Acrylic Questions...

[Nickfff]

Hello,
I have a couple questions about acrylic and wanted to get some advice...

-Do you drill the hole larger then normal anticpating painting the tube?
-What do you use to glue the tube to acrylic?
-Does ca always bubble in acrylic?
-If 2 part epoxy-what kind and where do you get it inexpensively?
-I have seen some for plastic and a different kind for metal
but did not see one combined for plastic and metal.
-Do you put the epoxy on the drilled hole or only on tube?
-Do you mix paint in with the acrylic?
-In my experience it seems to lessen the bond
-Do you paint the inside of the drilled hole?
-What type of paint do you use?
-Do you match the paint to the blank color?
-Do you paint the tube?
-I keep seeing the paint coming off my tubes...
-What speed have you found best for turning acrylics?
-What do you use to sand initially-I noticed the aluminum oxide sandpaper seems to turn the acrylic to gel if sanded too much.

Feel free to answer all or any part of the many questions above
Thanks,
Nick

 

[redfishsc]

Here's my $.02, one by one.


-Do you drill the hole larger then normal anticpating painting the tube?

I haven't had to yet. I've done the most popular pens in acrylics and haven't needed to-- the paint does not take up much room.



-What do you use to glue the tube to acrylic? If 2 part epoxy-what kind and where do you get it inexpensively?

Buy it from Monty on this site. I use both the 5 min and the 30 min epoxy, depending on how much of a hurry I'm in. Most all clear, thick epoxies will glue your tubes in just fine.




-Do you put the epoxy on the drilled hole or only on tube?


If you put glue inside the hole, you will get glue inside your tube when you plunge it in there. Epoxy isn't easy to clean out. I apply it only to the tube but wallow it around a lot to get good coverage.


-Do you mix paint in with the acrylic?
-In my experience it seems to lessen the bond


I assume you mean epoxy, not acrylic. No, I do not. Yes, it does weaken the bond.





-Do you paint the inside of the drilled hole?
-What type of paint do you use?

Yes, I do, but I always let the blank and tube cure for a couple days. I have not yet had a problem with the bond if I do this, but I have had a problem with the epoxy melting the paint if I only wait overnight. I use Rust-O-Leum.



-Do you match the paint to the blank color?

Metallic silver, red, black, and white are all I use, normally silver. Rustoleum only, but others have used regular spray paint.


-Do you paint the tube?
-I keep seeing the paint coming off my tubes...

Scuff the tubes before you paint them. I use 120 grit and gore the outer part up fairly well.

-What speed have you found best for turning acrylics?


Wide open, I think the Delta I have does 3750rpm. I would go higher if the lathe could. I also only use a skew chisel.




-What do you use to sand initially-I noticed the aluminum oxide sandpaper seems to turn the acrylic to gel if sanded too much.


You are generating too much heat. For sanding I turn the lathe down to 800 or 1200, or else there will be problems with heat and scoring. I start with 220 grit, and I use whatever sandpaper I have. My favorite is silicone carbide wet/dry, but I sand dry.





I sand up to 800 and then buff with a tripoli wheel and a white diamond wheel. I could probably skip the 600 and 800, and will try that based on what someone here suggested a while back.

 

[maxwell_smart007]

hole larger - no
glue - ca
bubble - no
n/a
tube only
i assume you mean epoxy...I use ca
paint - no
model testers paint
sometimes - sometimes white or black....
tube - yes
speed - fast, and sharp tools!
I sand with 220 initially, but I use a gouge instead of a skew

 

[Nickfff]

Thanks Redfish and Andrew for the replies

Nick

 

[JohnU]

All of my answers are the same except I have used acrylic craft paint to paint the inside of my blank holes but let it cure for a day or the ca or epoxy will rub it off. I usually match the paint color to resin color but I have noticed that it can take away some acrylics look or depth. I think that is why many people are using the metallic now because it keeps the deep shine in the depth. I use 2 part epoxy from Walmart. It comes in a small divided tube with a plunger that distributes equal amounts of both. I believe its called Devcon and it runs about $2 per tube. I get can glue about 30 pen tubes per package. I have mixed Pearl-ex pigments in my epoxy which have not altered the bond (for me yet). I always rough up my tubes before glueing. As for glue on the tube or hole, I put epoxy in the end of my blank hole and on the top half of the tube. I twist and turn the tube while inserting in one end and then pull the tube out, re apply epoxy and then do the same on the other end of the blank, to make sure there is distributed epoxy throughout the length of the hole. I wipe off what I can then use a pair of scissors to scrape the excess out of the tupe after using the barrel trimmer. Most of the time the barrel trimmer cleans out all of the epoxy as long as the trimmers shaft is clean and rubbed down with a little oil. I also let my epoxy glued blanks cure for at least one day so the excess is not gummy and comes out of the tube easier. Good Luck!