crokett
Member
any trick to turning this stuff without the blank exploding? I have attempted this twice now and both times the blank blew up despite me being careful. Can I soak it in CA?
Turning Black Palm
- Thread starter crokett
- Start date
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darrin1200
Member
sharp tools, light cuts and finish with a little sandpaper. Palm is very brittle and tends to splinter easily.
The first bottle stopper I made from Red Palm went through 3 "creative" design alterations before a finally got it finished. It also ended up 1/2" thiner.
The first bottle stopper I made from Red Palm went through 3 "creative" design alterations before a finally got it finished. It also ended up 1/2" thiner.
The Penguin
Member
yes, you can soak it in CA. you can also buy stabilized black palm
sharp tools, very light cuts is the key.
sharp tools, very light cuts is the key.
JAZNCARR
Member
get crazy!
When your done turning and cussing... dip it in bleach and let it sit in the sun slowly rotating... makes a really cool effect. Someone on here did the same thing with wenge so I can't take credit ;0)
When your done turning and cussing... dip it in bleach and let it sit in the sun slowly rotating... makes a really cool effect. Someone on here did the same thing with wenge so I can't take credit ;0)
Alzey
Member
Pictures?
Dai Sensei
Member
Use sharp tools with light cuts. I emphasise cut, don't scrape.
azamiryou
Member
Sharp tools, light cuts, reinforce with CA every few passes, and take your time. Black palm takes me at least four times as long to turn as a typical wood.
Sanding is good for reducing explosions and tear-out, but be careful if the grain pattern is not fairly even all the way around. The tan pithy stuff sands away easily, so if part of the blank has fewer of the black fibers, it's easy to end up out-of-round by sanding.
Sanding is good for reducing explosions and tear-out, but be careful if the grain pattern is not fairly even all the way around. The tan pithy stuff sands away easily, so if part of the blank has fewer of the black fibers, it's easy to end up out-of-round by sanding.
toddlajoie
Member
For the original Post: As said, sharp tools, light cuts, and CA. Also stop turning very early and use sandpaper with a wood block behind it to get to final size.
Bleached Black Palm and Bleached Wenge Pen Set
Keep your eyes out for Bleached and Dyed Wenge....
Bleached Black Palm and Bleached Wenge Pen Set
Keep your eyes out for Bleached and Dyed Wenge....
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jjjaworski
Member
Very nice work. Well done and classy.
dankc908
Member
Toddlajoie - Those are two beautiful pens. Where are the instructions re: the bleaching process??
Dan
Dan
toddlajoie
Member
Pretty simple, turn the blank to just about dead on with the bushings, maybe slightly proud (.005 or so if you measure...) Soak the blank in straight laundry bleach (wenge took about 2 hours, I think the black palm took significantly longer) When it's done, rinse it VERY well ( I just put it under running water for 5 minutes or so) let it air dry for at least a day or so. Back on the lathe for a light sanding to smooth it out, as the soaking will raise the grain a bit (the bleach doesn't penetrate all the way, so you can't take too much off or you'll have to repeat...) Then finish as you would normally.
4 of the 8 pens I just turned this week as Christmas presents are black palm. like others have said, very sharp tools, and shooting them with thin CA a few times did the trick for me. I still had 2 of them blow out at the very tip of the blank when I was almost done. From now on I will leave it a little proud of the bushings and sand to finished dimensions.
robutacion
Member
Well, I agree with my fellows wood turners here and will add that, if are not working in a very confined space where dust is a problem, or if you have a good dust extraction system, I would suggest to to try the "Flap disc System". All you need is a 4" grinder and some 40 to 80 grits flap discs that you get from any hardware store.
Use it to cut and shape the barrel, just a little proud of the bushings then, finish with hand sanding finer grits. Where the CA would be most handy, is when you have half of the blank "meat" removed, stop the lathe in soak the barrel with thin CA, let it dry for a couple, of minutes or so (use accelerator if you wish) and then proceed as explained above.
Repeating the CA soaking before you start the hand sanding finer grit process, will guarantee a solid Palm mass for you to sand on...!
Good luck...!
PS: If you want to know a little bit more about the "Flap disc System" see here.
Cheers
George
Use it to cut and shape the barrel, just a little proud of the bushings then, finish with hand sanding finer grits. Where the CA would be most handy, is when you have half of the blank "meat" removed, stop the lathe in soak the barrel with thin CA, let it dry for a couple, of minutes or so (use accelerator if you wish) and then proceed as explained above.
Repeating the CA soaking before you start the hand sanding finer grit process, will guarantee a solid Palm mass for you to sand on...!
Good luck...!
PS: If you want to know a little bit more about the "Flap disc System" see here.
Cheers
George