Snakeskin Question

[Paul Russell]

I just received a Rattlesnake skin blank for the El Grande RB from AZ. It is obvious that I can't tun down to the size of the bushings without going into the skin. The instructions say the skin adds .07" to the size of the tube so leave room. OK, well...

Those of you that have turned skin, how much extra thickness do you leave beyond the bushing size? And since the turning will be fatter at the assembled metal fittings, how do you finish the ends so it looks ok once assembled?

 

[its_virgil]

The very reason I don't consider the El Grande a good candidate for embedding snake skins in PR resin. The thickness of the pen material is thin already and adding the skin which subtracts from the PR thickness has given me problems when casting my own blanks. I like the El Grande but have stopped trying to cast snake skins using this kit. I would suggest to make the final diameter larger than the bushing and gently roll the edges as close to the bushing as you can without getting into the skin. A rounded edge is not as noticable as a square edge. Good luck.
Do a good turn daily!
Don
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Originally posted by Paul Russell
<br />I just received a Rattlesnake skin blank for the El Grande RB from AZ. It is obvious that I can't tun down to the size of the bushings without going into the skin. The instructions say the skin adds .07" to the size of the tube so leave room. OK, well...

Those of you that have turned skin, how much extra thickness do you leave beyond the bushing size? And since the turning will be fatter at the assembled metal fittings, how do you finish the ends so it looks ok once assembled?