If you're not into turning ducks, but considering pens, read on.
I read some rumblings about pen making virgins and peer group pressure towards getting them addicted much like many turns now loitering in and out of rehab… that’s pen turners loitering… bowl turners should be committed!
Whether you’re a purist and blank out of timber, a Philistine out of acrylic or a thrillseeker casting hybrid resins, this item will benefit your pen preparation better than all the other trimmers/methods I have come across in the past.
It’s not a must, but its handy like a plane fare if you want to go from Melbourne to Pert that same day… or in Yankee speak, NY to LA.
Migrated across from my LJ posting on the 3rd. Sep, 2020.
Late but critical amendment:- -----------------------------------
While I downplayed my -1 reason because of my first experience while handheld, and tried to "joke" about it, it was negligent of me and I feel that I need to clarify my opinion, thanks to Moke.
I will emphasise that this is not a handjob... the blank MUST be held in a clamp and the Mill MUST be mounted in a drill press... any deviation from this warning will, probably more likely than may, cause harm.
IF YOU CAN'T COMPLY, DON'T BUY!
------------------------------------- ooooOOOO From LJ OOOOooooo -----------------------------------------
Boys and Girls,
This is not going to be your normal sane review and if your pure intention is restricted to a singular presentation and you hate reading as much as I do… this Woodpecker Pen Mill is a great boon to pen making and in my opinion deserves a 4 star rating… have a nice day, keep safe and good-bye.
If you kiddies are wondering why it didn't deserve a Hi 5 rating,
then read on.
Why anyone would turn (pun intended) to pen making has me beat as there are far too many people out there that wipe their bums with lemons (for that tight look… that has been an onset before the C19TP shortage).
With the inundation of Chinese garbage on our markets, no one wants quality anymore and all seem to be on the quest for cheap crap. This has been reflected in the times of need, when one forgets to recharge that phone, and you actually have to resort to physical writing and all you have is a bloody cheap pen, if you can find one, that refuses to lay down any ink and respond to the old trick of warming by a cigarette lighter… which itself is no longer found in most peoples pockets due to modern social attitudes.
For those that refused to line up like sheep and get fleeced out of pen turning, it (pen turning not fleecing) can be an addictive and self-fulfilling undertaking… albeit no longer a reasonably profitable venture in the quest to continue the perpetuity of the lost art of calligraphy..
It can be relatively quick to make a good looking, quality, functional writing instrument… and if you're a thrillseeker, can venture into shavers,
bottle stoppers and/or openers… sorry no pictures, as openers and stoppers are not needed for vino casks.
If you were foolish enough to have heeded my gibberish above, one of the few many pen (or other tubed kits') making accessories, is a squaring tool… or more intimately referred to as a pen mill, when the missus is out of ear shot.
It's not that I love to spend money, but over the years I have learnt that cost is no longer a taboo four letter word in my household, so here is the saga of my quest for that elusive perfect blank squaring tool.
The review is coming… soon…
A mitre saw cut with a good blade can work sometimes,
however, to get that shiny crown on the brass tube
is a hit and miss affair.
I wasted quite a little effort in making up a disc sanding jig,
whose sole purpose was to make use of a Bessey toggle clamp I no longer had a use for… and now I still don't.
You can opt for a "bottom end", 4 pronged tool
which unfortunately required human effort to drive, so I opted for a more mechanical means of service delivery,
but, unfortunately not being HSS (steel) I was continually sharpening it.
By going a tad more upmarket, you can purchase one of these 8 pronged HSS mills,
with an electronic boost,
or a greater electron masher,
that lasts much longer, but a complete bugger to sharpen… if you ever bother to.
Now with both of the above items, you are forever looking for a centre guide to fit the myriad of available tube sizes or revert to 3D printed sleeves to stabilise the tool inside the tube,
or just a shitload of different sizes,
but still retain the need for some of the sleeves... many 3D printed.
Till now, I was complacent about my milling progress, however, Woodpecker decided to release a pen milling kit
and spruiked me via email.
Could I resist a bargain? Of course I could, but this was not a bargain, just an enticing gadget that had me gravitating towards another redundant, pen making weapon in my workshop arsenal.
Unfortunately I was lured by the temptation of ease of "blade" replacement
and got hook, line and sinkered
... though with 2 on-board blades with 4 separate TCT edges each, one should question the sanity of someone that insists on buying a further 3 spare blades… specially when they no longer actively make pens.
Hell, looks like my review has already started….
The kit came with a large range of pilot bores to fit most tube sizes, a cutter mount to fit 2×4 sided TCT blades and 2 hex keys for the blades and the bores… it also came in a plastic box which saved me a new laser box project .
The pilot bores are held in the cutter head by a hex grub screw in a recess in the bore's shaft,
Now for that magical negative -1 star.
The very first time I tried the mill was on my mini-bullet pen and my first mill attempted created a lot of chatter. This was my first attempt and I may have fed to quick or hard, but the resultant surface was rougher than a coarse bandsaw cut. Fortunately I had a large overhang so clean-up was not an issue, however, as they say… the first cut was the bleakest… lucky I sleep well after vino.
Since that initial cut, I've tested the mill on other timber, acrylic and buffalo horn and was very impressed with the finish…
I did come back later and tried on another piece of antler and concluded it was my "inexperience" with the tool, however, it could have been a potential disaster so my -1 sticks…
If you are a dedicated slimline bigot or a one pen-style pony and have no intention of promotion into the big league… this item is definitely not for you.
There are probably sizes I may never use, but I go by the adage of, have and not use rather than not have and need. I always factor in a generous opportunity cost into my pricing… to me, time is no longer a free commodity and consider it my most scarcest and costly asset.
LATE AMENDMENT…............
Thanks to comments made by readers more sensible than the author, I can post the following with conviction.
The chatter (of my fist cut and not LJ gossip) that made me discriminate and go that negative 1 was due to me, gorilla gripping the blank in my hand, while cordlessing it through sheer laziness. All my other test cuts that worked perfect were conducted on the safety of my drill press with the blank held firmly in a blank helder... which leads me to:
Maybe the instructions should make that disclosure… - OR -
I should RTFM
The tapered end of the reamers (thanks for the correct terminology northwoodsman) are great to remove the excess glue out of the tubes… if you're bloody sloppy!
PS. I do recommend browsing through the comments below as they contain additional useful info this dolt omitted!... Except maybe the Torque wrench which is a red herring, not just a red tool...
I am NOT "Totally unhinged".
------------------------------------- ooooOOOOO The End OOOOOooooo -----------------------------------------
Don’t be crafty Craftisians,... SHARE your craft!
If your first cut is too short... Take the second cut from the longer end... LBD
i totally agree with the ducking on this one. if you do a lot or fair amount of pens this kit is worth every penny. i too tried all the other ways the duck talked about and this is the mercedes of pen mills. but it needs to be used in a drill press or you will have issues. woodpeckers has some options for the sets offered. i like the duck went whole hog with the big boy ! will i ever use every size ? probably not, but as duck said, not have and need !
working with my hands is a joy,it gives me a sense of fulfillment,somthing so many seek and so few find.-SAM MALOOF.
Thanks Pottzy... when I got into pens, I was a fool and tried to cover all bases. I tried to cover a wide range of pen styles as can be seen from this range of different bushings,
(which will justify the full 'pecker set) and while I had a good salesperson in my daughter we had a good deal going... sold heap and I mean heaps. The pen supply in Aussieland was bad so I had to keep importing from the states on a monthly basis... and kept building up stock. Then I went to Churchill who residents still use hammer and chisel on stone and my daughter decided on better ventures than selling pens. Me being a grumpy bastard could not stand behind a counter facing the bargain hunters that offer $5 for say 10 cigars... So I'm stuck with a shitload of kits
and even Mokey type acrylic blanks,
I still occasionally make some pens, but it's more a case of number of years per pen than the number of pens per year.
If your first cut is too short... Take the second cut from the longer end... LBD
i know what he's sayin, got crazy with the pen stuff myself. id sell here at work but no one wanted to pay what they were worth so i kinda backed off. so now it's one here and there. my supply isn't quite as bad as ducks though !
working with my hands is a joy,it gives me a sense of fulfillment,somthing so many seek and so few find.-SAM MALOOF.
My daughter has the gift of the gab (UGH)... I'd still be turning pens without rest if she dad continued.
We (she) had a good setup... had a swag of different styles per kit (gold, chrome, gun metal, copper etc in many lines and each interspersed with roller ball, fountain and pencil... or sets) and a diversified collection of blanks made up... great variety of timber, acrylic, antler, buffalo horn, truestone, Mokume metal). One of the most popular gimmicks we had was people would bring in their BOOMBY (Branch Out Of My [their] Back Yard) and I'd turn the blank into their selection of kits and have it delivered the following week. She had a pen press at the stand and would make up pens from customers' selection. There was enough variety to please the most discerning... many times she had little unsold stock to bring home...though this was at our Docklands market which was renowned for items of quality and not cost... she never went to any bargain markets. She also did the rounds of what we refer to as Collins Street (in the CBD of Melbourne) where all the solicitors, doctors and people reeking in cash had luxurious offices/penthouses... she had no pride and just barged in... she was good bad. Couldn't keep up the supply of Emperor, Imperial, Majestic (and such) fountains... none of the buggers knew how to use them (fountain pens), but it was a status symbol. Some of the pens were sold for what I considered embarrassing amounts instigated by her summation of the "victim". If you look at any presidential/formal signings, it's always done with a fountain pen... at least it was until Joe chose crayon... and The Donald can't write and used a rubber stamp. I was informed that one of our prime ministers practiced with a fountain pen just for those occasions.
If your first cut is too short... Take the second cut from the longer end... LBD
Duckie, you know that I have an extremely high opinion of you, but I couldn't disagree more about an item. As you guys know, I have been into pens for years, I have tried most things available. I pour my own blanks, segment wood and acrylic blanks, make kitless pens, buff and have a metal lathe that I rarely do anything but pens. I like to try stuff, and I saw this when it came out. I have been using a 12' disc sander and a jig that utilizes the miter slot and transfer punches toi square my blanks, but I thought I might try this. I plug my blanks with Play-doh and epoxy in the tubes after painting. I put this thing in the DP and held the blank by hand to clear out the crap and maybe even square it after it was dry. I like to hand hold, for control and to let me have more control. For the traditional pen mills that was not a problem. Almost immediately i felt like this whirling thing was like chainsaw and grabbed some groove joint pliers. About 10 seconds into hold this it grabbed/caught the acrylic and sucked my hand and pliers into the whirling carbide cutters. It happened so fast, I still don't know what happened, somehow the end joint of my trigger finger ( I was a cop at the time) got the tendons torn and to this day is kind of bent down. I have never owned any tool that I feel this strongly about...This thing is DANGEROUS! DO NOT BUY THIS TOOL if you do do any acrylic. Now I know I am opening a can of worms, but I am the guy who is the safety guy...I religiously use eye protection...even when mowing, I use wolfe ears hearing protection for really loud tools, I have a saw stop....on and on....I would compare this thing to that chainsaw cutter for an angle grinder..... I know I am now going to get a bunch of "I never had any problems" posts.....but one only has to look at the thing with exposed carbide cutters.....Now if you have jig that captures your pen blank and your hands are 2 feet away, it may be ok...but it is still going to catch, and you can damage the blanks. Sorry Duckie to rain on your parade and again, I consider you a very good friend....but I disagree with you vehemently this time.....
Mike, I kinda think of them as similar to old saws without guards. They certainly aren’t as safe, and if it goes bad it goes bad quick. I think a lot of folks (although probably less of the folks here) don’t realize how fast things happen when they go bad. There’s no stopping it. That said, all of life is a game of choices and chances. I have a carbide cutter like that one, but mount the blank in a vise and the cutter in a drill. With the mandrill in place it keeps it square if it’s all fit right. But I see the issue with quickly holding everything in your hands and trying to make it work. I’ve done it, and had it catch and throw, but didn’t get hurt. I guess my short answer is, you’re right, any exposed spinning cutting edge is a danger…what we do with that is another story.
Ryan/// ~sigh~ I blew up another bowl. Moke told me "I made the inside bigger than the outside".
sorry mike but ill disagree totally ! first off it is not meant to use hand held period ! you must use this with a drill press and the blank in a clamped device ! if used properly ive found nothing more precision ! so that being said ill back the duck up on this review. i still luv ya though my friend 😍
working with my hands is a joy,it gives me a sense of fulfillment,somthing so many seek and so few find.-SAM MALOOF.
Looks like Pottzy and I share the same flea infested nest... in total endorsement of this item... though he may stick to the flea bombed side.
What I didn't write about was emphasizing not to hand hold, like I lazily used to do with other "flushers".
I though it was a bucked when I first used it with a handjob... virtually the same reaction as Moke... it grabbed and chattered and if it wasn't for the brake on my Fe$tool drill bringing rotation to an immediate stop, great damage could have resulted... though the implications didn't register at the time. Disillusioned, I put a new blank in a clamp (screwed up the first try) and tried it on my DP and did a 3,600° about face (yes 10x)... I was impressed.
In all fairness, holding by hand is like trying lathe work without a support, chiselling with the handle end, bandsawing/tablesawing without fingers as a pushstick.
Thanks Mokey,... Very valuable feedback and without reservation, I have amended my post with this warning.
If your first cut is too short... Take the second cut from the longer end... LBD
yes and ill also add even if you put the blank in a vise still dont attempt to do it with a hand held drill. it can easily dig way too deep too fast and destroy the blank. used properly this pen trimming kit is the best hands down ! this is made to be done with a drill press and vise only ! something they tell you !
working with my hands is a joy,it gives me a sense of fulfillment,somthing so many seek and so few find.-SAM MALOOF.
maybe ? hey you can take the duck and my word for it or you can waste money on this crap that in the long run will cost you more than what were talking about ? as a matter of fact anyone wants these turds just pm me and ill send for the cost of shipping ? dont waste your money !
all sad poor quality trimmers that need sharpening and not worth the effort !
working with my hands is a joy,it gives me a sense of fulfillment,somthing so many seek and so few find.-SAM MALOOF.
That's cause no one ever bothered to post a review of the Otto ones... or maybe I didn't search... something that's totally screwed at LJ now. That's why I'm slowly bringing all my stuff across. Even I have trouble finding my own stuff... fortunately I draft and save before I post... have trouble remembering past lies.
I had to stumble across them after I bought the Manwell... and to think, one of them has only 2 "cutters".
If your first cut is too short... Take the second cut from the longer end... LBD
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