# Woodpecker Pen Mill



## Wildthings (Dec 1, 2018)

Quite interesting!!

Woodpecker Pen Mill

Reactions: Way Cool 1


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## ripjack13 (Dec 1, 2018)

Oh....that is interesting....

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Graybeard (Dec 2, 2018)

Very nice but pricey. I suppose if I was making lots of pens it would be a good investment but I don't. I've taken 7 mm brass and turned down inserts to fit inside other pen tubes. That way I can continue to use just the 7 mm shaft.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## MNTurner (Dec 2, 2018)

Good idea and I like that it takes the same size carbide heads as many cutters, but that price range is the same as a disk sander and a squaring jig. 

Other than space, anyone have thoughts on why this would be preferred over a sanding disk and squaring jig?


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## rdabpenman (Dec 2, 2018)

Sanding disc would be more effective and cheaper too.

Les

Reactions: Agree 1


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## duncsuss (Dec 2, 2018)

I'm with Les -- for a lot less money, get a sanding jig from Rick Herrell (contact him throught the IAP vendor pages) and a set of transfer punches from HarborFright. Make a wooden plate to fit to your lathe headstock (attach to a face plate or tap it with a Beall wood tap that matches your drive shaft). Couple of coats of polyurethane, it will be ready for the same pressure-sensitive sanding disks that a sander takes. It's a quick and easy project.

I don't care how sharp those barrel trimmers are, carbide inserts or not, they are scraping, not cutting, the end of the blank. Tear-out will happen (not on every blank, for sure, but the risk increases with burls, cross-cut and diagonal cut blanks, and segmented blanks.)

Reactions: Agree 3


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## Schroedc (Dec 2, 2018)

I've used Carbide and HSS mills and tearout can be an issue, I generally sand most of mine on a jig I made for my big 9 inch sander. My other complaint/question would be if you have to buy pilot shafts from them or if it'll fit others as most of us probably have a pile of pilot shafts form other reamers by now.


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