Dymondwood Blues

[Tonto]

I've read the warnings, had several bad experiences and still kept trying to use this stuff and have finally reached the end of my rope. I've never been able to get beyond the pen mill stage of the program with two blanks EVER, yesterday with new patience I tried again with two glued up blank pairs and you guessed it, dymondwood shrapnel again. At least turning off the residue from the tubes goes faster. I'm looking for some kevlar hand guards.

 

[alphageek]

Yep, been there. No doubt to me that this & acrylister are 2 of the biggest learning curves. Each have their own uniqueness. I say put it away until you get some more experience.

 

[wdcav1952]

Tonto, have you considered using sanding to end mill your blanks rather than the pen mill?

 

[randyrls]

Originally posted by Tonto

I've read the warnings, had several bad experiences and still kept trying to use this stuff and have finally reached the end of my rope. I've never been able to get beyond the pen mill stage of the program with two blanks EVER, yesterday with new patience I tried again with two glued up blank pairs and you guessed it, dymondwood shrapnel again. At least turning off the residue from the tubes goes faster. I'm looking for some kevlar hand guards.

I gave up on the pen mill for Dymondwood some time ago. Now I use a sanding jig and disk sander for all blanks.

Dymondwood needs a SHARP skew. Cut from the center outwards towards the ends.

Tip: After sanding the ends flat and true to the tube, put a puddle of thin CA on a piece of plastic and wet the blank ends. The thin CA will fill any unseen cracks and strengthen the unsupported end grain.

 

[turned_for_good]

I sand the ends of everything and use CA on anything that may even come close to splitting. Since I started doing this I have had very few problems.

 

[JohnU]

If you get glue or epoxy in the tubes and try to mill the blanks with your pen mill, it gets hot and heats up the tubes which will crack the dymondwood also. Make sure your penmill is clean and sharp, as well as your skew. Also, make sure you get enough glue or epoxy between the tube and blank. If you leave air pockets it a potential for blowouts. (from my experiance). I slow sand most of my dymondwood blanks to their final shape, after skewing them 3/4 of the way down. This has helped me as well as CA glueing the ends like stated above. Im not an expert but this has helped me. Good Luck!

 

[Rifleman1776]

Best solution is prevention. e.g. Don't use Dymondwood.
I don't use it and don't have the problems you describe.

 

[TellicoTurning]

Originally posted by Tonto

I've read the warnings, had several bad experiences and still kept trying to use this stuff and have finally reached the end of my rope. I've never been able to get beyond the pen mill stage of the program with two blanks EVER, yesterday with new patience I tried again with two glued up blank pairs and you guessed it, dymondwood shrapnel again. At least turning off the residue from the tubes goes faster. I'm looking for some kevlar hand guards.

I have very little trouble with Dymondwood... sounds like your pen mills might need to be sharpened and/or you may be too aggressive with the pressure. I use dymondwood for pens, bottle stoppers and game calls with great success. I have blown a few, but it's usually because of dull tools and too much aggression.

 

[Stephen]

I have had pretty good success with dymondwood blanks following the tips in this forum and also the dont's from the manufacturer.
I am not sure if it would crack or split on impact if the pen is dropped. Anyone with experience?
Thanks.

 

[tishtigger]

Dymondwood was almost one of the first thing i learned to do I have had very few troubles with it following the tips given here always have sharp tools I always sand the ends and put a little clay plug in the tube to avoid glue entering the tube and after the end are squared by sanding i coat the ends in thin ca with the clay plugs back in the tubes I started turning about four years ago and all the dymondwood pens that i have done are still in use with no problems from droping or rough treatment

 

[Stephen]

Thanks Stephanie,
I am going to get more blanks and work on them.

 

[1JaredSchmidt]

I've never had problems with it,but of course,I always use the chop saw to trim the ends.