trimming pen blanks again!

[@wsherratt5159]

Hi Jon, As a subscriber and customer I return to your videos time and again to remind myself of the advice you provide. Again, to echo what others have already said, I love the approach you have for spending wisely on tools that will not only do the job but can be used elsewhere. Nice one! Wayne

[@johnowens5751]

Great thoughts things many of us don’t think about

[@GeorgeBurdell-f4m]

My compliments! By grossly exaggerating the degree of angle, you demonstrated quite nicely how to deal with much less angle. Thank you for mentioning Harbor Freight to those of us across the pond.

[@markhollingsworth3097]

Love how you always suggest NOT buying things 🤣. Your honest down to earth advice is the very reason I started buying from you......keep up the great work

[@prokraftuk]

Thanks Mark, I think the reason we are all here is we like making stuff not buying it. Nothing gives me satisfaction more than making something with a tool I have made myself. We try to only sell the bits you can't make and we do it because we love it not for purely commercial reasons. I would much rather be in the workshop than sat here at a PC!

[@IIIofV]

Fantastic advice, thankyou! New to lathe woodworking and trying to pickup all the tips and tricks I can find. Well done. *waves from Canada*

[@prokraftuk]

Very welcome!

[@WoodenItBeNice]

Hi Jon, Brilliant video. I hope anyone starting off pen turning sees this video so they can save a fortune in not buying all the expensive attachments for a disc sander that are on the market. I make a lot of segmented pens especially using a spiral twist in the blank so all the "normal" methods don't work. This works every time. Thank you for putting this video on KZbin and I hope it gets many thousands of views and people can save a lot of money. Take care Jon. Cheers, Huw

[@prokraftuk]

Thanks Huw much appreciated.

[@davidfrazier4566]

I'm from the U.S, but I like your style. No B.S information...👍👍🇺🇸

[@prokraftuk]

I appreciate that

[@compub3ar]

Well that's fantastic, thanks for sharing this. I've only bought three different pen mill shafts and one cutter head (which isn't even hardened steel) so not much money down the drain. I trimmed them with the forbidden, sacrilegious method of clamping the blank in a vise and using a hand drill. I'm about six months into the hobby and I've been looking at a punch kit so yeah, I think I'll pull the trigger on that purchase.

[@AndysCornishCreations]

Hi Jon...good information... I use a very similar method myself ... I guess if you had a blank that was that far out you could cut or turn some of the bulk of the blank before squaring up the end ... take care...All the best.....Andy

[@prokraftuk]

Yes I did trim the excess off on the bandsaw in the end - it was getting a bit tedious. Cheers Andy

[@SASBLIGHTY]

Thanks I use them for taking apart pens but never thought of this will try and then chuck out the horrible barrel trimmer :)

[@simonsnewin5203]

Update/modification: As you suggested Jon I purchased both sets of transfer punches from Arceurotrade and I can now chuck my barrel trimmers in the bin!! SOOO much easier and more precise with your system, thank you.

[@prokraftuk]

Hi Simon, as I said on the Vid, it's not really my system I have just done another vid that maybe easier to find - I'm really glad you have found it better though. I think I may also be able to use the transfer punches as a mandrel for our brass pens but I haven't had time to try it yet. I wasn't sure if the velcro pads would be flat enough but i think they are.

[@leewells1871]

Cheers John, useful video. I like the idea of using a faceplate for a backing board. Stay safe, Lee. FloatyBoaterWoodturning

[@prokraftuk]

Glad it was helpful!

[@aliabazaid4293]

very useful lesson ... Thank you very much

[@prokraftuk]

You are welcome!

[@richarddumas5457]

Awesome video. Thank You

[@prokraftuk]

Thank you too!

[@simonsnewin5203]

Thanks Jon, very useful. I have just been discovering the limitations of my barrel trimmer with larger tubes so I will give your idea a go. What grit do you generally use?

[@prokraftuk]

Hi Simon, I used 240 grit in the video I find it is the best between a nice smooth finish and reasonable removal of scrap material.

[@smithfamilydesigns2012]

Nice alternate way to trim the blank. I imagine you could also use a drill bit if you have one that fits the ID correctly. For converting the head into a disk sander.. I don't have the collet to try that trick.. Wondering if just closing the chuck would provide enough surface behind the sand paper. (Or a square block with sand paper on it)

[@prokraftuk]

you could use a drill but the punches are quite long and let you pull back the blank to check how close you are to the tube. Have a look for an arbour blank they really don't cost much at all but yes you could easily make your own disc sander

[@smithfamilydesigns2012]

@@prokraftuk Yeah, I looked. An imperial set at Harbor Freight seems to be pretty cheap at about $11 USD. Hmm... Tempting.. I has been a while since I bought a shiny new tool...

[@lindsaygardner2948]

very clever method thanks for sharing, i will be using it in the future

[@prokraftuk]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Papaws-Hobbies]

Very helpful. Thanks

[@prokraftuk]

Glad it was helpful!

[@7878macca]

good advice but a lot of rambling on!

[@prokraftuk]

I like to hide the detail in good ramble