer punch, the size of the tube, in a jacobs chuck in the tailstock. Slip on the blank over the transfer punch, bring the tailstock up, then just touch the ends for a perfect square end. I then finish micromesh sanding and polishing the blank.

Not my idea, came from the IAP site, but works a treat.

'bout time you weighed in with your method dai sensei.

I saw the process first hand during my demo afternoon spent with Neil. It's simple, effective and repeatable, so you get the same result pen after pen.

Neil, please illustrate with pictures, it helps people like me that can't visulize things at first sight! Amos