Plastics/Acrylics with the Pen Wizard

[KenV]

I know I am going to want to machine some plastics/acrylics/polyester pen barrels

And I do some micro machining with plastics and there is a difference between cutting and melting. The cutter geometry is different and the speeds/feeds are different. I have noted that wood generally does not melt and gum up the cutters the same way that plastics do.

Here is a source for some information on milling cutters designed for plastics. The pen barrel materials I am working with appear to be "soft plastics"

http://www.harveytool.com/products/...amily=Plastic+Cutting+End+Mills&category_id=1

or

TinyURL form

http://tinyurl.com/9nf6kn


They have distributors (none in Alaska, but Seattle has several).

When I catch up on the backlog and get my learning curve done with wood, polyester is coming......

 

[ddaudelin]

They all appear to be 1/4" shafts so you'll also need the appropriate tool (Foredom as one choice)...

Dennis

 

[ed4copies]

If you use Alternative Ivory, the cheap diamond sets from Harbor Freight work great. I have done at least a dozen this way. With the Dremel at full speed (30000??)

 

[YoYoSpin]

I'm pretty sure that the Crafts Supply version of Alternative Ivory is based on some form of poly resin...cuts and finishes exactly the same. I've Pen Wiz'd polyester resin and TruStone with standard carbide burs and had zero (melting) problems.