tipusnr
Member
I was looking at some of the pens posted here that used (recycled) aluminum cans and was wodering what sort of preparation was needed to use them (other than flattening). Do you sand or otherwise prep the surfaces before gluing?
Aluminum segmentation
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gketell
Local Chapter Leader
I didn't do anything for it other than pound it flat (I used the bottom of the can). Now, the pounding probably gave it some good roughing up for the glue to adhere to but I didn't specifically do anything else. Medium CA and clamp it tight then hit it with accelerator.
GK
GK
waterboy
Member
Greg,
Why the bottom of the can? Is it thicker than the sides?
Ed - Portland, OR
Why the bottom of the can? Is it thicker than the sides?
Ed - Portland, OR
txbatons
Member
I rough it up with sandpaper just like I do for gluing tubes. Figure that it couldn't hurt.
gketell
Local Chapter Leader
yup. about 2-3x thicker.
GK
GK
gwilki
Member
That's gorgeous, Greg.
rhahnfl
Member
That is a good looking pen. How does the metal turn? Do you sand it before turning to get it flush with the wood?
Randy_
Member
Greg has got some nice looking pens and it sure is hard to argue with success; but I know that those aluminum cans have some sort of protective coating on them that could cause problems with gluing. Seems like it would be prudent to scuff the metal up before gluing??
Just for fun, I think I will glue up some pieces, some scuffed and some not and see if I can detect any difference in the strength of the bonds.
Just for fun, I think I will glue up some pieces, some scuffed and some not and see if I can detect any difference in the strength of the bonds.
gketell
Local Chapter Leader
Sounds great, Randy. I look forward to your results!!
It would definitely not hurt to scuff it up, I just didn't think of it. I will do so next time under the auspices of "it can't hurt and it can help".
No, I did not presand at all. I just turned it Very Gently with my bowl gouge (which is wider than the metal-work so I didn't need to worry about it diving into the wood and making ripples. But be very careful to hold your tool tight to the tool rest so that it only moves in and out when you want it to, not when the difference in densities wants it to. Then, when sanding I used a double-wide blank as a sanding backer for all the grits so the sandpaper wouldn't dive into the softer wood more than it did into the harder aluminum.
Other than these two cautionary steps, it all turned just like any other blank; the aluminum is no big deal.
GK
It would definitely not hurt to scuff it up, I just didn't think of it. I will do so next time under the auspices of "it can't hurt and it can help".
No, I did not presand at all. I just turned it Very Gently with my bowl gouge (which is wider than the metal-work so I didn't need to worry about it diving into the wood and making ripples. But be very careful to hold your tool tight to the tool rest so that it only moves in and out when you want it to, not when the difference in densities wants it to. Then, when sanding I used a double-wide blank as a sanding backer for all the grits so the sandpaper wouldn't dive into the softer wood more than it did into the harder aluminum.
Other than these two cautionary steps, it all turned just like any other blank; the aluminum is no big deal.
GK
gketell
Local Chapter Leader
FYI, if you want to see real artistry with aluminum take a look at these pens made by Eagle:
(edited to show pictures directly)
GK
(edited to show pictures directly)
GK
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