Knowledge You Can Build On — Est. 1998
Pen Trim Tool Problem
Bart Goldberg
>Forgive me if this is a silly question, as I'm a new pen turner.
I just started using my new trim tool to trim the ends of my pen blanks (after inserting the tubes).
The trim tool trims the wood on the end of my blanks, but misses the tube ends, so that the tube ends are extending past my blanks.
This doesn't seem right to me. Am I doing something wrong, or is there a problem with my new trim tool?
Thanks in Advance
Bart
Re: Pen Trim Tool Problem
Robert Cox
>Something is not right.
The mill should trim the brass.
It is possible that you have a mill made for larger tubes, I don't know for sure.
Re: Pen Trim Tool Problem
Bart Goldberg
>I don't think so. I specifically ordered it for 7mm tubes, and the fit seems about right.
Thanks
Bart
Re: Pen Trim Tool Problem
Don Evans
>Which one did you purchase and from who?
They are all basically the same but some slight differences in them.
Can't you look at the 4 cutters on the round head and see if they go all the way to the center hole where the shaft is located? If there is any gap between the shaft and the inside end of the cutters then they will not cut there of course.
Don
Re: Pen Trim Tool Problem
Robert Cox
>That's along the lines of what I was thinking. Maybe a 10mm cutter with a 7mm pilot?
Re: Pen Trim Tool Problem
GeeSeaWhy
>There is definitely something wrong, but I can't tell what. You should be trimming the end of the blank down to the brass tube and no further, otherwise you make the barrel too short. But I would expect the trimmer to cut into the brass if you went too far - mine certainly do. Has the brass tube come loose at all?
One other point - the cutter head is generally either 1/2 or 3/4 inch dia. The trimmer *shaft* is sized to fit snugly inside a specific size of tube, but the cutter head is not. So that's not your problem.
Graeme
Re: Pen Trim Tool Problem
Bart Goldberg
>Don, I got my trimmer from the folks at woodturningz.com.
Bart
Re: Pen Trim Tool Problem
Fred in NC
>I would suggest you call Ryan at Woodturnigz and explain your problem. I think they will correct the problem one way or another.
Re: Pen Trim Tool Problem
Bart Goldberg
>Thanks Fred. Thats exactly what I did. Unfortunately, they were out of stock, but will sned me a new one once they get them back in.
Bart
Re: Pen Trim Tool Problem
jwoodwright
>The brass is loose. The trimmer "broke" the glue joint and forced the brass out the other end. 1/2 and 3/4 barrel trimmer heads all do a great job with the 7mm shaft.
I've used a 9/32 bit for 7mm and Polyurethane Glue for years. No more loose barrels. This is a trick Russ Fairfield posted...
