CS Celluloid question (problem?)

[Mikey]

Just got my first celluloid order from CSUSA. Most blanks leek perfect, but I noticed that the blue ones and red oned I got in have all sorts of injection marks in them, to the point they look as though they were the cousin to the strawberry (they have the exact same look, especially the red) On the blue ones I got, the whiet swirls have nothing but blue injection holes going through the whole blank.

In looking at some of Yoyospin's photographs, some of his appear to have a similar look, but I am not sure if this is normal for these blanks. (cetainly not in the catalog picture)

TIA,
Mike

 

[Ryan]

You are ok! It is a thin material they put in them. You will enjoy both colors.

Ryan

 

[Mikey]

So the white ribbon material is the stuff with the holes and not the whole blank? Wow, that is wierd since you can see the holes on all sides of the blank. Oh well, Guess I try them out later then.

(now to chooes the kits for these)

 

[LanceD]

All of the ones that I bought from them has those white dots (crimson & blue swirl). Some has more than others, especially the larger size blank.

 

[nilsatcraft]

For the most part, these holes will go all the way through the blank. That is an intentional part of the blank and these will not likely 'turn off'. They look a lot sharper when the blank is rounded.

 

[Fangar]

I think that is one of the coolest plastic blanks available. The holes make a great effect when turned. You can see the holes on the top barrel of this pen. Some blanks have more than others when turned down.

Fangar

 

[Mikey]

Thanks Nils. I had sent an e-mail to the company this morning before I posted here, so I hope they tell me the same thing. It's really odd that these holes only appear in the two blanks. None of the others I got have these marks on the blanks, so I assumed it was a screw up. Now I know it is only for these two specific blanks.

<edit> Thanks for the pic Fangar. Also wanted to let you know I finally tried my Gents pin chuck yesterday. Was going for the look like yoyospin gets on his, but wound up with something that resembles a bowling pin. LOL! (an Afzilia Burl bowling pin!)

 

[wudwrkr]

I am fairly new to pen turning and I stumbled across these Celluloid blanks at a wood show. This particular blank (Crimson Swirl) has been the most popular material I have used. I sold about 50 pens in the past month and 10 of them have been this material. What the picture does not show is that this pattern has an awesome pearl-essence that really takes the light and shines! [8D] You will enjoy them!

I purhased the blanks from woodpenpro.com, but am getting ready to get some more from CSU since they have the blue and woodpenpro doesn't. I just have to wait and see what Nils Tuesday special will be!! []

 

[Mikey]

Do you guys paint the insides of these white or black? Only ask because I just ruined two nice blanks from Berea that has black swirls and white pearl. The first one I colored the tube black and it looked like crap, so the secopnd I painted the acrylic white and it doesn't look as translucent as the first. Maybe I'll just have to break out the airbrush and the pearl silver paint.[]

 

[Fangar]

Black for me.

Fangar

 

[wudwrkr]

I paint mine to match the blanks. I just finished a pen for my daughter that was pink and jade. I painted the tubes pink using a flat model paint and it hid the tubes real well:

Your idea of the pearl silver is actually a good one, even if in jest![]

 

[Mikey]

No, not in jest. When I used to race slot cars and paint all my bodies, I would back all colors except white and yellow in pearl silver and the look that I got on the other side was amazing. I can only imagine what these would look like in a pearl color VS the standard black. Too bad I'll probably have to buy more since I doubt model paint will last 6 years

 

[Thumbs]

Now I'm gonna show my ignorance of celluloid blanks and painting!

Can't you take a couple spare tubes and paint them various colors for test? Turn the blank on the mandrel with just a loose tube to get it round and a bit smaller to check its translucence. Then just slide the various color tubes in to check them out? Maybe the plastics don't lend themselves to doing this like wood, I don't know. Could you use offcuts if you don't want to risk the whole piece? [?]

 

[Mikey]

It is actually not that simple. The problem when drilling the celluloid or acrylic is that is is a little larger than the tubes and not polished on the inside. When you add glue or paint directly to the surface, the look and even color changes some. For instance, if you took a blank that had a lot of pearl white and just used a tube painted white and glued it in, you may see spots of different color in the finished blank. This is because the areas where the CA attaches looks different. The change may be subtle, but will not give a completely accurate representation.

The rule of thumb that I always used in painting lexan was to back any candy color up with pearl silver. Anything you wanted dark got backed in black, and any light color like orange, yellow, or white should be backed with white. (white backed with silver looks dirty) Colors like red or blue could be painted inside with either silver, black or white depending on the look you were going for.

Last night I painted a blue Celluloid blank pearl blue inside and an amber blank white inside. I had a chance to turn the blue one this morning and all I can say is WOW, this stuff looks amazing and I think I made the right choice in backer color.