Man, plastic blanks stink...

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Herb G

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Nov 13, 2015
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Southern Maryland
PU. Plastic blanks stink like no tomorrow.
I drilled my first Acrylic Acetate blank today.
I am making a sketch pencil for myself, and I drilled it on my lathe.
Today must be a day for firsts. First plastic blank, first time drilling on my lathe, and first time painting a brass tube.

It took me 20 mins to drill my blank. I stopped & let it cool down
between drilling on it. I only drilled a little, then retracted the bit.
I stopped when the bit got hot. I didn't want to weld it to the drill bit.
It was a pretty big hole too. 11 mm to be exact.

I was surprized to get a nice straight hole in the blank, and it didn't blow out the end either. I made it a bit longer than I needed in case something happened. I have had a lot of problems using my drill press in the past, until I found out the rack for the gear to raise the table was cocked to one side. I fixed that awhile back.
Now, this might seem boring to you, but not to me.
I never did any of this before today.

I got the courage to do it from reading this forum for the last year.
If I can do this, I might be able to do something bigger & better the next time. All thanks to this forum.

So, to the guys & gals who have shown me their tips & tricks, I say a big thank you. To you guys sitting on the fence wondering if you can do it, I say go for it. Surely if I can do it, so can you.


I will make sure to post some pics of this pencil when I get it done.

:)
 
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oldtoolsniper

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Mar 19, 2007
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Iowa.
Guess it`s all in the nose of the smeller , but I prefer AA to PR any day . If you want a completely no smell blank , a well weathered cow pie will fill the bill .



After the challenges with mounting a billiard/ pool ball on my lathe I can only imagine the ingenuity required to mount a cow pie.

Adds a whole new meaning to "Life's to Short to Turn Crappy Wood"


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DJBPenmaker

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Nov 10, 2016
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Cheshire, UK
It was getting hot. I let it cool down before I kept going.
I squirt a little water down the tube now and then when drilling, it lubricates and cools things down. Don't usually need to stop, just withdraw now and then to clear the waste.

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scotirish

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Dec 10, 2007
Messages
526
Location
Macomb Twp., Michigan, USA.
My wife is allergic to all of the plastic type blanks. :frown::frown: So what I did is install a bathroom fan over my lathe, then run an exhaust tube down to exit in front of a "Shop Fox" air filter. I hooked a charcoal filter on the intake of the fan. This is the one I used https://www.woodcraft.com/products/...55d369702d2f2f0013a2,5764561a69702d2f2f0013a5 Now I turn the non wood blanks all day an she does not smell anything. :):) My shop is in the basement and the lathe I use for pens in below her and she still smells nothing. :tongue::tongue: Happy wife equals more pen turning.
Ron
 
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Apr 10, 2013
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554
Location
Arkansas
Antler smells too!

Matter of fact it smells very bad! To coin a couple of local analogies:
"It will make a buzzard puke" or it would "gag a maggot off a gut wagon"...
:)
 

mecompco

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Apr 24, 2015
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Fairfield, Maine
Congrats on both counts! I don't mind the smell, really. I DO recommend keeping your bit cool with the liquid of your choice. I wouldn't personally use water on a wooden blank, though.

Regards,
Michael
 

magpens

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Feb 2, 2011
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15,913
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Canada
Congrats, Herb, and nice going !!! . For AA keep the speed down and go slowly.

If you can afford to buy Alumilite blanks (check out the Lava series on ExoticBlanks) then you will not have a smell problem, the drilling will be faster, and you will be impressed with the beauty of the result. . Lava blanks are made by an IAP member, ElMostro, and his blanks are the best !!
 

1080Wayne

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Feb 5, 2006
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3,340
Location
Brownfield, Alberta, Canada.
Congrats on both counts! I don't mind the smell, really. I DO recommend keeping your bit cool with the liquid of your choice. I wouldn't personally use water on a wooden blank, though.

Regards,
Michael

I do , without hesitation . The frictional heat generated by drilling dries out the wood adjacent to the hole . I believe that is a major cause of the cracks that some hard dense woods are prone to .

Learned that lesson years ago when I disc sanded the end grain of a 3 inch diameter piece of saskatoon which was at 6% moisture content and burnt it a bit . Nice 1/4 inch open crack the whole 8 inch length of the piece about a week later . Since then I immediately put any similarly sanded piece into water , until it is cool to the touch . No more cracking problems , so decided it wouldn`t hurt to keep all holes full of water while drilling , wood or plastic , stopping every 1/4 inch or so to clear the chips and refill the hole with water .
 
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