Knowledge You Can Build On — Est. 1998
Pen Mills
Jennifer@Indy.USA
>Is it just me.....or do all pen mills fail to do the job to your expectations too? I've bought three different mills over the years, one from Woodcraft, one kit from Penn State and another from Craft Supplies, and they just never cut very well. I've honed with a diamond stone and am just not satasfied with the way they perform. They aren't cheap either!
Am I expecting too much?
Jennifer
Re: Pen Mills
Scott Greaves, Blackfoot Idaho
>Hi Jennifer,
I think you're right - pen mills are a pain! Mine do OK for a while after I sharpen them, but that doesn't last long. I have taken to using mine in my drill press. I hold the blank in some pliars, bring it on to the shaft of the pen mill, then I use the feed lever of the drill press to advance the cutter into the blank. I lift the cutter away every couple of seconds to see if I've hit brass yet. It may seem a little heavy-handed, but it works!
Some of the hard-cores in the penturning circles have built a special jig that holds their pen blanks square to the face of a disc sander. This is more difficult than it sounds, since it has to be square to the length of the brass tube rather than to the sides of the pen blank. Those who use this method think it is better than messing with a dull pen mill!
Good Luck!
Scott.
Re: Pen Mills
Fred in NC
>Please don't laugh! I built my own... it uses sandpaper, which is replaceable. Total cost 1 - 5/8" bolt and 1 1/4" bolt, and some heavy cloth backed sandpaper. No more sharpening or replacing.
Re: Pen Mills
Jennifer@Indy.USA
>That's what I've resorted to as well Scott, however I learned quickly not to press too far or else you'll round over the brass tube :(
ugh....
Jen
Re: Pen Mills
Chuck Ludwigsen
>Jennifer,
If you are up for trying something different... slip your jacob's chuck into your lathe headstock with the pen mill in it. take the live center out of the tailstock. set the lath on a slow speed, use an adjustable wrench to hold the pen blank ( I rest the handle on the lathe ways). Bring up the tailstock and lock it down. Use the tailstock quill as a ram and slow feed the blank into the cutter. The pen mill will go into the hole in the tailstock quill.
It is like using the drill press but with MUCH better control.
Give it a shot or shoot me an email. I might be able to get someone to snap some pictures.
Chuck
Re: Pen Mills
Jennifer@Indy.USA
>Hey, that's a great idea Chuck....I think I'll try it. Thank you!
Jen
I Know what You Mean
Jim Shaver Oakville, Ont
>Hi Jennifer,
I have a diamond file, the blue DMT from Lee Valley, I find that I do have success with it, I usually lightly draw the diamond file over the cutter at a lot angle, completing all of them in a few minutes. Most of the time it works, a light touch and I chuck it in my hand held drill. I run the drill at a slow speed as well..I manage to get by with little issues, I have found that cleaning the resins and residue off the cutters prior to sharpening makes a big difference for me.
Take care,
Jim
Re: Pen Mills
EagleS.C.
>How about a picture Fred?
My aggrivation comes from the cutter rounding over the tube.This happens with the PSI "convertable mill"
On slimline tubes I ream out the end with a 1/4" step bit.
Re: Pen Mills
Dick Hines
>The ones I have had had seemed to cut Ok for the life of said pen mill. But! I usely end droping them and breaking the shank off long before they stop cutting.
As a friend of mine says " When you are stupid, you are supose to suffer."
Frequent sharpening
Dominic Greco in Richboro PA
>Jennifer,
I usually do my pens in production runs of (20) or more. Not long after my second production run, I found that the cutter was not performing as I'd like. I found that frequent honing is the key.
Before I'm about to mill the ends of the blanks, I remove the cutter from the "drill" section of the mill and sharpen it using an old hand powered grinder I have. I found that I can put a nice edge on this cutter with minimal effort. Since the grinder is a hand powered, I can slow it down to the point where I'm sharpening, but not removing too much material (it's more like "honing" than anything else).
But I can't take credit for this tip. I picked it up from Kip Christensen and Rex Burningham's book, Turning Pens and Pencils. In the book, this sharpening method is detailed.
See ya around,
Dominic
Re: Pen Mills
Jonathan Spool
>I also have gotten fed up with the poor performance of the pen mills out there. I'll use the woodcraft mill in a drill if I'm doing one pen, but if I have a bunch to do I have had very good luck trimming them down to the brass on my table saw (carefully) and running a marking knife around the inside to get rid of any burrs. Its fast. As acurate as your saw is, and frustration free.
Jonathan
