Cutting Tru-Stone

[NewLondon88]

Some people have said they have trouble cutting Tru-Stone.
I turned on the camera while I cut these. Just for yucks.
For me, they turn pretty quick. One is the dark lapis, which people have said
is pretty hard to cut, and the other is the white with gold. Much softer.

Keep in mind, I'm still a noob. So you might pick up all sorts of
mistakes. Feel free to mention them.

 

[Chasper]

Nice demo. I would have used a skew and I would have made 6-10 passes to remove that much material, but you got the job done. If the scraper is not really sharp it can chip the ends and take bites out of the middle. If it works for you that is the way you should do it.

 

[DonWood]

Truestone

Hi All:

I have had good luck with the turquoise but just got some of the Chrysocolla and it is so hard I cannot get it turned. I make one pass and have to sharpen the tool. Worked for a long time trying to make a Sierra and finally gave up.

Anyone else tried the Chrysocolla?

 

[NewLondon88]

If the scraper is not really sharp it can chip the ends and take bites out of the middle. If it works for you that is the way you should do it.

True.. I end up taking it back to the stone to touch it up after a couple
of minutes. It's still sharp enough for rough cuts, but not enough for this.

When it needs sharpening, I get that dreaded "skritch" noise and it skates
off the blank. That noise makes your teeth feel funny. :biggrin:

 

[Larry Gottlieb]

Try using a carbide round router bit held in a 1/4 inch drill extender. The blank can be taken down to close to final size and then finished with your usual tool.

Larry

 

[Uncle Mikey]

I had the same problem with the hardness of the Chrysocolla -- had to resharpen after every couple of passes. Got a Hunter #4 carbide hollowing tool (someone suggested a similar tool on one of these threads) and it took less than five minutes to get to finished size taking very light passes. It also works well with the softer tru-stones.

 

[stolicky]

In order to take cuts that deep, do you have the mandrel nut cranked down? If I would try that deep of a cut I'm almost guaranteed to stop the blank. I have become very conscious of oval pens after I used to crank the nut down too tight.

 

[NewLondon88]

In order to take cuts that deep, do you have the mandrel nut cranked down? If I would try that deep of a cut I'm almost guaranteed to stop the blank. I have become very conscious of oval pens after I used to crank the nut down too tight.

I haven't noticed that problem yet, but I only use that tool to do the bulk
removal, so oval isn't really a consideration at that point. Once I get closer
the the final shape I switch tools and finish.

But I don't crank the mandrel nut, either. It might look like a deep cut in
the video, but it really isn't. There's a slight angle to the side of the tool,
so what looks like a lot of depth is slightly less, as you're looking at the side of an angle cut. It still takes off a fair amount of material quickly
though. Sort of scraping, only on the side of the tool.

I still haven't tried the Crysocolla.

 

[NewLondon88]

I had the same problem with the hardness of the Chrysocolla -- had to resharpen after every couple of passes. Got a Hunter #4 carbide hollowing tool (someone suggested a similar tool on one of these threads) and it took less than five minutes to get to finished size taking very light passes. It also works well with the softer tru-stones.

I'll have to try this. I've got a #4 and a #3. Don't know why I didn't think
of it (except this is working, so far..) Good idea!

 

[twoofakind]

Just out of curiosity, does the lapis blank darken back on it's own or will it darken back during the polishing stage. It appears to be a light blue with some white sections, but the finished pen is a nice dark blue.

Andy

 

[NewLondon88]

Just out of curiosity, does the lapis blank darken back on it's own or will it darken back during the polishing stage. It appears to be a light blue with some white sections, but the finished pen is a nice dark blue.
Andy

It will darked back up when I take cleaner cuts. Much like wood when you
aren't taking a finishing cut .. it will have a rougher surface and it defracts
light at angles, so it looks lighter. Or when you first sand the CA, it turns
white as there are more surfaces reflecting back light .. and as you polish
it gets more clear. Same idea.

Also noticed that if you overheat it or stress it, it will turn lighter. Much like
bending plastic will turn it light/white in the stress area.
But that is permanent, unless you can turn it away