Any success tips for coffee bean pens?

[TonyL]

I am up to pen 5, and thought I would try a coffee been Cuban or slimline. I was politely warned (and with good intentions) by much more experienced tuners that this is not the one to try before turning several dozen other types of materials.

Well, I am not afraid from learning from my mistakes, and very humble to learn from the experience of others. If you have a chance, I would love to hear the how's, what not to do's, and whatever else you can share. I would like to smell the coffee, so I am assuming certain finishes are out. I will cross that bridge when I get to it, but would love to hear how you successfully turn them.

Thank you for reading and any experience you are inclined to share.

 

[walshjp17]

Just make sure you have lots of CA available to put the beans back in that pop out during turning. It will likely happen. SHARP tools are a must here as well.

 

[TonyL]

Sounds like a PITN.. I guess I need to you the thinner CA? I use carbide tools - I guess that will help. Thank you.

 

[bobjackson]

I keep a container of instant coffee on hand to glue into voids made by broken beans.

 

[TonyL]

Asked a question that you answered.

 

[ed4copies]

Make it a LITTLE easier:

After you drill the hole, put thin CA in the hole and shake the blank, coating the inside of the hole with CA. Do this several times (wear latex gloves that you can throw away, to block the ends of the hole). Allow to dry (set) overnight, then redrill (the CA will make the hole smaller). IF you do this a couple times, the part that you are going to use to be the pen (closest to the brass tube) will hold together better.

Good luck,
Ed

 

[eranox]

I'm glad you asked this. I'm about to attempt my first coffee blank pen, and I had no idea about these difficulties. This is good info.

 

[plantman]

Make it a LITTLE easier:

After you drill the hole, put thin CA in the hole and shake the blank, coating the inside of the hole with CA. Do this several times (wear latex gloves that you can throw away, to block the ends of the hole). Allow to dry (set) overnight, then redrill (the CA will make the hole smaller). IF you do this a couple times, the part that you are going to use to be the pen (closest to the brass tube) will hold together better.

Good luck,
Ed

ED has a video in the library on how to turn a cherry pit blank. Very simular to a coffee bean blank, and worth a look!!! Lots of thin CA!!! Jim S

 

[dexter0606]

I would suggest if you want to try a coffee bean blank don't use something as thin as a slimline. You not leaving much meat for the beans to stay in the acrylic. I think a cigar style pen would be better. Or a coffee scoop!

 

[1080Wayne]

Ed and Jeff gave you good advice , which leaves me to give you the bad news . After you have put on all of the thin CA to hold the thin sections of beans together , you won`t be able to smell the coffee ! If you can figure out a way to do it , please let me know .

 

[TonyL]

This is all outstanding advice. I believe I am going to hold off for a while. Thank you!

 

[Dan Masshardt]

Anybody ever do one of these with a flap disk?

Might be worth a try.

 

[ed4copies]

This is all outstanding advice. I believe I am going to hold off for a while. Thank you!

Maybe more than you want to know, but I did the cherry pit blank on the first try. Coffee took me 3 tries.

 

[ChrisN]

My first coffee bean blank was a success. I made a coffee scoop out of it, of course!:biggrin: I drilled the blank with the 7mm bit (one pass), taped off the end, dropped some thin CA inside of it, shook it, and let it cure. I repeated this process maybe three times: drilling, CA, cure, etc. After the final drilling, I glued the tube inside with epoxy (I think). Then, I turned it down, bit by bit. I got the blank round, first, and then I soaked it with thin CA. I turned it down another ~1/8", and soaked it again. Once I was getting close to the bushings, I did the CA soaking more often. I gave it a CA finish, for durability, and to keep the beans in. The unfortunate thing is that you can't tell it's made out of real coffee beans after it's all finished. But, it sure smelled good when turning it!:biggrin:

 

[TonyL]

Yes, but according to B Gross, one is just suppose to buff it some that the fragrance comes through. I spoke to him on Saturday at a show. I will hone my craft a little more than give it a shot. Thank you.

 

[low_48]

Never lost a bean yet, and have turned at least 6 pens. No CA either. You just need to know how to use a skew that you can shave with, and very light cuts. Using carbide won't help a bit since it is a scraping cut. A shearing cut is what is needed. Even if you don't put any finish on them, the smell goes away quickly. The beans oxidize and the smell is gone. Of course you can hit it with 1,200 grit right before the sale and it smells good then.

 

[TonyL]

Well...that seems like the way to go. I need to learn a skew cut. Maybe they will teach it at class tomorrow night. Thank you.

 

[plantman]

Ed and Jeff gave you good advice , which leaves me to give you the bad news . After you have put on all of the thin CA to hold the thin sections of beans together , you won`t be able to smell the coffee ! If you can figure out a way to do it , please let me know .

After I do my CA finish, I square off the end of my blanks on the disk sander and do not reseal them. This will give you some aroma, but will also let moisture enter the ends. 6 of one, 1/2 dozen of the other. Jim S

 

[Jim Burr]

Very dry beans. No need to wash in DNA if you get dry ones. THEY FLOAT! So adapt your plan to address that...I'll let you do some thinking on how to accomplish that one...I had to :wink::biggrin:

 

[plantman]

Very dry beans. No need to wash in DNA if you get dry ones. THEY FLOAT! So adapt your plan to address that...I'll let you do some thinking on how to accomplish that one...I had to :wink::biggrin:

Jim; I have a question for you. It sounds like you cast your own blanks, correct? Could you put your beans in a vaccum chamber with stabilizer and suck the air out? Would the beans sink when the air is taken out? Being stabilized and hand cast, would this not make the blank easier to turn? My method of dealing with things that float when I cast, is to construct a mold that is at least 1" deep or more, fill with items I am going to cast, (pack as tightly as I can) add my resin to the 3/4" or higher leve., Have a precut 1/4" plywood lid that I can set into the top of the mold to hold everything down. Secure with rubber bands or clamps. After the resin has cured, cut off the plywood and square your blank up. Jim S

 

[ElMostro]

Here are some finishing tips:
The key to an even finish is proper sanding for these blanks. This is what I do. I turn with normal tool, just make sure they are sharp. About a "hair" before you are done turning and before you start sanding do this; with the lathe off, dribble a little bit of THIN CA on one barrel then use one of the small plastic bags for the pen parts and spread the CA by hand turning the lathe and moving the bag along the blank. (Try to not let the CA pile up at the ends bec then the bushings may stick). Do this to both barrels, then let the CA cure. Then turn to final size with very sharp tool and light cuts followed by dry sanding to about 600. This sanding session will remove most of the CA on the surface but the key is to seal the pores of the beans. Wipe the blank with a dry cloth to remove any loose dust particles then do the CA routine again and this time when you sand go up to 2000. Wipe the blank again and do the CA routine one more time, after this the pores will be sealed so this time go up to 12000. I always put a final CA finish on the coffee bean pens bec od its durability. A CA finish will reduce the aroma a bit but it will keep the beans sealed. It seems like a lot but you will be happy with the finish. DO NOT WET SAND it makes a mess (DAMHIKT).
Good luck, Eugene.

 

[Jim Burr]

Very dry beans. No need to wash in DNA if you get dry ones. THEY FLOAT! So adapt your plan to address that...I'll let you do some thinking on how to accomplish that one...I had to :wink::biggrin:

Jim; I have a question for you. It sounds like you cast your own blanks, correct? Could you put your beans in a vaccum chamber with stabilizer and suck the air out? Would the beans sink when the air is taken out? Being stabilized and hand cast, would this not make the blank easier to turn? My method of dealing with things that float when I cast, is to construct a mold that is at least 1" deep or more, fill with items I am going to cast, (pack as tightly as I can) add my resin to the 3/4" or higher leve., Have a precut 1/4" plywood lid that I can set into the top of the mold to hold everything down. Secure with rubber bands or clamps. After the resin has cured, cut off the plywood and square your blank up. Jim S

Here's a blank I have left and a pen from another one. The blank is 4-5 yrs old?? These are pressure cast in Alumilite. The beans have voids that can trap air. The air is squished as a result and Alumilite cures best under pressure, but beans are dense and filled with air. No matter what, they float. Your method sounds like it should make some sweet blanks!!

 

[jzerger]

In making your own blanks with coffee beans, is it possible to ca glue the beans to the tube(s) before putting in resin to avoid the floating tendency? I haven't tried it but was wondering.

 

[Jim Burr]

In making your own blanks with coffee beans, is it possible to ca glue the beans to the tube(s) before putting in resin to avoid the floating tendency? I haven't tried it but was wondering.

Not that I know of John. I usually put a butt load of beans in the mold...helps stop the floating. I have a mold that a very dear friend of mine makes, Wood Craft may start carrying it...for single mold Sierra's but I usually do slabs. You guys gotta think on this....I had to figure it out a few years ago, you folks can figure it out...I believe in you!!
And Tony...I apologize, didn't mean to hijack your thread...just wanted to offer what I've learned :frown:

 

[plantman]

In making your own blanks with coffee beans, is it possible to ca glue the beans to the tube(s) before putting in resin to avoid the floating tendency? I haven't tried it but was wondering.

Not that I know of John. I usually put a butt load of beans in the mold...helps stop the floating. I have a mold that a very dear friend of mine makes, Wood Craft may start carrying it...for single mold Sierra's but I usually do slabs. You guys gotta think on this....I had to figure it out a few years ago, you folks can figure it out...I believe in you!!
And Tony...I apologize, didn't mean to hijack your thread...just wanted to offer what I've learned :frown:

Jim; Do you do a two cast blank?? Jim S

 

[Jim Burr]

Yes sir. I did slabs for a long time but it can get messy. I just do Sierra size now in a two tube mold.