Apprehensive...

[jmiket91]

I haven't posted in a very long time. School conflicts with my turning hobby since my shop is at my house, and I go to school about an hour and a half away from my home. Here's the story:

A recent obligation drew me back to my shop - I had to turn twelve or so pens for a wedding. It was tough to balance work with school since I was having to make an almost daily hour and a half commute during finals week, but albeit stressful, it was enjoyable since I got to spend three or so hours away from my school work. There was nothing to focus on but prepping, turning, finishing, and repeating, and for a while, that's all that caught my attention. One afternoon, though, while passing by my storage table, a piece of bakelite caught my eye. Last year I ordered a piece of ruby red (with some heavy swirls) bakelite rod from Ed and Dawn with the intention of finishing it, but life got in the way. Now I'm back in the game, though - at least for a short while at the moment. I'm turning five or six pens as fundraiser pens for my college's Philosophy club. If all goes well, I plan on knocking out this bakelite while I'm at it. It will make a very nice Christmas present come next Christmas.

So what's the point of this? Well, I'd kind of like to hear some stories of triumph if you guys have any. I figure that most everyone has that one blank that they're afraid to dive into in fear of messing it up. I'd like to hear about it.

I've been off of this forum for a long time, so if there's something similar, I'm sorry.

 

[JimMc7]

I had a similar situation with a bakelite blank which was a gift from Roy (Oklahoman). I put off turning it for a few weeks before diving in and...although not my best effort...the result was fine. If you haven't turned a lot for a while, I would suggest turning a few other blanks 1st to build your confidence before trying the bakelite. Maybe some Tru-stone or acrylic to practice the skills you'll need. Sharpen your tools one more time and go for it!

I used a skew but use whatever you have the most confidence in. Not particularly difficult but the bakelite did dull tools more than some of the Tru-stones or acrylics. Take your time and be careful not to overheat when sanding. I finished mine using same method I do for acrylics: turn with skew, wet sand to 1200grit and polish with Novus #3 & #2.

 

[jmiket91]

I had a similar situation with a bakelite blank which was a gift from Roy (Oklahoman). I put off turning it for a few weeks before diving in and...although not my best effort...the result was fine. If you haven't turned a lot for a while, I would suggest turning a few other blanks 1st to build your confidence before trying the bakelite. Maybe some Tru-stone or acrylic to practice the skills you'll need. Sharpen your tools one more time and go for it!

I used a skew but use whatever you have the most confidence in. Not particularly difficult but the bakelite did dull tools more than some of the Tru-stones or acrylics. Take your time and be careful not to overheat when sanding. I finished mine using same method I do for acrylics: turn with skew, wet sand to 1200grit and polish with Novus #3 & #2.

Well, that's good to hear. Since it's not a square block, it's a circle, I'm worried that I'm not going to drill it correctly and it will come out out of round. I suppose I should just concentrate on being smarter than the bakelite. It's not like this is impossible.

 

[JimMc7]

Well, that's good to hear. Since it's not a square block, it's a circle, I'm worried that I'm not going to drill it correctly and it will come out out of round. I suppose I should just concentrate on being smarter than the bakelite. It's not like this is impossible.

My bakelite was round, too. I drilled on the lathe -- taking light passes and waiting for the bit to cool before continuing. I keep a shop vacuum on while drilling and cool the bit with the high speed air from the vacuum. Seems to help reduce cracking with polyresin & Tru-stone blanks and no problems on the 1 bakelite I've done.

 

[jaeger]

One important thing to remember, drill deeper than the tube length and then go back and cut the blank. If you try to drill all the way through each blank, you have a good chance of cracking or blowing out the end.