# What I use to square a pen blank



## mmayo (Nov 15, 2015)

This is by no means an artistic jig, but it works every time and it is adjustable.  I made a tiny sled with a wooden slider. I used a couple of 1/4" bolts with threads at the end and most of the bolt smooth.  Stock 7mm tubes fit nicely with minimal slop; I use hand turned sleeves for non-7mm tubes (one shown).  The threads were cut off and I sanded the shaft smooth with various grits of sandpaper. I expoxied the bolts in place and used a t-nut to allow me adjust the pen blank to exactly 90 degrees. The Phillips screw visible allows this adjustment.  The lower bolt was useless and I just left it.  My saw has a plate I bought from Rockler that takes 10" PSA sandpaper.  I usually use 120, but I will have 120 on one side and 80 on the other soon.  I move the jig with one hand forward and back and GENTLY touch the blank, with the other hand, to the rotating sandpaper. I spin the blank as I sand it.  Yes, you need to hold the blank as far back as possible and avoid touching the rapidly spinning disk. It is very fast with plastics so be easy.  Light touches prevent burning the ends with wood blanks.























Someday I will remake it out of a fine wood, but for now it just works.  Rick Herrel's lathe sander finishes the job after turning.


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## csr67 (Nov 15, 2015)

Nice work. I do something very similar by holding Rick Herrel's sanding jig against the miter gauge with the appropriate transfer punch in the tube. I slide this along my 12" disk sander and quickly square the blank. 

Prior to that I was using the jig mounted on the lathe in a Jacobs chuck, but this method is much faster with the larger disk sander.


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## SteveG (Nov 15, 2015)

I can see how this will work very well as long as you keep in mind how fast the disk is turning. I have a similarly UN-beautiful (but quite functional) one that works with a 6 inch wide belt sander with auxiliary table in place. My grit of choice is also 120. When I made the jig, I had not yet made any zen kits, so it does not allow for that length, but works for most other blanks. Nice jig.


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## mmayo (Nov 16, 2015)

Yes, I barely had enough room to true up a razor and razor stand yesterday. 

When I first tried pen making the drill mounted blank trimmer and I did not get along.


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## Notscottish (Nov 16, 2015)

I am curious what the advantage of doing it this way versus using a barrel trimmer.  I use a barrel trimmer and have never had a problem.  Do you get better results?


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## Rick_G (Nov 16, 2015)

Looks good.  I've never had good luck making sleeves for the various pen tubes so use a barrel trimmer for slims, cigars and sierra's.  Cigar tube is a perfect fit sleeve for the sierra.  For the others and even those I use a thin parting tool I made from an old HSS thickness planer blade.  Using my TBC bushings I turn the blank to about 1/8 inch oversize.  Then working on the assumption the tubes were cut square I take the bushings out and mount the blank between centers.  Since the centers have a 60 deg. angle they rest on the inside of the tube letting me trim the ends with the parting tool on it's side.  I figure I am using a piece of HSS that would otherwise have gone in the trash and it's a lot easier to sharpen than a barrel trimmer.


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## mmayo (Nov 18, 2015)

*Barrel trimmer*



Notscottish said:


> I am curious what the advantage of doing it this way versus using a barrel trimmer.  I use a barrel trimmer and have never had a problem.  Do you get better results?



It has worked for you and for this I am glad, for me mine rests as a useless tool. 

It works gently and never catches or caused issues, it just trues up the ends in seconds. If you have and use a table saw you might give it a try.


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## Marko50 (Nov 18, 2015)

*Ditto*



mmayo said:


> Notscottish said:
> 
> 
> > I am curious what the advantage of doing it this way versus using a barrel trimmer.  I use a barrel trimmer and have never had a problem.  Do you get better results?
> ...



Ditto Mark. My barrel trimmer rests at the bottom of a "cut-off's" box. I dumped it the first time it ripped up the end of one of my custom made "Tube-In" blanks.


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## jttheclockman (Nov 19, 2015)

There are many ways of doing everything in the world. There is no right or wrong way to trim the tubes. I use a barrel trimmer but it is a carbide trimmer and is a 4 cutter head. Anything less than 4 cutters, you are asking for trouble. As far as the tablesaw sander i personally would never do this. For one the effort to change a blade out to put a sand disc on is too much for me. I use the sanding method on the lathe with a faceplate and piece of sandpaper. Spin on and off in seconds. The speed that disc is spinning at on a tablesaw is too extreme for my liking and no way to slow it down. But if it works for you so be it but when showing things like this, caution should be encouraged. Happy sanding.


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