I place the blank in my jig and center it on the table. This jig has been a great help to me in drilling pen blanks. Once I set it up and clamp it down I can drill as many blanks as I want very quickly.

I simply lock the clamp and I am ready to go. I like to drill at slower speeds when drilling blanks.

I don’t know if it is my getting older or me getting in a hurry but I have found the need for memory aids to help remind me of past mistakes. Here I have a really nice Pink Ivory blank that I got in a hurry drilling and you can see the results. I keep this real close to the drill press just to jog my memory.

I don’t think I can say enough about careful drilling. You can destroy a beautiful blank real quick. The rule for me has become ¼” and back. This means I only drill down ¼” before I back out and clear the drill bit flutes of debris. I also blow the debris away from the work so it doesn’t fall back down into the hole I am drilling. I am using a 7mm Brad point bit as it cuts better for this.

I need to prepare the brass tube for gluing inside the blank. I am using an insertion tool that I basically wasted $10 on but I got tired of picking glue off my fingertips. You could make one on the lathe real quick. I like this one being chrome because I can scrape off the dried glue. You need to lightly sand the tubes surface to rough it up a bit and do away with any tarnish of fingerprints prior to gluing. I use 220 grit sandpaper for this.

For gluing, I like to use the thick CA because it gives me a little more time to work with it. I think is also covers better inside the blank. When inserting into the blank you need to use a twisting motion to get better coverage. I also use a plunging motion at the same time to maximize coverage. I place three beads of glue evenly spaced on the length of the tube.

Remember those memory aids I was talking about? Well I keep this nice piece of Desert Iron wood with a tube protruding out of it around to remind me how quick CA sets.

When inserting the tube you should not stop flush but inset it just a bit. This will give you some error margin when you go to square the blanks.

Since I am not in a production world and make no money selling pens, I can afford to take my time and check and double check. I like to use the bottom of my calipers as a depth gauge to see where my tube is.

On this I did very well because it is just where I though it would be so I am good to go.

I use my band saw for all the cutting on these pen blanks mainly because of the small amount of material removed. I go over and trim off the blanks leaving just a small amount of wood, about a 16th of an inch. It is now time to square the blanks and for this job I will use my Pen Mill. As you can see, I have mine mounted in a spare chuck. Some people mount these in the lathe or a drill press but I have never had to remove that much wood and I like to be mindful of the tubes so I do it by hand. This also clears any excess glue from inside the tubes and gives you a nice square surface.

As you can see, all that is needed is a twisting motion and slight pressure. I stop when I hit the tube and you can tell this from the shine off the brass. While reaming, you will need to check often so you don’t ruin the length of your tubes.