Ok...that's it....I hate acrylics

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tbfoto

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I've been making pens for a while now and have probably made about 60-70 pens all with wood blanks. I have always wanted to try an acrylic blank but they are quite expensive to buy from Woodcraft or Rockler as you all know. I have never made myself a nice pen so I set out with the goal of turning a nice acrylic blank to make myself a Wallstreet II pen. So far I have wasted 4 acrylic blanks at a cost of over $20.00. At this rate I'm going to have a small fortune in this pen. I'll have to go buy another blank and give it one more try...or go back to wood. I'm feeling kind of stupid right now.
Anyone know where I can get any cheap acrylic blanks to practice with?
 
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OKLAHOMAN

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Maybe if you tell us what your having trouble with we can help. Drilling? Turning? Assembly?Milling ends?
 

tbfoto

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Well...I cracked the first two drilling but I have since figured out to drill most of the way through then cut off the end so drilling problem is solved. Turning now has my puzzled. What speed do you turn these at. I'm wondering if I'm turning too fast and heating it up to much. It never feels hot but the last one I turned tonight looked like it got soft. Then getting a smooth finish. I took the last blank and finished it anyway just to see how to finish it and I could not get the scratches out of it. I tried using automotive body polish (which I read about on here). I sanded down to about 400. Then used a micro mesh and then steel wool. I suppose I need to go much finer than that.
 

OKLAHOMAN

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I turn at the fastest speed, but make sure your tools are not just sharp but "SHARP". Take lite cuts, don't push your tool into the blank, let the tool do the cutting. I wet sand all my acrylics with Micro Mesh pads to 12000, then polish with Brasso first then Meguriers Plastic Polish and buff with white diamond. Thats my way and I'm sure you will hear others. There's no right or wrong if it works for you.
 

witz1976

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Some of the problems I ran into was some acrylics are more prone to shattering than others. Inlace for instance always gave me problems, I could look at it wrong and it will shatter. PR is another one that can give problems as well. What I learned was my lathe speed is around 800 - 1000 rpm and my tools are very very sharp. I take very light cuts and never rush.

As for the finishing, I also had some issues but if you are using MM I hope you are using it wet. That makes a big difference. Also if it is cross contaminated, I had 3 different sets of MM one for acrylics that is wet, 1 for wood which is dry, and 1 as a back up. When I sand I also use light pressure.

hope it helps.
 

mick

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What tools are you using to turn the acrylic?
If it's a gouge then IMHO they can be too agressive for the more brittle "plastics". A round nose scrapper for rounding and shaping works very well and then a scary sharp skew to finish up. Like Roy I turn all plastics as fast as my lathe will go and use light touches with the skew. As for the scratches, if your using steel wool after the MM then I'd think you were going back several grits. If you MM to 12000 stop there and use a good plastic polish or scratch remover of some sort. Good luck!
 

tbfoto

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Well, it sounds like speed was not a problem however I may have been pushing too hard with my gouge and I have never wet sanded. So this has been helpful and I will keep trying. I will also sharpen a few more tools before the next one.

Thank you
 

jttheclockman

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The computer is your friend. There are many good videos on utube. Go check them out. Our own Ed Davidison AKA YOYOSPIN has some good videos on his site and explains turning acrylics to a "T" Check them out. I think he even has it here in the library. Once you master acrylic you will be turning 10 acrylics to 1 wood pen for sure. People love color and yes there is some nice grain wood but color sells.
 

ROOKIETURNER

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I have only turned a few (20 or so wood and acrylic). I have yet to have a problem with acrylic, PR is a different story, you can see my BLOWOUT post as reference. I actually like Acrylic better than wood. I think that it is by far easier to finish than wood.

I would recommend also watching some vids, but if there is someone close by that can mentor you a bit, I would do that. Watching a video and having someone hold your hand are much different. CHICAGOHAND is my mentor. Without him I would probably have never bought a lathe.

Here is my process:

1) Cut blank to size
2) Drill blank - drill 1/4" down, squirt water in hole, drill another 1/4" down remove bit and shavings, squirt water down hole, continue process until you get almost to the end of the blank (mark the drill bit with a piece of tape the same length as the blank); on the last little bit go SLOW!!! VERY SLOW!!! PAINS TAKING SLOW!!! SO SLOW YOU CAN FEEL YOUR HAIR GROW!!!!
3) Sand down the corners
4) Sand, paint and glue the tubes
5) Paint inside blank if needed or desired
6) Mill the ends (on the lathe)
7) Grab my trusty Johnnycnc bushings and mount to the lathe
8) Set speed to 1800
9) Begin rounding with a gouge (ABC: Anchor, Bevel, and Cut; Anchor the tool on the rest, Place the bevel on the blank, Lift up to begin cutting)
10) Once rounded, grab a round scraper and begin to shape
11) Once shape as desired, just about a 32nd of an inch from the bushing, grab the skew. I haven't masered the Skew yet, but I use it like a scraper. The straight edge helps eliminate my uneveness left by the scraper. I also have it so sharp that I begin to see the acrylic shine as I slowly work it across the blank.
12) Once the blank in turned to final shape and size, I move my rest, cover the rails of my lathe with towel, grab my MM pads and a water-brasso mix (1 part brasso to 15 parts water)
13) I have the MM pads from the "I can't believe this finish kit" Which one is already falling apart :p and proceed to finish - 6 pads in all. The first pad evens out the shape, so use this one sparingly it can gouge the surface. I keep squirting the pad throuh out the finishing process, this keeps the blank nice anc COOL.
14) Once I have a pretty good shine, I use a bright light and scan the entire surface for any scratches. If I find one I go back to the middle pad and work my way up.
15) Polish: STEP 1 - Car Headlight Lens restorer STEP 2 - Magiures PLASTIX STEP 3 - HUTS Ultra Plastic Polish (It only takes a dab of each: Wipe in with a little pressure, let spin for a few seconds and buff each product to a shine.

That's all I have to say about that. Hope it helps...at least I got it off my chest.
 

lorbay

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Acrylic's

I've been making pens for a while now and have probably made about 60-70 pens all with wood blanks. I have always wanted to try an acrylic blank but they are quite expensive to buy from Woodcraft or Rockler as you all know. I have never made myself a nice pen so I set out with the goal of turning a nice acrylic blank to make myself a Wallstreet II pen. So far I have wasted 4 acrylic blanks at a cost of over $20.00. At this rate I'm going to have a small fortune in this pen. I'll have to go buy another blank and give it one more try...or go back to wood. I'm feeling kind of stupid right now.
Anyone know where I can get any cheap acrylic blanks to practice with?
Not sure what you are paying, but they are on sale at a local store here for $2.00 ea. Want me to send you some.??

Lin.
 

workinforwood

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I don't know this to be a "fact", but I don't believe MM pads are made for dry sanding. They are meant for wet sanding far as I can tell, or make sense from even just looking at them. I have always used mine with water. I don't bother with the 12000 pad though. I stop at 8000 grit. Then I use a little automotive hand pad for buffing and polishing a car, I apply some plastic polish to that and rub that into the pen at high speed. Wipe that off then use some Mcguires wet polish.

Drill your acrylics using a low speed. Stopping just short of exit is the best policy.
 

emccarthy

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I don't have the MM pads, but instead have been using the 'papers'. They are fine to use dry on wood, and give a nice finish. I'm not sure about acrylic, personally, but with a CA finish it seems wet sanding with the MM works well
 

tbfoto

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I want to thank you all for your input.
"Watch a video".....I never even thought about it. Man I'm really feeling stupid now. I've turned wood and just "assummed" I could turn acrylic. Never even thought about having to "learn" a different method. So I will be reading up and watching videos this weekend for sure.

Lin, most of the acrylics I see at Woodcraft are $4.99 and up. Rockler does put some on sale but they sell out fast and are usually gone whenever I've been there.

Tom
 

glycerine

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If you have a sander, then sand the edges off and even sand them as thin as you can first before putting them on the lathe. Then you can use a scraper to get the rest. This will help with not cracking your blanks if your tools are not sharp enough...
 

randyrls

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Well, it sounds like speed was not a problem however I may have been pushing too hard with my gouge and I have never wet sanded. So this has been helpful and I will keep trying. I will also sharpen a few more tools before the next one.

Thank you


Tom; the key words are highlighted above. I use a skew or round nose scraper. The skew is used in a cutting action above the blank. The scraper is used below the center line of the blank.

For very hard acrylics I have a carbide tipped scrapper the cuts thru them like butter.
 

tbfoto

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Randy...you are right. I just got done watching one of Ed's videos and he was using a skew. It also showed how he "wet" sands. I think I have an old skew out in the shop that I don't ever use. I'm thinking of putting a grind on it like Ed had on his and make it my dedicated tool for acrylics.. I also noticed the shavings coming off and it was nothing like I had, so sharper tools is a must for me.
 
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