Chris Neilan wrote on Dec 12
th, 2017 at 7:16am:
Where I see a difference in technique being an argument is how do you square you blanks to the tubes. Barrell trimmer vs sanding disk....
IMO
A quality pen mill is the more accurate method.
A sanding jig such as Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!! You need to
or
, can introduce too much "play" into the equation.
Both a mill and sanding jig use the barrel as the reference but that's where the similarities end.
With a mill, the tool itself needs to be square which only consists of two machined parts.
With a sanding jig (like the one I linked to),
First the sander needs to be aligned properly, table to disc.
Then the jig needs to be aligned properly, on all axis.
Then the jig mounted to the sander must be aligned properly within the miter slot, not all miter slots are created equal.
The sanding disc must be free of defect, I think this speaks for it's self.
Everyone of these steps can introduce a certain amount of play into the process which can add up to a less the perfect result, Ends not being square and/or a slight convex curve (rotating the blank on the sanding disc) can be the result.