Aluminum & Bronze/Aluminum

[yort81]

Here are a couple of pens that I have turned on my 10 year old Grizzly.....I got it for my son, who was in high school in 2001.. he spent a total of 45 minutes making some firewood.. and then it sat idle till this summer, in August when i came across a article about turning pens It's been a very pleasant time since then...learning from forums like this one as I go.

It seems the spindle is off center a bit...and things turn ever so slightly out of round...but im having a blast with it.

I started with wood, graduated to acrylic blanks from Woodcraft... and then i came upon an article here, somewhere...I cant seem to find it at the moment to give credit to the person who turned a pen of Aluminum/Bronze....but when i do..i'll post my thanks to him.

Here are a few that i have done. two of aluminum, one brushed and one very polished.. and the other is Aluminum/Bronze with a brushed finish.

The one problem i seem to have is that the Aluminum scratches very easily... and the Aluminum/Bronze scratches and tarnishes... Ive tried a CA finish on one... but it always comes out with chips on the ends...pretty tacky looking for such a nice pen. However it doesnt scratch or tarnish.

Troy

 

[Dalecamino]

Looks like your research worked out for you Troy. The black TI looks nice with it. Good work. Anodizing or clear powder coat will harden the surface.

 

[KnB Polymers]

Those look good! I love the one in the 2nd photo!

 

[IPD_Mr]

Not too shabby for not turning very long. It was interesting to hear you say it scratches easily. I know there is a couple different types of aluminum. Could different grades be less susceptible to scratching? I hear aircraft aluminum being thrown around a lot.

 

[yort81]

Aircraft aluminum

Not too shabby for not turning very long. It was interesting to hear you say it scratches easily. I know there is a couple different types of aluminum. Could different grades be less susceptible to scratching? I hear aircraft aluminum being thrown around a lot.

Ive used two different grades of aluminum

[FONT=verdana,Arial,helvetica, san-serif][SIZE=-1]6061-T6511 EXTRUDED ALUMINUM ROUND ROD[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=verdana,Arial,helvetica, san-serif][SIZE=-1]2011-T3 ALUMINUM ROUND ROD[/SIZE][/FONT]

The T3 was a softer, easier to cut... but they both "scuffed" fairly easily... the Aluminum/Bronze was a very dense and hard to cut metal.. and it scuffed/scratched very easily as well...Ive done a couple of Copper pens (i love these the best...they are beautiful) and they scuff and scratch too. Dang it!

For the brushed look... i just sand through to 800grit with fresh sandpaper for the final sanding... for the polished look I sand to 800 and then polish it with the Beall buffing system.. they all scuff and show use marks easily.

The only one that doesnt show the marks, is the one that i applied CA to... but like i said... it chipped on the ends and looks very rough afterward. I tried turning between 60º centers.... but there is such a wobble in the spindle as to make that almost impossible.

My next lathe is going to have to be a Powermatic 3520B - Im going to have to sell a load of pens :tongue: