almost ruined first Bowling Ball Blank

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Doghouse

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Depressing weekend. Lots of learning and questions.

1. Even with stick on sandpaper DO NOT cut BBB on chop saw. It will spin and explode. (luckily pieces were still big enough to use.

2. Gemini pen kits from PSI are junk. The top is a 2 piece pressed brass. If the cap does not fit perfectly on the clip, it pulls the pressed fit apart. I had to solder the 2 pieces together after having 2 kits go bad.

3. BBB must be finished with a buffing wheel micro mesh will not get the shine on them. But how do you get the rouge out of the coutours of the pen? (I have only been turning for 2 months so I am realy pushing my skills so help is appreciated and I absorb knowledge quickly.)

4. Gifts of trees results in storage problems. Pictures later this week.
 
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paleydp

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Saw a response from Ed (the guy who's been doing the beautiful work with the BBBs) where he said to use sanding sealer before buffing to keep stuff out of the pinholes. Good luck!
 

YoYoSpin

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Feb 6, 2004
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Hey Dog...that's right. After sanding, you'll have to apply some kind of coating to keep the tripoli from showing on light colored blanks, and the white diamond polish from showing on darker blanks...I'm using sanding sealer and it seems to work pretty well.
 

tipusnr

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Reynoldsburg, OH, USA.
Speaking of buffing. Are any of you using the Beall buffing system. I didn't realize it but he's in the same woodturning club as I am and had his shop open for an open house yesterday. It was wild!! All different kind of lathes and demos with explanations of his powered kaliedescopes and making bowls from veneer. He even had a penturning example of his lathe wizard mounted on a JET mini cutting spirals and snakelike patterns in turned pen blanks.

My wife even got to play a short piece on the harpsichord he built.

I gotta pay more attention at the meetings!

His website is www.bealltool.com .
 

Doghouse

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Update:

If you use the PSI gemini PEN kit, the piece that contains the shirt clip, is 3 pieces not 2. The clip a inner piece of brass with the threads and an outer pressed on piece of brass. If you remove the clip you can see the joint.

Solder the 2 pieces and it will assemble nicely. (I was told that I was doing something wrong and they sell thousands of these kits so it must be something I am doing wrong. I hung up on that person and called back. The tech support agent replaced the kits I had go bad.)

Anyone have suggestions on who else to purchase kits from? I am thinking Berea?

2. Judy turned the rest of the BBB into a bottle stopper / cork screw. I buffed it down then sprayed laquer. Looks Great! Testing for wear. I have started to laquer my pens and like the result.
 

Daniel

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Back to the chop saw issue. I tried cutting angles etc. for adding bands, adn had pieces of blanks flying all over the shop. recently I bought a radial arm saw adn have no such thing. even when cutting very thin shavings off it falls right next to the saw blade.
 
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