Turning acrylic

[Jamesomac]

I am new to turning pens, and so far have used only wood. Some of the acrylics look great though, and I thouht I might give them a try. A couple of questions before I start. I know you have to use sharp tools, but do the tools degrade faster with acrylic than wood? Also, are there any instances where the brass tube would show through the acrylic.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[ed4copies]

Might want to look at these videos:
Articles & Videos

"turning a complex segmented acrylic blank"
"How to #5: Turning"
"Turning zebra acrylic Resin pen"
"turning a feather pen"

And two older vids that may need a viewer:
Turning Resins
Alternative Ivory

All located on Exotic Blanks website.
Enjoy!
Ed

 

[plantman]

Ed's videos are excellent and will show you how and why. In answer to your questions, No they will not dull your tools any faster than wood. Materials like the truestones however will. You won't know until after you turn the acrylic if you should have painted the tube or not, so if in dought, paint it or the tube first. The color you use will change the appearance of the blank also. There was a thread on this not to long ago. Help needed for thread !! Jim S

 

[randyrls]

I know you have to use sharp tools, but do the tools degrade faster with acrylic than wood?

James; Like wood, not all acrylics behave alike. Some are VERY HARD, others are softer. When turning you want ribbons to come off the tool. If you get hard little grit, and the surface looks pocked marked, change your technique.

Also, are there any instances where the brass tube would show through the acrylic.

Yes; Always paint the inside of the tube, not the brass tube, the inside of the blank. Use a spray can of a similar color, or white.

Finally, use a belt sander or small drum sander to knock off the corners of the blank.

 

[jttheclockman]

Very first post. Welcome to the site. I suggest you do some reading and Ed has pointed out some very nice videos. There is a library full of good info from Ed Davidson (AKA Yo YO Spin)

Yes acrylic will dull the tools faster than wood. Some acrylics are harder than others due to materials. Yes always take the safe route and paint the inside of the blank moreso than the tubes. Colors of paint can change the look of the blank. Again I suggest using the search feature here and see examples. Too much to mention without you doing a little of the work for yourself.

Thanks for joining and look forward to seeing your work.

 

[switch62]

I know you have to use sharp tools, but do the tools degrade faster with acrylic than wood?

Depends on the acrylic. Some acrylics can be (relativley) soft and will turn very smoothly, others hard and brittle. When rounding with a gouge always take light cuts, very light at the begining. As the blank gets rounder you can increase the cut depth. If you start to hear a sound like chipping/grating glass your cut is too deep. On brittle acrylics you may hear this sound when you first start to round the blank, even with light cuts.

Also, are there any instances where the brass tube would show through the acrylic.

You can't always predict if a tube will show through. It depends on the transparency of the acrylic and how thin the acrylic is in the final shape. If you have multi-coloured blanks then some colours might be transparent, others opaque. Unless you are sure the blank is completley opaque, always paint the inside of the blank and even colour the glue.

PS sometimes the brass tube showing through can give a nice golden tint to some translucent blanks.

TonyO

 

[nava1uni]

There is also a video about turning acrylics on Craft USA website. I use a parting tool to round them and then you can use whatever tool you favor. I use a skew or very sharp scraper or bedan.