Inlace Acrylester

[ironman123]

Don't everybody cringe when you read the title. I did when my wife wanted her next pen out of one of "those" blanks.

I tried for 2 days to talk her out of it....but....but. Now I have to do my best with it.

Acrylester is the "PITS" for me. I did one before and it was full of chipped out places. I increased rpms, sharpened tools 4 times and went slow and still have little chip outs. Hate that stuff. The only way I got those places out of my first one was to sand about 3/32 off the surface before finishing.

I know the big 3. more RPM, Work slow and easy and sharpen often.

Is there a better way??? If there is, tell me about it.

Thanks

Ray

 

[hunter-27]

I love the stuff so if anyone out there wants to dispose of any, I'll pay the shipping, just PM me for an address. For some reason(not talent I'm sure) I have had good luck with it. I made several of my early pens from it and I had no clue what I was doing.(That might be why, I did not know to be afraid of it.

 

[Scott.tudhope]

I love it too!!

Like you said its all about sharp tools and lots of patience.

 

[ed4copies]

Scott and Landon,
You MAY want to mention what tool you use.

 

[ironman123]

Sounds like you 2 are trying to convince me to keep trying. I will work on it til I get some satisfaction. (if I am lucky).

Been using 3 Skews and sharpening quite a lot.

Thanks

Ray

 

[Wood Butcher]

Another one here who likes the chppy stuff. I live within a mile of WoodTurningz and they make all of the Inlace that is being sold so I use it a lot (they have a bin of defect stuff for cheap). I typically use a SHARP 3/4" roughing gouge and run the lathe at around 2500 rpm. I have used the carbide 2" radius tool some and have been pleased with the results but I'm still prone to knocking off the corners with the gouge. I can get a good enough finish with the carbide tool to go straight to the Micro Mesh and polish. As for the bubble holes Inlace is typically full of, I can't explain it but at high speed and with a sharp tool they just disapear. That's just how I do it, your results may differ.
WB

 

[hunter-27]

Scott and Landon,
You MAY want to mention what tool you use.

Da skew! Da skew! Da very sharp skew!:good:

 

[InvisibleMan]

I've liked inlace as well. I use my standard stuff - roughing gouge and skew. I've chipped them beyond use when getting aggressive, but with nice sharp tools and light cuts, no problems. I turn at the max my lathe will go pretty much all the time. I have nothing but problems with slower settings for some reason.

 

[George Watkins]

I love the stuff and never have any problems- i use a 3/4" spindle roughing gouge then a 3/4" negative rake scraper

 

[cwolfs69]

i also use a gouge for almost all of the turning with inlace. i have found that besides being sharp. the angle of the gouge is important also. for light finishing cuts i use my own home made version of a spindle master with a very hollow ground type face and large radius tip. pretty good results so far.
with this stuff, no matter what you do, you will have chip outs and blow ups at times. the nature of the beast i have found.

 

[rich gubbin]

Funnily enough George 2 posts above gave me a blank in this, since then i,ve loved the stuff, with lots of patience and sharp tools you can get stunning results. Also keep your ears on the work when its just starting to chip the noise changes, thats the time to ease off.

 

[panamint]

My wife bought some of that stuff and the first blank just blew apart. I only started turning a few months before that and didn't know about any difference in materials. I told her I would never buy that stuff again, then after I finished my first pen from it I ordered more of it. Its a pain but looks great when done. I found the best way for me is to use a sharp bowl gouge at high RPM's to get the blank roughed out an round, then lots of light cuts with carbide tool.
Scott
Scott's Woodwork's - Shopping/Retail - Inman, SC | Facebook

 

[Chasper]

I turn Inlace Acrylester literally every day and I love it. The colors are deep and rich but still have a lot of deep glimmer. Sharp tools of course, I turn it at max speed like everything else I turn. I use a scraper to round it off and occasionally I turn it all the way down with a scraper, but that is asking for trouble. In most cases I round it off with a scraper and finish it with a skew.

As I remember I used to break a few of them when I was learning, now it is extremely rare to break one. I'm certain that I have no great skills at turning, I use way too much pressure. My guess is that anyone can learn to turn Inlace Acrylester. It is worth the time and frustration to break a few to get through the learning curve.

 

[Rangertrek]

I don't really have any problems with Inlace. Turn fast, have chips while rounding off with a pen pro tool. LIGHT cuts with the pen pro down to size and finish with a skew. Like the deep rich colors, polishes nice.

 

[ren-lathe]

Turn a lot of inlace. I use a gouge then to a skew. If they are sharp then you should not have a problem. Now I get into sacrilege. If you have chips do not turn them down too close to the bushings start with a coarse sand paper if you go through the grades down into MM it will work

 

[76winger]

Scott and Landon,
You MAY want to mention what tool you use.

Da skew! Da skew! Da very sharp skew!:good:

Same here - a freshly sharpened skew (especially for that last 1/16th of an inch you take off! So hone it back up before you finish! And I only run it at around 1000 RPM when I turn it. And "almost" like Bill (Wood Butcher) with his gouge, who can go straight to the MM, I usually scuff it up with 400 & 600, both around and lengthwise with each, before hitting the MM to finish it up. Once Ryan at Woodturningz showed me how he did it a couple years ago, I've tried to follow what I saw, and it normally works.

Just keep in mind that Acrylic Acrylester is brittle and that's why it chips out if your tools are dull or you try to cut it down too fast by taking too much material at once. Keep the cuts light enough to where the material flies off like thin feathery ribbons, and you should be OK.

If you can't take it off with finesse, then you may have to opt for taking that last 1/32-1/16 off with sandpaper, but learning to turn it slowly with sharp tools is definitely the best way to go.

 

[Tage]

I find I get chipping and pitting until I get it round. As long as they are minor, I'm generally ok. I have to take super light cuts and look for those wispy shavings. Good luck. Really nice stuff once it's turned.

 

[sandslatta]

My father taught my wife to make pens, which is amazing in itself, because she didn't like going into my shop before. She loves it, and has really gotten into all different types of wood, acrylics, but she loves the inlace acrylester best. I bought her a Woodchuck for Christmas and she won't use anything else. The 4" diameter carbide cutter seems to work best. Sometimes, you do get it to crack or explode, but that happens with burls, too. I personally like use a cheap Stanley Rasp/File (round one side/flat the other) to take it down to round. It sounds terrible, but it really gets it to the safe, round shape faster. After that, I switch to the Woodchuck. It is a really impressive tool. Love this website, and thanks everyone for your advice.

P.S. First time post!

 

[joefyffe]

I go to the disk sander to get rid of the "sharp" corners and after a little bit of this, use the wide Alan Lacer skew, set up on the round side at about a 30 degree angle till almost round then lay it flat on the tool rest and finish. I probably blow up about as many PR's as I do IA's The finished look of IA makes it worth the extra kick once in a while.

 

[ironman123]

OK everybody convinced me to try again. My best cutting was a super sharp 3/4 gouge then the skew. Here is what I came up with.




Majestic Squire, MM1-9 and Meguiars Car Polish. Acrylester Green & Gold

Thanks guys for the information and encouragement.

Ray

 

[Scott.tudhope]

Scott and Landon,
You MAY want to mention what tool you use.

I start with a one inch gouge then go to 1/2 inch gouge. Occasionally I'll use my skew or a round nose scraper. But I live my gouges.