How to prep and turn an acrylic blank?

[underdog]

So I got a bunch of pen kits from Exotic Blanks, and they threw in a couple of those cast blanks as freebies. (Thanks Exotic!)

Then my wife saw the purple acrylic blank (madreperlato purple) and wanted it for her dear friend, (who has truly been a friend to call and visit and check up on us, in our time of grief.)

I have been saving this one til I got through with all the other wood pens I was turning for friends and relatives who helped through this time as well.

So last night I drilled out the blank using the slowest speed on my drill press (didn't want to melt it as per some advice here).

But then I wondered what was best glue to use... and what tool to use, and whether finish is necessary.. and, and, and...

I called a buddy of mine and he says that he would use epoxy to glue the tubes in, and be sure to paint the tube first because the transparency of this acrylic can really surprise you..

So I did paint the tube with some white enamel, and I let that dry overnight.

Tonight I may try gluing in the tube... What's your advice for me?

Epoxy? Super Glue? What?

And did I do the right thing by painting the tube? Will the glue stick to that?

When it comes down to turning the blank, does a scraper work best? Or can I used the roughing gouge to knock the corners off then use a skew?

And now that I know to wet sand, is that all I need to do? Or do you all put a finish on this stuff?

Thanks for all the help you guys have given me in the past... It's really appreciated... I'd best post a coupla pix of the stuff you helped me do, eh?

 

[EBorraga]

Welcome to the world without CA!! I always paint the inside of the blank or the tube to keep from seeing the brass when turned to size. I use epoxy to glue in all my tubes as well. As for turning tools, I use either my woodchuck or a round nose scraper i customized to work for me. I crank the spped up as high as it will go to 3900 rpms. Just make sure the tools are very sharp. As for finishing I wet sand all thw way through 12000. Then Apply Meguiars Plastx.

 

[ed4copies]

Send me a Pm with your email address.

I'll send you the "cigar tutorial" which shows how to make pens from resin.

The purple madreperlato will be mostly opaque, unless you get it really thin. Personally, I would have painted the tube with purple, but white will look ok, it will just lighten the final pen color.

Any tool will work. Whatever you are most comfortable using. I turn start to finish with a skew, but there are vids up on YouTube showing several tools--search "ed4copies".

Good luck, it is not difficult, just use the sharp part of the tool to remove material. Works every time.

 

[GColeman]

I knock the corners from acrylic blanks with a 60 grit gouge. Really I use the belt sander. I place the prepared blank on one of the corners of the operating belt sander and rock it back and forth. I do this to all four corners. It leaves nice rounded edges and no real place to have a bad catch.

As for tools, a Woodchuck and a skew.

Finishing: 400. 600 MM wet to 12,000 Plastic polish and Kiwi wax.

 

[G1Pens]

I paint the inside of the blank as well as the tubes. On some acrylics the glue will show through the blank if the inside of the blank is not painted.

 

[ToddMR]

Lately I have been just painting the inside of the blank for best results. As for glue, I still am using CA thick most of the time. Every now and then I will use 5 min epoxy. I find my result tend to be the same. I do turn at the highest lathe speed and use my woodchuck. I used to have a lot of blowouts and the like when using my gouge and other tools. Mostly because I didn't have a good sharpening method though. As for the finish, when using the tool I have, just wet sanding with MM seems to shine it nicely. If I want an even nicer shine I will do plastic polish and some ren-wax. Sometimes I will even used the buffing wheel and some rouge. Just remember take your time, don't press to hard. You also don't want to stay on any one area too long because on some colors it tends to scorch the resin. I think that's all I remember from what I have learned over the last year of turning all sort of various resin blanks. Looking forward to seeing how it turns out for you.

 

[hilltopper46]

As for glue, epoxy is, in my mind, the only choice for a painted tube/blank.

As for tools, what Ed, said...

...it is not difficult, just use the sharp part of the tool to remove material. Works every time.

 

[BSea]

I've gotten into the habit of painting the tubes, reverse painting the blanks, and finally I tint the epoxy to the same color. This is probably a little over kill for most blanks, but it just takes a few extra minutes. You should have no trouble with the epoxy holding to a painted blank or tube. One other thing I do, is get some candle wax (my wife loves candles), and melt some on a saucer or something so that it's about 1/8" deep. Once it's dry, I just push the end of the tube into the wax to seal the ends. This keeps the epoxy from getting in the tube. Also, don't forget to clean & sand the brass tubes for best results with the glue binding.

EDIT: I don't have any real proof, but if you use water based acrylic paints, it seems to cause the epoxy to set faster. Not significantly faster, but still enough for me to notice. I don't notice the same thing if I use enamel paints in the epoxy.

 

[Rogersab1223]

Has anyone heard of running 600 sandpaper over the rounded blank at high speed to "soften" the acrylic by heating it up? A guy at my Woodcraft swears by it and, I guess, theoretically, it sounds like it could work? He says his acrylics, even the really hard ones like with the computer chips inside, turn much much smoother.

Thoughts?

Andy

 

[snyiper]

I have heard of flame polishing plastics but not the method you describe.

 

[underdog]

So here's the result of all your advice guys...

http://www.penturners.org/forum/showthread.php?p=1246233#post1246233

Thanks again! Now I'm hooked on the acrylic...

 

[LeeR]

I use a round nose scraper, and grind the top edge at about a 15 degree angle from the flat top surface, giving it a little relief so it is not such an aggressive cutter. When almost to size, I switch to a skew to give it a final finish cut. I then use Micromesh thru 12000, and a final application of plastic polish.

I highly recommend getting more comfortable using the skew, if you have not done so. I get a nice final cust with a skew, and never use sandpaper any longer to bring blanks down to final size.

I've only been turning pens for about 9 months, so by no means an expert, but can tell you my turnings have improved a lot as I got more comfortable using a skew.