How to cut your pen blank with a table saw sled thin-kerf blade combination

If the table saw is your choice for cross cutting pen stock to length, consider this table saw sled and thin-kerf blade combination. The sled base, cut from ½” baltic birch plywood, measures 6×16”. The support, cut from the same material, to which the hold down clamp is screwed to measures 4×16” and is glued to the base with the back edges flush. As a safety indicator, consider painting a red “caution area” where the blade enters the support. The distance from the clamped-down stop to the inside edge of the blade is determined by the length of the brass pen barrels you’ll be using. To cap it off, use a thin-kerf blade for cross cutting the stock, which minimizes the stock lost to the kerf, allowing the grain in the two matching blanks to match up better for the final product.