Acrylester pen blanks?

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WoodChucker

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Acrylester, how the heck do you turn this stuff? It dulls the tools so fast that I can't even get more then a couple of passes before I have to sharpen my tools. And even with a sharp tool it doesn't seem to cut very good. Is there a trick to turning this stuff? And whats the best tool to use? I'm ready to give up on it, I worked on it for over 2 hours and only got about half the stock removed. :D

R.T.
 
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PenWorks

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R.T I can cut 6 wood pens in the time it takes me to cut 1 resin. The good news is you must have drilled them okay, because your cutting. Get the biggest scrapper you have, sorry, but sharpen it again. I cut my resins right to left, slightly tilt your scrapper on an angle like this hash mark ( / )and pull towards you. Another method I use if the resin is REAL hard, I lay my scraper on my rest flat and just rotate it, or swing it r-l staying in one spot, till I can get it round, then I just keep moving down the blank this way. What ever trick works best. once it is round, it will shave allot easier. You know you have the cut right (after it is round) when a thin ribbon starts comming off in one piece, that's a pain in the ass too. because that ribbon ussually wraps around your work and mandrel and you have to stop your lathe to get it out of the way. Go for it R.T. If it was easy, everybody wood make them. good luck, Anthony
 

Fred in NC

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Some materials are a pain, and some are a total surprise. That is why I test them by getting only a couple pieces at first. One example is the flecked celluloid. It looks nice in the pic, but the flecks are on two sides of the blank only.

I wonder if a tool with a carbide tip would be best to get these tough blanks rounded. Carbide tips are used by machinists. The are called "indexable inserts" and come in several materials including carbide. Typical shapes are triangular and diamond shaped. They have a hole in the middle for a cap screw.

Such a tool would be very similar to the tools used for hollowing vessels. Think about a cold rolled steel bar with a flat on the end. A hole is tapped for the screw, and a handle added. Carbide inserts are a few dollars a piece, much cheaper than the tools we use.

Anyway, in my experience the issue has been getting rid of the corners. A pointed scraper is the best I have found to get rid of the corners.

Whatever you do, please wear eye protection.

A source for inserts is www.use-enco.com
 

tipusnr

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Never worked with this material so I don't really know if this is feasible but could the corners be taken off on a band saw? Perhaps using a piece of 90 degree aluminum set into a board on edge to hold the blank at 45 degrees to the blade. You could take off the four large corners and end up with an octagon having eight smaller corners. You could use another piece of aluminum on top of the blank as a hold down for increased safety. Works in my head, anyway!

Main problem I see would be that drilling in the exact center would become more critical. Also I haven't work with a band saw enough to know what problems cutting unsupported material (the corners) would cause.
 

PenWorks

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Fred, my pops was a machinest ( God rest his soul.) The first time I tried to cut this stuff I broke out his tool box, found all sorts of cutting bits, even the ones you mentioned. Tried allot of differnet ones, but ending up going to my 1/2 round scrapper for most of the work. Anthony
 

Rudy Vey

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Originally posted by tipusnr
<br />Never worked with this material so I don't really know if this is feasible but could the corners be taken off on a band saw? Perhaps using a piece of 90 degree aluminum set into a board on edge to hold the blank at 45 degrees to the blade. You could take off the four large corners and end up with an octagon having eight smaller corners. You could use another piece of aluminum on top of the blank as a hold down for increased safety. Works in my head, anyway!

Main problem I see would be that drilling in the exact center would become more critical. Also I haven't work with a band saw enough to know what problems cutting unsupported material (the corners) would cause.

I round them over with my disc sander before turning.
Rudy
 

Scottydont

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I know I might get clobbered here but how about using a jig and a router to rough them out and do the shaping and final cuts with traditional tools?
 

PenWorks

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The band saw or the disc sander are the beter way to go. I think the router wood chip the blank. Thats Why I generally just use a wide scrapper. When I use a point or smaller tools, it's easier to chip this stuff and then you end up with a gauge that may be to deep to turn or sand out.Anthony
 

WoodChucker

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Thanks everyone for all the tips, I'll get back at it today and try out your suggestions. I'm thinking I should have gotten a little more time on the job before I tried turning this stuff. I still have a lot to learn and I'm still not that good at any of it yet. I'll see if I can finish this one, but then it's back to wood until I get a little better. With my luck I'll get it down to the point where I'm almost done and then melt that sucker. [:D] Thanks again!

R.T.
 

wayneis

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Bill, (Tip) I made that jig several months ago and it work just great. I just took a piece of 6" x 12" pine board cut a 45% off one side and then screwed a piece of Aluminum angle to the 45. Where the blade lines up cut a notch in the angle for the blade to fit and then you can move the jig back and forth for the different size blanks. I can't remember just where I first saw it but it looked easy, it is. I would have said something about this long ago but thought that everyone had them.

As far as turning the acrylester and Tru Stone and all of this type of stuff, after I bought the sharpening wheel from Grizzly that DW suggested quite a while ago, I don't have a problem turning any of these different blanks anymore. My biggest problem is trying not to cut myself because my tools are so sharp. It seems like I always have a bandaid on at least one of my fingers. I never would have guessed that a cardboard wheel and white rouge could hone an edge like it does until I tried it out. I don't have to use my wolverine grinding jig near as much as I used to, just once in a while to keep the cutting angle. Before I turn something I just give my 1/2" spindle gouge a quick touch up on the wheel. In fact after I got the hang of this system, I decided to reward myself and buy some good tools because they will last such a long time now. For any of you who wants to look into this, it is called their "Razor Sharp System" and its with their buffing and polishing section. Knowing what I do now, I would only order the 8" slotted wheel and a stick of the white rouge instead of the whole kit because I don't use the gritted wheel. The wheel is $9.95 and the rouge is $2.50, what a deal.

Wayne
 

PenWorks

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Wayne, do you wear gloves when you turn? I got so use to wearing them. I can not turn with out them no more. Greatly reduced the band aid consumption too. Anthony
 

wayneis

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Anthony, no I've never tried to wear gloveswhile turning, I read somewhere that it was supposed to be dangerous. I guess if they were tight fitting it would be ok.

Wayne
 

jkirkb94

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Recently turned some acrylester and it was very difficult. Gouges didn't do well. Best results were using a skew. Had to sharpen it frequently. The results were worth the hassle. Beautiful with lots of depth. Have gone to my local supplier and bought more. Kirk [8D]

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2004103135853_inlace%20acrylester001.jpg
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WoodChucker

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That pen looks great, a lot better looking then mine. But I'm happy I was able to at least get in done without destroying it. I think I dulled every tool I have at least 3 or 4 times. I didn't have much luck with the skew but I don't on wood either. [:D]

I ended up using my Spinmaster and a wide scraper like penworks had suggested the most. I'm not real good at sharpening yet either, none of my tools are cutting like they did before I started turning this stuff. I got tired of changing my grinder set up to sharpen each tool which is part of the reason I stuck with the above two tools.

I just need more practice on wood before I do this again, but I'll get there one way or the other. I'll post a pic of it as soon as I take one. It's just a normal slimline and it's pretty plane looking, not exciting like yours. [:(]

Anyway, thanks again everyone for your help and input!

R.T.
 

jkirkb94

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I hope to try another turning tool early next week. It was recommended by my local Woodcraft store. A "scoogie" gouge? Some of my turning friends there swear by it. I think I got the name right? I usually use the skew only for touch up at the end of turning blanks but it was the only thing that didn't cause micro blowouts on the acrylester. I have some really beautiful blanks to turn that I think will have great, deep luster to them when turned and polished. A couple will probably be great hits with women. Kirk [8D]
 
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