Celluloid pen blanks

[DocRon]

Bought a CSUSA celluloid pen blank at the Columbus OH woodwoorking show. I have never turned this material. In another thread here, someone said ' each type of plastic is a learning experience" or words to that effect. Anybody have any hints as to how to treat this, ESPECIALLY in drilling it? I will certainly use slow speed, clear the chips, etc, but what is your experience with this material? Is is sofer than Lucite? More meltable?

 

[Mikey]

I have turned a bunch of the celluloid. I think it's the same as acrylic sold by everyone else. Anyway, it's pretty easy to drill, but I always use water when doing it. I've never had a drill bit blow out the blank like in resin. I do have to paint the inside of the blank on some colors because of transparent concerns.

My favorites are the silver/orange, Blue swirl, red swirl, and the carribbean swirl. The tobbacco is also really nice and it looks really good on a Gent's fountain pen I made.[8D]

 

[ashaw]

All my pens are made from various forms of plastics. Celluloid I find are more forgiving on the lathe them the our forms. That being said they are more prone to heat rated problem when drilling. Slow speed and take your time at drilling. They will melt if your apply too much heat. Making your hole off size and even oval. Sanding always at a slow speed. So far not blowout. I am now make pens without the brass tubes and problems using the material.

You are right each type of plastic has it's good points and bad points.

 

[stevers]

I turn a lot of celluloid from CSUSA and have very good luck with it. Drill medium slow and clear chips a lot. Try to keep the bit cool, I have my DC hose close to pull the chips away and it helps just enough. I personally take the blank to the disk sander when it's ready to turn, and knock off the sharp corners before I start turning it. This just seems to help keep the initial blow outs to a minimum. I learned to be carefully when turning the ends near the bushings. Thats where the few blow outs I have had tend to happen. I like to come into the ends real easy and watch my angle. If you get a catch, you may cause a blow out. Slow and easy and get to know the material. Feel it through your tools. I use a 3/4" and 1/2 gouge for most all the job. Maybe a skew to get the final fit before sanding. And I learned from all these folks,,,,, Wet sand, wet sand, wet sand. It improved my finished look tremendously. It can be a little messy at first. Just put down a towel and dip your paper often. You will quickly learn a routine and grow to love the results. I wet sand all the way up though 12,000 MM, then use Hut's plastics polish. Then finish it off with Ren wax.
Jump in and have fun, you'll like celluloids.

 

[DocRon]

Thanks Mikey, ashaw, and Steve, for the prompt responses. I am going to tackle this today, so I wanted to know. Sounds like I need work just a little bit more slowly with celluloid than with the usual Lucite. I don't have a compressor as yet, so I will use water for the cooling. I will use the trick of knocking off the corners on the sander - I don't always with Lucite and sometimes that is a problem.
I don't have Hut plastic polish, but I do use the Novus #1 and #2 (after MM) and they work well.
Thanks again, folks.

 

[csb333]

I use a sharp bowl scraper at first and then a sharp skew to finish. If you have the micro mesh set of 9 pads, you probably wont have to even use the Novus. I wash the pads in clean water before starting and this usually provides enough water. - Chris- PS. Spin it fast! I know some people do a slow speed but someone told me once to go to 3500 RPM which has worked well for me.

 

[DocRon]

Well, i just went out to the shop and drilled the holes. Used a relatively slow speed on the Delta, advanced slowly, cooled and lubed with water. It went quite well, one half blank blew out at the bottom when the drill exited - no biggie, I always leave an extra 1/8 to 1/4 length. Sanded off the corners. Here is a "Hmmmm". The plastic seemed a little softer than Lucite, but it sure smelled the same- Since cellulose acetate and polymethyl methacrylate are chemically different animals, I did not expect this. Any polymer chemists out there?

Glued in the blanks with epoxy - will turn tomorrow. The saga continues.
Could be asoap opera - "As the Pen turns"

 

[johncrane]

Doc if you have the room! place a bit of timber under the blank for the last half inch of drilling it will help to stop blow outs it is a must when using bullet drills.[]

 

[DocRon]

J.C.
I do that, but it still happens sometimes.[xx(] Especially with the brad point bit I have.

 

[stevers]

I actually have real good luck with the brad points. I can feel as it begins to exit the bottom of the blank.

 

[twoofakind]

Remember to start your turn in the middle of a blank. Once you get them round you can start at the edge. I use a 1/2 spindle gouge for all but the last pass before sanding.
Andy

 

[Mark4583]

I knock the edges off with a disc sander, seems to make that 1st cut a little easier.

 

[Mikey]

Steve, I am the complete opposite in that brad point bits with a DP in that blow out for me everytime. Normal type bits work perfect.

However, when I drill on teh lathe and the blank is spinning, a brad point will work better for me everytime over a regular point bit.[?]

 

[stevers]

Hey Mike, thats a trip huh? I've never had a major blow out with a brad point bit. A little round dimple drops out the bottom of the jig as the bit comes through the blank. My bits are all from CSUSA and PSI. I have a couple of regular point bits also. They work well too.

 

[Geo in Winnipeg]

To prevent blowing out blanks I cut them long enough so I don't have to drill all the way through them. Then cut the end off at the right length on the BS. Most blanks are long enough for this.

 

[DocRon]

The Results are In!

Here is the result of all this palaver about celluloid. White marble with black titanium fittings, from CSUSA. Brass tubes painted white, glued with epoxy. Wet sanded to 400 grit using the blue stuff fron Vince's WoodnWonders. Finished off with Novus #1 and #2 polishes. Decided not to MM.

I thought it was a little softer than acrylic, but about the same, really.

Some of the paint came off the tubes when I applied the epoxy. Can just get a little hint of the brass color showing through the plastic, so I left the tubes a little fatter than I normally do, although this is my usual configuration for a slimline, which is what I usually turn.

All in all, I'm quite pleased.

 

[tseger]

Doc, that looks pretty good. The lower barrel looks a little too big in proportion to the rest of the pen (in my opinoin)but over all, the pen looks real good. what kind of paint did you use on the tubes? Tim

 

[DocRon]

Tim
Just some hardware store white primer in a spray can that I happened to have. I did not have any of the Testors enamel, or even any white enamel of any kind on hand. This is the first time I ever painted a tube and I was wondering how it would work. I did apply it to a cleaned and roughened up tube, and allowed it to dry overnight.
I appreciate the comment about the shape. I usually turn something like this, since it fits my hand well, and most people to whom I give one like it also for that reason. The exact proportions tend to vary somewhat, as you might expect.
Differences of opinion make for good discussions.[]

 

[Chuck B]

Doc,
Thats gorgeous great job[]

 

[stevers]

Hey Doc,
You should be pleased, thats a gorgeous pen. I'm going to have to try that white marble celluloid. Thats some pretty stuff. Thats actually one of the colors from CSUSA i haven't tried.
Very nice, and to each his own on the shape. Different stuff sells differently in any area. I hope that made sence.