Trustone Question

[RyanNJ]

I bought a Blue (Medium) Lapis with Pyrite or maybe it was the dark i cant find my reciept when randbcrafts was running the 4th of July sale and my Jr Gent kit arrived soon after the blank but i did not have the bits and i was able to get them yesterday so i tried drilling and you can guess what happened the blank shattered. Is there anyway that it can be fixed or should i just cut my losses and buy a new blank and then try to find someone who would be willing to drill it for me or buy one from someone who could drill it.

It figures that on my first "higher end" pen that i was making for myself i ruined.

I am just beside myself right now... i think i need to take a break from turning

 

[bitshird]

Ryan, did the blank break in large pieces and will it fit back together with out leaving much gap around the breaks, also how deep were you when the blank broke? It may be that you drilled all the way through and the drill bit caused the blank to explode as it tried to exit the hole. If it broke in large pieces then you may be able to put it back together wit Medium CA, let it sit a few days and use a very small drill to open the hole up enough to get a dremel burr in it and get it near the tube size then file it the rest of the way or enough to get the tube to at least go flush with the other end of the blank.

 

[Parson]

Trustone gets very hot when drillling, especially with a dull bit. This will cause shattering.

I use very sharp brad point bits and check the heat on the blank while drilling it. If it gets too hot, I stop the drill and let everything cool down for ten minutes and come back to it.

I also hold my shop vac to the piece as I drill to clear away shavings AND keep everything cooler.

Stick with it. You'll get it.

 

[penmanship]

I always have a scrap piece of wood under the blank. I have never had a blow out since doing this.....Stick with it, it will be well worth it..

Post the pic's when you're done

 

[RyanNJ]

I had scrap wood under, I was using a brand new bit. it cracked into pieces about 1/2 the length of the 12.5mm tube and the 1 side that did not crack has hairline fractures going down the side. i was close to the end when it cracked

 

[Crickett]

When I'm drilling castings such as polyresin, acryllic, trustone, etc. I have a unused CA bottle with a drop of dish soap and water in it and keep putting a drop or two in the blank as I'm drilling it to keep the bit/blank lubricated and cool.

Also if you leave the blank long and don't drill all the way through you can trim the end off. If the blank is minimal in length then glue a piece of material to it to support it.

 

[RyanNJ]

what should i do to mark how deep to go when drilling if i plan to cut off?

also how do you square TS

 

[elody21]

You can mark off a line with a marker on the drill bit to tell you where to stop. Use the brass tube as a guide. If I have a really difficult material I have even put the blank and the drill bit in the freezer for a while to help keep it cool for drilling.
You must always keep the drill bit clear of dust or shavings. I pull it out ever 1/4" inch or so. These can built up on the bit and with some acrylics they will actually start to melt and you will end up with the bit stuck in the tube. Not that that has ever happened to me!
good luck Alice

what should i do to mark how deep to go when drilling if i plan to cut off?

also how do you square TS

 

[randbcrafts]

Hey Ryan, it was the medium Lapis. Which style pen are you making?

Here is a link to a little description of how I do it, maybe it will help a bit... http://www.randbcrafts.com/turningtru-stone.html

As for drilling almost all the way through, if you are using a drill press, you can set the depth stop to stop just before exiting the blank, or if you are drilling on a lathe or a press without a depth stop, you can put a piece of masking tape on the drill bit to mark the depth to stop at.

I'll send you a replacement. Let me know if you would like to give it another try or if you would like me to drill it for you.

 

[Dave_M]

Hi Ryan,
I just finished turning my first tru-stone pen. A razor sharp bit really helps and new bits are not always scary sharp out of the box. I always sharpen my own to ensure I'm starting with a good sharp bit. Also I've found some bits to be slightly out of round right out of the box. Especially with the bits that are packaged in those starter kits.

Take your time and go very slow. I felt the tip of the bit after every trip down the hole and if it was hot I let it cool before going any further. I also used cutting oil and it still got hot about every 1/4". Definitely a slow process compared to drilling acrylic or wood. TS is hard and dense so let it take as long as it's going to take. I sharpen my bits so they are scary razor sharp which makes a big difference.

Take this same approach to turning the blank. Go slow and watch out for heat build up because it will heat up quick and start to chatter. The Woodchuck Pen Pro is the ideal tool for turning TS. It turns TS nicely and stays sharp the whole time. Again, watch that heat build up. Go slow and make light cuts especially as you get closer to the finished size. Let it take as long as it's going to take. Once you develop even the slightest chatter, it can be hard to get it to settle down again which really effects the final finish of the blank.

I was able to drill the Black & Gold Matrix TS (supposedly one of the hardest of the TS) without any chipping or blowouts. However I strongly recommend doing what others recommended above. Drill just short of cutting through the blank and then trim the end off on the saw. That will give you a nice clean edge every time. I sometimes measure the blank and then wrap tape around the bit (based on my measurement) to show me where to stop drilling just short of going through the blank.

As far as squaring a TS blank, I used a basic barrel trimmer to square it up. That worked fine and wasn't any more difficult than trimming a hard acrylic blank. The only problem was that it left a slightly uneven (wavy) pattern to the cut. I laid a sheet of 600 grit paper on a flat surface and sanded the ends of the blank to even it out. It didn't take much effort to clean up the ends of the blank that way. As hard as TS is, it seems to cut on the table saw and sand without much effort.

Hope that helps Ryan.
Dave

what should i do to mark how deep to go when drilling if i plan to cut off?

also how do you square TS

 

[RyanNJ]

Hi Ryan,
I just finished turning my first tru-stone pen. A razor sharp bit really helps and new bits are not always scary sharp out of the box. I always sharpen my own to ensure I'm starting with a good sharp bit. Also I've found some bits to be slightly out of round right out of the box. Especially with the bits that are packaged in those starter kits.

Take your time and go very slow. I felt the tip of the bit after every trip down the hole and if it was hot I let it cool before going any further. I also used cutting oil and it still got hot about every 1/4". Definitely a slow process compared to drilling acrylic or wood. TS is hard and dense so let it take as long as it's going to take. I sharpen my bits so they are scary razor sharp which makes a big difference.

Take this same approach to turning the blank. Go slow and watch out for heat build up because it will heat up quick and start to chatter. The Woodchuck Pen Pro is the ideal tool for turning TS. It turns TS nicely and stays sharp the whole time. Again, watch that heat build up. Go slow and make light cuts especially as you get closer to the finished size. Let it take as long as it's going to take. Once you develop even the slightest chatter, it can be hard to get it to settle down again which really effects the final finish of the blank.

I was able to drill the Black & Gold Matrix TS (supposedly one of the hardest of the TS) without any chipping or blowouts. However I strongly recommend doing what others recommended above. Drill just short of cutting through the blank and then trim the end off on the saw. That will give you a nice clean edge every time. I sometimes measure the blank and then wrap tape around the bit (based on my measurement) to show me where to stop drilling just short of going through the blank.

As far as squaring a TS blank, I used a basic barrel trimmer to square it up. That worked fine and wasn't any more difficult than trimming a hard acrylic blank. The only problem was that it left a slightly uneven (wavy) pattern to the cut. I laid a sheet of 600 grit paper on a flat surface and sanded the ends of the blank to even it out. It didn't take much effort to clean up the ends of the blank that way. As hard as TS is, it seems to cut on the table saw and sand without much effort.

Hope that helps Ryan.
Dave

what do you use to sharpen your drill bits?

 

[Dave_M]

what do you use to sharpen your drill bits?

I use the Drill Doctor 750. It does a good job of putting a nice sharp edge on a drill bit quickly & easily. Only problem is the Drill Doctor doesn't do brad point or pilot point drill bits.

 

[PMisiaszek]

I also took advantage of the sale and bought lapis, malachite and jasper blanks. Malachite was a breeze and perhaps gave me a false sense of confidence. Lapis went OK but didn't seem to finish as high-gloss as the malachite. Then came the jasper, and I experienced the very same thing as Ryan did.. a shattered blank. On the next try with another jasper blank, I used a spray bottle with water and a drop or two of detergent. I drilled with a new high-end bit and took it real slow. I had some chip out at the end, but could use the blank. Now I drill long and cut the blank to expose the hole as suggested above.

 

[penfancy]

Good things to know, guys. I've got some TS in the mail right now. I hope it goes smooth in the shop.

 

[OKLAHOMAN]

Richard that's exactly why we buy from you, you go the extra mile for us. I'm sure the kid will appreciate your doing this.....

Hey Ryan, it was the medium Lapis. Which style pen are you making?

Here is a link to a little description of how I do it, maybe it will help a bit... http://www.randbcrafts.com/turningtru-stone.html

As for drilling almost all the way through, if you are using a drill press, you can set the depth stop to stop just before exiting the blank, or if you are drilling on a lathe or a press without a depth stop, you can put a piece of masking tape on the drill bit to mark the depth to stop at.

I'll send you a replacement. Let me know if you would like to give it another try or if you would like me to drill it for you.

 

[TellicoTurning]

When I'm drilling castings such as polyresin, acryllic, trustone, etc. I have a unused CA bottle with a drop of dish soap and water in it and keep putting a drop or two in the blank as I'm drilling it to keep the bit/blank lubricated and cool.

Also if you leave the blank long and don't drill all the way through you can trim the end off. If the blank is minimal in length then glue a piece of material to it to support it.

This is a key to drilling any artificial type blank... keep it cool and lubricated and the bits and pieces cleared from the hole.... it's better to have a sharp drill bit, but if you follow Marla's suggestion, you can drill with a slightly dull bit.... also watch your drilling speed... I drill everything at about 1100 rpm... on the drill press .... only about 450-600 on the lathe.