# Squaring Pen Blanks - Disc Sander



## Rangertrek (Mar 26, 2010)

I have seen a lot of questions on squaring pen blanks, so I decided to do a tutorial on how I square pen blanks with a disc sander.
It has been added to the library files.
Please let me know if you have any comments or suggestion on improving the tutorial. 

http://content.penturners.org/articles/2010/squaringpenblanksonabeltdiscsander.pdf


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## cnirenberg (Mar 26, 2010)

John,
Nice tutorial. The really cool thing about all of this is there a many ways of getting to the final result.  This is a good example.  Great job, and thanks for taking the time to put this together.


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## Wheaties (Mar 26, 2010)

Good tutorial. I have been doing this for a while now and it works so much better for me than the pen mill. The only difference is I made my own squaring jig out of a scrap 2x2 piece of oak and an old mandrel (now that I TBC). I didn't realize PSI sold something like that


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## Jim15 (Mar 26, 2010)

Thanks John, great tutorial.


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## PenMan1 (Mar 26, 2010)

Nice job, John.


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## Mark (Mar 26, 2010)

Very nice tutorial. Thanks for the time and the post.


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## fernhills (Mar 26, 2010)

Yes, i chucked my pen mill in the trash after about a week of trying to use the thing. Been using the disc sander ever since. Never experienced unsquare blanks or all the big discussions about c/a chip out and all that, after making hundreds of pens.   Carl


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## JakeAB (Mar 27, 2010)

I'm still kind of new at this, so pardon me if this is less than a brilliant question.

I've been using Rick Herrell's (rherrell) sanding jig to square blanks, with good results. It's simplicity itself, with no setup, engineering squares, or half a dozen ways the jig and sander supports can be out of square. How is the belt/disc sander jig better?

No criticism intended (great tutorial), just a question. If the belt/disc sander jig is a better way, I'll definitely want to invest the time to make one, or the money to buy the PSI.


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## Wheaties (Mar 27, 2010)

JakeAB said:


> I'm still kind of new at this, so pardon me if this is less than a brilliant question.
> 
> I've been using Rick Herrell's (rherrell) sanding jig to square blanks, with good results. It's simplicity itself, with no setup, engineering squares, or half a dozen ways the jig and sander supports can be out of square. How is the belt/disc sander jig better?
> 
> No criticism intended (great tutorial), just a question. If the belt/disc sander jig is a better way, I'll definitely want to invest the time to make one, or the money to buy the PSI.



What is Rick's way?


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## JakeAB (Mar 27, 2010)

Wheaties said:


> What is Rick's way?



Sorry, I guess it would have been nice if I gave a bit more detail. You can see the mill here:

http://www.penturners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=42098

This mill is intended for final, fine milling. For the rough milling, I just use a Forster bit in my drill press to get close, before turning the blank. After turning, before sanding and finishing, I use Rick's sanding mill to finish the ends.

Like other jigs I've seen, it works best with 7mm tubes, but can be used with larger sizes with a little care.


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## Rangertrek (Mar 27, 2010)

I already had the disc sander, so no equipment to buy. It only takes a few minutes to set up and square the parts the first time; then, only a few seconds to check with a square prior to final sanding. I infrequently make any adjustments to the table or miter gauge, it stays set unless it get bumped or moved.

This is just another of the various methods available to penmakers for trimming blanks. I have also tried the method of using sanding discs on the lathe. That methods also yields great results. I just prefer this method as it is faster and easier for me.

I use it for all size pens that I make.  I have trimmer sleeves of metal or delrin for each size blank.  I also use it for a final touch-up trim to remove any CA that has crept over the edge during finishing.

Also, sometimes the lathe is in use while I am trimming blanks, so the sander is the available method.


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## fernhills (Mar 28, 2010)

What he said.  Carl


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## JakeAB (Mar 28, 2010)

Thanks, John--for the tutorial and the explanation. I can definitely see the value of milling off the lathe. With the jig set up on the disc sander, I don't have to keep switching stuff around on the lathe to do the milling. I hadn't thought of that.

I also like the idea of different sleeves for different tube sizes. That will work just as well with the lathe-mounted sanding mill.

Thanks again (and sorry, I didn't mean to hijack the thread...).


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## Gary Beasley (Mar 28, 2010)

It would be good to have a jig like that which will accept the pilot shafts from the pen mills so you could switch them out with a set screw as needed.


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## daveeisler (Mar 28, 2010)

This method is fool proof, and you did 2 great things for us, first you show how to square up everything, and second, the most important is, you speak of the rod itself, I have been using this method with poor results, until I adjusted the rod, now it is fast and flat, and it far out last's those tiny sanding circle things, I paid 50 bucks for, and there is no chip out , as you can get from other methods, many thanks for a great tutorial. Dave


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## Gary Beasley (Apr 5, 2010)

I just built one that uses the 1/4 inch pilot shafts from a pen mill. I can use any size 1/4 inch shaft I have now by undoing the setscrew and changing the pilot shaft for another. Pretty handy way of using both methods as needed.


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## razor524 (Apr 5, 2010)

Disc sander for me also.  Pen mill is now only used to clean out any glue that may get into the tube.


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## Rangertrek (Apr 6, 2010)

Gary, I really like the jig you made for the pilot shafts.  I can see a lot of possibilities for that setup.


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## Mikeshoops (Jan 15, 2015)

*Like Gary's jig, this is mine.*

I built this using a V-Bit. I turn the blank on the nearest sized knock out bar. Used with an Inca HD 1000 and Bessey hold down clamp. I get perfect square fits and never take off too much wood, especially for click pens. The shop towel was added for background to the Macassar ebony blank.


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## jttheclockman (Jan 15, 2015)

Mikeshoops said:


> I built this using a V-Bit. I turn the blank on the nearest sized knock out bar. Used with an Inca HD 1000 and Bessey hold down clamp. I get perfect square fits and never take off too much wood, especially for click pens. The shop towel was added for background to the Macassar ebony blank.




Oh that is going to scare a lot of people


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## Curly (Jan 15, 2015)

jttheclockman said:


> Oh that is going to scare a lot of people



Why? It is virtually the same thing as I use on my disc sander. Using the table saw with a sanding disc plate rather than a blade is no more unsafe than a disc on a lathe mounted faceplate.


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## dryder (Jan 17, 2015)

Does anybody else get a 404 error when requesting the PDF? I'm curious to see how Ranger does it.


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## jttheclockman (Jan 17, 2015)

Pete 
I respectfully disagree.
How long have you been a member here???  Any time people mention tablesaw there is this fear for many here. The reason is you are dealing with such a small piece of wood near a spinning blade and the thoughts of getting fingers that close. Now many have gone on to making jigs to hold these pieces of woods and then of course there are those that are more woodworking savvy and know how to work around these machines. With the jig he shown there is no failsafe system to hold and control that piece around a high speed turning object which can do as much damage to you as a blade. These sanding discs have been around for years but are not widely used for various reasons. 

For what we do, sanding on the lathe with a similar system and the use of the turning plate is alot safer. You can slow the lathe down which is a huge plus. You do not want to be sanding at those speeds. Even using a dedicated sanding station with disc is safer than that. Safety is what it is all about when working around machines and in a shop. This is just my opinion and I would not do it for what we do.


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## avbill (Jan 17, 2015)

Does anybody else get a 404 error when requesting the PDF? I'm curious to see how Ranger does it.

Yes I do!


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## Grampy122 (Jan 17, 2015)

*Broken link*

I get the 404 error also. You can find it in the the Library at the top of the page, or use the following link.

http://content.penturners.org/library/techniques/squaringpenblanksonabeltdiscsander.pdf


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## Janster (Jan 17, 2015)

dryder said:


> Does anybody else get a 404 error when requesting the PDF? I'm curious to see how Ranger does it.



Yep!


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## jttheclockman (Jan 17, 2015)

It is a 2010 thread you are posting to. Someone posted a corrected link just above.


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## vtgaryw (Jan 17, 2015)

I started out squaring on my disc sander with the PSI Jig.  I didn't like their jig for a few reasons.  The biggest problem is that while it's very easy to square the  mitre square to the disc, and the jig itself to the mitre square, the mandrel protruding from the jig is very difficult to get and keep square.  It's a single point of attachment to the vertical piece of the jig.  Also, once you get it square, you don't want to take it off to put in a different size mandrel.

After using the setup I posted earlier this year with the pipe centering jig, I'm happy to report it's worked perfectly for me.  I've never had such consistently square blanks.

http://www.penturners.org/forum/f30/disk-sander-squaring-jig-125457/ 

-gary


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## navycop (Jan 17, 2015)

Curly said:


> jttheclockman said:
> 
> 
> > Oh that is going to scare a lot of people
> ...



That is what I use on my Shopsmith.


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## Edward Cypher (Jan 17, 2015)

I use this one from Bear Tooth woods and a cheap set of punches from HF.   Bear Tooth Woods - Pen Blank Sanding Jig


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## vtgaryw (Jan 17, 2015)

Edward Cypher said:


> I use this one from Bear Tooth woods and a cheap set of punches from HF.   Bear Tooth Woods - Pen Blank Sanding Jig



If I had seen that one before I built mine, I would have bought it.  Same principle - a "V" groove that keeps the transfer punch square to the edge.

-gary


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