# Pen Blank Rip Jig



## gtriever (May 16, 2018)

A case of overkill  -  but it works.

I've had quite a few pen blanks show up that are not square (3/4 x 3/4, etc) and trying to square such small pieces on the table saw makes me a little nervous, even with a push block. So, I cobbled this together to make life a little easier. It slides along the saw's Rip Fence and keeps my fingers away from the blade. With spacers and double-sided tape I can also use it for thin rips off the blanks:


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## Rifleman1776 (May 16, 2018)

That's neat but what is the point? If not grossly out of square just put blank on lathe and turn. That is what a lathe is for.


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## Aces-High (May 16, 2018)

Frank,
If you are trying to do any kind of segmenting, you have to have them square.


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## PenPal (May 16, 2018)

With the end in mind as you have described love the use of repeatable accuracy in this process. For normal turning I chase the grain every which way that works for me too. I drill on the drill press.I look forward to your results and wish you well.

Peter.


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## BKelley (May 16, 2018)

Hi,
Your jig looks fine, and you are using the old noodle to come up with it.  I enjoy making jigs & fixtures myself. I think in this case I would use the Micro Jig Grr-Ripper. I just finished ripping 28 pen blanks out of Camelthorn and that stuff is hard as Japanese arithmetic.  I was ripping it out of 2X2’s  and with the riving knife, a thin kerf blade, and the Grr-Ripper
I felt my hand was safe.  Try one, I think you will like it

Ben


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## leehljp (May 17, 2018)

BKelley said:


> Hi,
> Your jig looks fine, and you are using the old noodle to come up with it.  I enjoy making jigs & fixtures myself. I think in this case I would use the Micro Jig Grr-Ripper. I just finished ripping 28 pen blanks out of Camelthorn and that stuff is hard as *Japanese arithmetic*.  I was ripping it out of 2X2’s  and with the riving knife, a thin kerf blade, and the Grr-Ripper
> I felt my hand was safe.  Try one, I think you will like it
> 
> Ben



ミ＋ミ＝六
:biggrin:

I too like that jig. I like segmenting too, and you are right, it must be *square* for certain kinds segments.


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## wolf creek knives (May 17, 2018)

Very nice jig!  I'm a big fan of shop safety especially when it comes to power tools.  This jig will keep the users hands away from the spinning blade.  Well done!


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## gtriever (May 17, 2018)

Thanks for the comments, folks. Much appreciated. If you have any tips on how to make things better, I always enjoy learning alternate methods of doing things.

Ben, I have a Grr-Ripper and I agree it works great for ripping blanks from larger stock. For this use, I was uncomfortable with it covering the whole blank and not being able to see if the piece was riding the fence correctly.


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## Curly (May 17, 2018)

If you would like to improve your jig make a "U" shape that straddles the fence and attach your jig to it. Then there is no chance of the jig coming away from the fence. Your other option is to fasten it to a strip of wood that fits the mitre slot. Both ways keep the jig tracking front to back with little chance of being drawn into the blade and munching your hand.


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## gtriever (May 17, 2018)

Thanks for the tip, Pete. Miter bar isn't feasible because it has to adjust with the fence, but the U shape is doable and a good idea.


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## PatrickR (May 17, 2018)

Thanks for this. I think I’ll make one. I too have a micro jig and love it, but with short pieces you can end up with a tapered cut if not really careful.


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## GDIS46 (May 20, 2018)

I like the basics of this jig however it is only good for two cuts per blank (sides A & B).  

It needs to have an adjustable feature so you can cut different widths.  

For example:  I have a blank that warped when it was stabilized so I need to square it before segmenting.  I need to establish a 1st square cut (side A) then trim the opposite side (side C).  Then do the squaring cut on side B and then on side D. 

This could be accomplished by making the fixed cut off width 1" and using a couple of 1/8" shims to shim the blank over for more cuts.


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## gtriever (May 20, 2018)

Gary, this jig was designed precisely for the example you gave. The rip fence on the saw is the adjustable part. Shims are used on this jig as needed for rip widths. Also, the bed width is 23/32 so a 3/4 blank is 1/32 wider than the bed; that way you don't cut into the jig.


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## GaryMGg (May 20, 2018)

At first I thought overkill.
After reading the comments, it seems totally appropriate.
One possible suggestion:
If the upper portion had two parallel slots running perpendicular to the blade, you would have even more adjustability for really narrow or bowed pieces or to make very fine slices.


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## gtriever (May 20, 2018)

GaryMGg said:


> At first I thought overkill.
> After reading the comments, it seems totally appropriate.
> One possible suggestion:
> If the upper portion had two parallel slots running perpendicular to the blade, you would have even more adjustability for really narrow or bowed pieces or to make very fine slices.



Yep. I'm considering a new crosscut sled which will have that feature as well. Just haven't started on it yet.


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## jttheclockman (May 21, 2018)

I just do not see why you need a jig to square blanks. I use a push stick and run through on table saw. Hands nowhere need the blade.  I make many of these push blocks of varying thicknesses. It holds the piece down on the table and hand is far away from blade. This happens to be cutting thin strips from that blank.


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## MRDucks2 (May 21, 2018)

Art answered the why question in his first sentence, “trying to square up such small pieces on a table saw makes him a little nervous, even with a push stick.”  

Sounds like enough reason to come up with something that makes him more comfortable that could benefit others in the same boat. 


Sent from my iPhone using Penturners.org mobile app


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## jttheclockman (May 21, 2018)

MRDucks2 said:


> Art answered the why question in his first sentence, “trying to square up such small pieces on a table saw makes him a little nervous, even with a push stick.”
> 
> Sounds like enough reason to come up with something that makes him more comfortable that could benefit others in the same boat.
> 
> ...




I am all for safety so if it works great. Maybe my photo will help someone too and maybe it will be you.


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## PatrickR (May 21, 2018)

If two sides are true and square the push stick and feather board will work well. If not the cut will reflect that and you just make the blank smaller. The jig would seem to be a good way to remove any warp and bring the stock true. The feather board show does not allow for any variance in width. Not safe unless the stock is uniform in width and already true.


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## jttheclockman (May 21, 2018)

PatrickR said:


> If two sides are true and square the push stick and feather board will work well. If not the cut will reflect that and you just make the blank smaller. The jig would seem to be a good way to remove any warp and bring the stock true. The feather board show does not allow for any variance in width. Not safe unless the stock is uniform in width and already true.




Patrick that is not a feather board. It is my rendition of a thin slice cutting gauge jig. If there is a warp in a 3/4" blank then you are not getting a square blank for use on a pen kit anyway. You run the warp side against a fence and make a cut now you have a square edge and good to go. With his jig I am afraid of those clamps getting caught with that blade because you are sending it past the blade. As I said everyone does things differently and if it works then fine but just pointing out there are other ways of doing things too. Be safe.

Always a sander as another method too. Can use that jig on a sander too. Safer in my opinion.


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## Rifleman1776 (May 21, 2018)

Aces-High said:


> Frank,
> If you are trying to do any kind of segmenting, you have to have them square.




Really? All the many-many pieces of irregular wood I have turned never told me that. ;-)


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## jttheclockman (May 21, 2018)

All depends on what type segmenting you are doing. I have segmented many round blanks as well. Have done the segmenting strickly on a lathe so many ways to segment. Can not use that statement as a blanket statement by any means. If you are trying to do any kind of segmenting, you have to have them square.


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