"plastic" vs. wood help

[jeweler53]

I am a lifelong woodworker. I know wood, and I love using it, so it was natural for me to make pens out of it. Now people want to buy my pens. :monkey:

They even want pens out of "plastic". Is there a thread or post that will help me get started in picking a "beginner" blank.

What turns easiest? What is hardest? (among the brands/types of plastics)

Anybody have some cutoffs or practice blanks? (I would be happy to pay postage.)

My wife wants a "purple" pen. :frown: Dyed wood is not an option. (I already tried Purpleheart and was informed "That is NOT purple."

THANKS!

 

[lsweeney]

dyed boxelder burl

dyed boxelder burl is real nice , I turned a pen for my daughter for CHRISTmas in purple (TCU) color and she loved it...

 

[Whaler]

I am a lifelong woodworker. I know wood, and I love using it, so it was natural for me to make pens out of it. Now people want to buy my pens. :monkey:

They even want pens out of "plastic". Is there a thread or post that will help me get started in picking a "beginner" blank.

What turns easiest? What is hardest? (among the brands/types of plastics)

Anybody have some cutoffs or practice blanks? (I would be happy to pay postage.)

My wife wants a "purple" pen. :frown: Dyed wood is not an option. (I already tried Purpleheart and was informed "That is NOT purple."

THANKS!

I think I can help you out with a few blanks. I'll check the shop later and PM you.
Acrylic blanks aren't that hard to do. Sharp tools, go slow and light cuts the same with drilling sharp bits and back out every half inch or so to clear the bit.
You might spend a little time in the library here there is a ton of good information.

 

[Lenny]

Maple, or other light colored wood + purple food coloring. Turn to size, sand, apply food coloring to desired shade. Apply finish of choice ... i.e. CA glue for me. Micromesh and polish with method of choice .... Novus 2 and Meguires PlastX for me.

 

[PenMan1]

If you start selling pens you likely find your customers will prefer alternative materials such as luxury and vintage Bakelite. Ebonite, Lucite and Casein about 10 to 1 over wood.

In the art world, wood, (unless it is something unique) is viewed as "home made" or "simple and common". Conversely, other materials with interesting shapes, patterns are viewed as artistic.

My first advice would be to eliminate the words "plastic" from your vocabulary. Then start with some easy turns like epoxy resins (Alumalite) or Polyester resin. Resins are easy (with practice), but these materials are not as forgiving as wood of mistakes and dull tools.

Respectfully submitted.

 

[mredburn]

Exotic blanks carries a lot of their own poured creations that are fantastic to work with. and they have a metalic purple. They are not expensive to start with.
http://www.exoticblanks.com/index.p...rt&page=shop.browse&category_id=170&Itemid=60

 

[nativewooder]

Put the purpleheart out in the sunshine, if you have any! If the wood does not turn purple in a few hours, it isn't purpleheart. Kept indoors, purpleheart turns a dull brown over time.

 

[jeweler53]

We get sun here! Usually there are 3 days in a row about mid August :island:.

I only used the term "plastic" because I do not understand the difference between the various terms (resin, acrylic, acrylic acetate, poly resin, acrylester, etc, etc. I would never use the term with a potential customer.

Do they mostly perform in a similar manner (at least in the same sense that woods of different species do)?

I should clarify that while I sell pens to friends and such, I have no intention of trying to do this as a business. (been there, done that, got the T-shirt--hence the jeweler53 handle)

Dick

 

[Richard Van Hulle]

Jewler83, look on IAP home page columb on the left about 2/3 down, AmalgaMutts pen blanks. Eugene makes some great Alumilite pen blanks that are easy to turn. They have worked well for me. If you want color just ask him, he has aways come through for me. Down side is the shavings seem to have copias amount so static cling and stick to you. So clean up is a bit of a task. Other than that finish with the Mico mesh pads (8) and then the Hut Ultra Gloss has worked well for me. Whaler has given you the good basics to follow. You'll get the idea in short order. Eugene has pruple that will knock your eves out. Richard Van Hulle, Aiken Pen & Pencil

 

[ed4copies]

Turning "plastic" is NOT the same as turning wood.

There are numerous YouTubes available--you will find some on Exotics as well:

http://www.exoticblanks.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=37&Itemid=66

This will take you to a page full of videos showing different tools, some home-made jigs--generally, many things that will help you turn ANY "plastic".

To answer your specific question about where to start, I agree with Andy---the easiest and most predictable to turn is Alumilite (I would NOT start with "worthless wood" or other amalgams---just colored blanks of ONE kind of material).

When I learned, there were fewer choices (mid-1990's), so I started with acrylic. This is more dense than Alumilite, but it is NOT "chippy"---so it is another readily available (Woodcraft has clearances at $2 a blank) and very "predictable". Also it polishes better than Alumilite.

Once you are comfortable with "plastics", you will find a whole new world of pen making is opened!!!

Good luck, feel free to call me if you have questions or problems---number is on Exotics' policy pages.

Ed

 

[gingerwood]

One of the big differences between wood and plastics is once you've rounded the blank and if you are doing it right, the material will come off in continuous ribbons rather than sawdust. It'll look like a cupie-doll hair factory exploded under your lathe.

Another big difference is in polishing, instead of sanding down to about 600 grit then hitting it with some sort of coating, you just keep sanding down to finer and finer gits. You'll want to get your hands on some micromesh, and use it wet. The shine you get on the various 'plastics' is incredible, it can look like glass when you are done.

in addition to exotic blanks (which is an awesome site), you can check out woodturningz. Just stay away from the Inlace Acrylester until you've has some practice, it's nice stuff, but very brittle.

 

[hunter-27]

One of the big differences between wood and plastics is once you've rounded the blank and if you are doing it right, the material will come off in continuous ribbons rather than sawdust. It'll look like a cupie-doll hair factory exploded under your lathe.

Another big difference is in polishing, instead of sanding down to about 600 grit then hitting it with some sort of coating, you just keep sanding down to finer and finer gits. You'll want to get your hands on some micromesh, and use it wet. The shine you get on the various 'plastics' is incredible, it can look like glass when you are done.

in addition to exotic blanks (which is an awesome site), you can check out woodturningz. Just stay away from the Inlace Acrylester until you've has some practice, it's nice stuff, but very brittle.

This is an opinion, and as such I disagree with it, but I do recommend you try it both ways and decide which works best for you.

 

[Smitty37]

Ironic

If you start selling pens you likely find your customers will prefer alternative materials such as luxury and vintage Bakelite. Ebonite, Lucite and Casein about 10 to 1 over wood.

In the art world, wood, (unless it is something unique) is viewed as "home made" or "simple and common". Conversely, other materials with interesting shapes, patterns are viewed as artistic.

My first advice would be to eliminate the words "plastic" from your vocabulary. Then start with some easy turns like epoxy resins (Alumalite) or Polyester resin. Resins are easy (with practice), but these materials are not as forgiving as wood of mistakes and dull tools.

Respectfully submitted.

Isn't it ironic that they (whoever) consider something manufactured (all plastic) as "artistic" and something natural but perhaps even more difficult to get as common....

 

[gingerwood]

If you start selling pens you likely find your customers will prefer alternative materials such as luxury and vintage Bakelite. Ebonite, Lucite and Casein about 10 to 1 over wood.

In the art world, wood, (unless it is something unique) is viewed as "home made" or "simple and common". Conversely, other materials with interesting shapes, patterns are viewed as artistic.

My first advice would be to eliminate the words "plastic" from your vocabulary. Then start with some easy turns like epoxy resins (Alumalite) or Polyester resin. Resins are easy (with practice), but these materials are not as forgiving as wood of mistakes and dull tools.

Respectfully submitted.

Isn't it ironic that they (whoever) consider something manufactured (all plastic) as "artistic" and something natural but perhaps even more difficult to get as common....

Even funnier is that it really seems to vary by group. The doctors that buy my higher-end pens all see wood, especially pedigreed wood, as desirable and acrylics/resins/ect as lowbrow.

 

[randyrls]

They even want pens out of "plastic". Is there a thread or post that will help me get started in picking a "beginner" blank.

What turns easiest? What is hardest? (among the brands/types of plastics)

Dick; The Acrilester are the softest and easiest to turn. Trustones like the white and light-blue web blanks are fairly soft.

Many or most acrylics are not totally opaque and you will want to paint the inside of the drilled blank with spray paint to keep the brass tube from showing thru the finished blank. Use white to make the color brighter, black to make it dull. A contrasting or complementing color can change the color of the blank.

Try to knock off the corners of square blanks with a drum sander.

To get into synthetics in a big way, look for a carbide tool made for acrylics. If you are handy, you can even make a fairly good tool for about $20-30. The best acrylic tools have an angle of about 80 degrees between the front face and the top surface of the cutter. As the angle decreases toward 45 degrees the tool will get more and more "grabby" and harder to control. EWT tools are great for wood, but not so great for acrylics.

Acrylics cut well, but scrape badly. You should get long ribbons like Easter grass. If you get hard little grit, you will get little "pits" in the blank and it is difficult to sand.

Cover the ways with something water proof. Drawer bottom protector sheets make a good one. Sand the blank with wet/dry sand paper used wet at about 400 RPM and for each grit be sure to sand the blank lengthwise to remove circular scratches. Micromesh used wet, polish with a plastic polish. Apply wax for a mirror gloss.

 

[Robert111]

We get sun here! Usually there are 3 days in a row about mid August :island:.

I only used the term "plastic" because I do not understand the difference between the various terms (resin, acrylic, acrylic acetate, poly resin, acrylester, etc, etc. I would never use the term with a potential customer.

Do they mostly perform in a similar manner (at least in the same sense that woods of different species do)?

I should clarify that while I sell pens to friends and such, I have no intention of trying to do this as a business. (been there, done that, got the T-shirt--hence the jeweler53 handle)

Dick

Heh, heh, heh, yeah sure.

 

[jeweler53]

Thanks for all the great advice! But a big OMG for the sites you suggested. When does it stop!!!! First a curiosity, then a casual hobby, then an obsession, now an addiction. Where does it all lead?

Is there a chapter of PTA (pen turners anonymous) in Western Washington?

 

[hunter-27]

Thanks for all the great advice! But a big OMG for the sites you suggested. When does it stop!!!! First a curiosity, then a casual hobby, then an obsession, now an addiction. Where does it all lead?

Is there a chapter of PTA (pen turners anonymous) in Western Washington?

To a loan officers desk.:wink:

 

[PenMan1]

Like Landon, I find that many, if not most resins sand to perfection easier with dry mm rather than wet. Every material reacts differently to sanding. So be sure to try both ways.

Additionally, since luxury resins have no "grain", it shouldn't make a difference.... BUT , I find that reversing the direction of the lathe for sanding and polishing makes a better product.

If you must wet sand resins, I recommend getting magnetic vent covers and cutting them to the exact size of the ways of your sanding lathe.

Resin slurry that is allowed to dry on the ways is difficult to remove and creates its own brand of lathe rust.

 

[ren-lathe]

Acrylic acetate is about the easiest to start with less brittle than the others when you master that then you can branch out. What ever you start with go slower than you would on wood, and go slow.

 

[ed4copies]

Don't cut as aggressively (go slow??)

But keep the lathe speed up (go fast??) Slow speed will give you more trouble than most other things.

 

[Displaced Canadian]

Inlace acrylester is a difficult materiel to turn. It likes to chip and explode. CA glue doesn't work that well to glue in tubes. Turn as fast as your lathe will go but you may have to slow it down a little when you sand or you may start to melt the blank. Some say use carbide tools, I still like to use a very sharp skew to finish the blank. Don't drill all the way through the blank. Stop short and cut the end off to reveal the hole.
I'm with you, I didn't want to turn "plastics" either. I think wood is beautiful. I have some short pieces of acrylics you can have. PM me your address and I'll send them to you.