Metal segmenting on a wood lathe?

[ZanderPommo]

is that how you guys do it with the aluminum and brass strips?
is it so thin you don't need a metal lathe???

 

[glycerine]

It's not neccessarily that it's thin, but I think more the softness of the metal. I've only done a few segmented pens with metal and I turned them on a wood lathe...

 

[ldb2000]

Aluminum and brass both turn almost as easily as corian or tru-stone on a wood lathe with regular wood turning tools . In segmented pens you can use any thickness of either just watch when you sand or you will get the metal dust in your wood . It's best to turn these segmented blanks with a sharp skew so you dont need to sand .

 

[ZanderPommo]

is it really that easy??
i should give this a shot

 

[ldb2000]

Zander , check out this link http://www.penturners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=54161 . This pen was made on a Jet 1014 vsi wood lathe with PSI turning tools .

 

[ZanderPommo]

you seriously did that on a wood lathe? wow so some thin little strips shouldn't be a problem then lol

 

[DurocShark]

Brass and aluminum are awesome on the wood lathe. Stainless is harder. I still haven't made anything worth anything from SS using the file.

 

[DurocShark]

I should add...

For your first attempt try adding a brass or aluminum line. Get your blank turned then part off a chunk of the existing blank. Cut a piece of brass or aluminum and drill it for your tube. Cut a piece of wood or resin (same or contrasting) and drill it as well. Then glue the metal on, followed by the wood or resin, and put it in a vise or clamp to hold it tight while the glue cures.

Then you can experience turning the metal turning on the pen's axis which is much easier than when it's at an angle for knots or other segmenting.

That's how I did this silly thing:

 

[leehljp]

First off - it is not "that" easy - as in - not expecting any problems. It is "easy" with some experience.

Things to watch for - segments with aluminum and brass:
1. these metals heat faster and higher than the wood - and sometimes the glue will release if the temp gets too hot.
2. Drilling is where most separations take place. Drilling on the lathe generally works better. Take it very slow in drilling the metal segments out.
3. Take smaller bites and sharpen the cutting edges often.
4. With wood and metal, turning with a sharp skew or with a very sharp scraper with fine touches - and this will eliminate metal sanding dust that comes from sanding.

More than anything else, this type of work just takes a refinement of skills.

In the pen below, the silver dots caused the most problems with smearing severly from sanding, so I had to use a very sharp scraper at high speed. There was no sanding done on that pen.
http://www.penturners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=38213&highlight=30+pieces+silver

 

[ldb2000]

Thank you Hank , you are absolutely right .
Be very carefully of heat while turning metal segments . The metal will get hot fast and the glue bond will soften and break . Dull tools will heat it up even faster so make sure your tools are very sharp and take very light cuts and don't rush it , take your time and let the blank cool off every so often .
Also when drilling don't use brad point bits because the outside cutting points will cut a disc from the metal segment and clog the bit and that will quickly cause a catastrophic failure .
Again , with a sharp skew or scraper , take very light cuts and try to avoid sanding when ever you can .

 

[witz1976]

I am hearing people saying not to sand? Ok, so what do people use to finish? CA and MM or something else? I hear some metals can react to some finishes.

 

[ldb2000]

I use CA . Once the surface is sealed you can sand but try not to cut through the finish .

 

[leehljp]

I use CA . Once the surface is sealed you can sand but try not to cut through the finish .

Take what Butch said, print it out in BIG letters and put it above the lathe! DAMHIKT! :biggrin:

I am hearing people saying not to sand? Ok, so what do people use to finish? CA and MM or something else? I hear some metals can react to some finishes.

You can sand but it introduces problems!

The problem with sanding is that it will sand the metal as well as the wood. IF you have an all metal pen, you probably won't have a problem. But with metal and wood, the metal sanding dust dulls the wood and it looks like pencil lead or worse. It is hard to get off - but it can be done - except it is a pain. Some use different kinds of liquid - Denatured alcohol, acetone, or other. And some use compressed air and blow them off.

So, How do we get around sanding?
The best way is to prevent the metal sanding dust smears in the first place. That is done as mentioned above by Butch and me. Spend some extra time sharpening the chisel of choice and use that. About every minute or so, swipe the chisel on the hone to keep it sharp. Turn the lathe at fairly high speed 3000+ RPM, take little bitty bits, clean the chisel, swipe it on the hone, take more small bits. Hone the chisel again. Don't be aggressive and don't rush. Think of it as "finess" shaping from the beginning. As experience is gained, you can speed up a little but not by much. To me, the results are worth the discipline of this technique.

I use the scraper but it doesn't do well on medium soft or soft woods. It does do excellent on hard and stabilized woods. I think that the Skew is the best, but I still have not mastered it to perfection yet, so I stay with the scraper.

This technique will bring the wood and metal segments to a very smooth surface. Use Calipers to determine the size instead of the bushings. Once the final size (that is needed) is achieved, Use CA. Apply several layers of CA to build up enough so that you will NOT sand through to the wood when finishing. IF you do sand through, get your scraper or skew out and lightly touch the area or whole blank to pull the CA off - down to the wood and start the CA finish again. Some woods will show a coloration difference once you sand through/scrape through the CA finish, but some don't. Those that do - I take the finish off and start over. Butch doesn't have this problem - he is that good! :biggrin: And I am not kidding!