Turning Trustone

[Len Shreck]

Hello all its been a while since I been on well been on and sent members some prvt msgs got no response from anyone so I figured I would start a Thread to ask questions....
I have a customer that wants a pen made from trustone I have NEVER turned trustone. What my questions are, Do I need a special drill bit to drill it out? Is there anything special I need to know to turn trustone? I have read that its a hard material but can I turn it with my regular tools? will Micro-mesh work to get a nice polish on it? Thanks for any and all help ANYONE can or will offer me on this... Len

P.S. Can the ones that are ****ed at me PLEASE atleast tell me what the heck I did to **** them off?

 

[Phunky_2003]

No you don't need a special drill bit.

Take your time with light cuts, and your regular tools should be just fine. Some tru-stone will dull your tools faster than others, so make sure your tools stay sharp. You might also want to round off the edges with a sander first, some do...some don't.

I use micro mesh and plastix and novas to finish and it works well for me.

As far as the others being ........ Can't help ya there.

 

[Len Shreck]

Thank you very much where did you get your plastix and novas if you dont mind me asking

 

[Phunky_2003]

The plastix came from auto zone but should be available at other auto parts stores and walmart and such. The novus I got from wood world moat likely.

 

[Len Shreck]

OK Thank you again for the info. I think Im going to go with Maroon Gold Matrix from PSI for this pen and go with the Majestic Squire for the kit I hope it turns out OK not sure what the overall length is on that pen but should work for him. Thanks again

 

[soligen]

Make sure you are very carefull when pressing in the parts. If you are a little off square the tru stone can crack DAMHIKT.

 

[PenMan1]

Tru stone is female in gender. If it doesn't "get its way", it will crack up on ya!

Conversely, if you pet it, pamper it, go slowly and treat it lovingly and with lots of respect, it will produce the most special pen you ever made!

 

[omb76]

The different colors of TruStone have different levels of difficulty (i.e. hardness, heat build up, etc). Turquoise is one of the easiest to work with while Chilean Lapis is one of the hardest to work with. Heat and dull tools will be your enemy. Go slow while drilling the blanks and take light cuts when turning. Also turn as close to the bushings as you can to avoid as much sanding as possible. I start out with 400 grit, then move to 600 grit. MM and Meguiar's Plastix. TruStone makes beautiful pens! Good luck and post pictures when you're done!

 

[moke]

It has been my experience the darker the trustone the harder it is. Now there are exceptions, the burgandy was not one. It is hard. The first time I used a black, I thought it would be easier to turn a rock form my back yard!!! Lots of sharpening or if you have a woodchuck an insert might do two or three...

 

[bitshird]

Len Novus Polish are available fro Indy~Pen~Dance, Mike and Linda Kennedy They are members I believe their screen names are IPDMR and IPDMRS. I've never used the plastix, but I like the Novus 2&3

 

[Rangertrek]

Len, as mentioned above, tru-stone colors vary in hardness. Just keep sharp tools, go sloooow. Dirll a little at a time and you can lube (cool) the interior with a little soapy water while drilling. I may sand a little, them micro-mesk, Novus 2 if needed, then Plast-X polish. Some motocycle shops have Novus polish.

 

[Displaced Canadian]

Most Tru stone is 80% rock and 20% resin which sounds a lot like a grindstone. You will sharpen a LOT. The results are worth it.

 

[xxShadowxx]

if tru-stone is like a grinding wheel, would it not sharpen with use? or worst case change angle of chisel to sharpen it against the spinning blank then go back to work?

 

[tseger]

Hi Len, looks like your questions have been answered, just wanted to say welcome back.

 

[Len Shreck]

Thank ALL of you for the great advise... I worked up a price for the customer to let him know and now he wants time to think about it.... I took sum of pen parts and shipping and added 10% for the work dont think I can work any CHEAPER then that. I think 10% of what the price of materials and shipping is.. is low enough IF he wants it I will deff use the new Nikon D3000 and take some pics to show you all.. If he dont well atleast if I ever work with Tru stone I have some great advise to go on.. Thanks again to all of you... Len

 

[ed4copies]

Len, you are taking a risk with that pricing. Your first attempt may not turn out---then you would need to buy another blank. At least add enough to be able to pay for a couple "tries". You can always refund your friend a few dollars if the first one works great!!

BTW, Len, a lot of the people who were here don't stop by any more. So, don't think they are mad at you--probably just not here much any more.

 

[Len Shreck]

If the price I gave him was to high what do you think he would have done if I would have done it the way I have before buy 3 blanks and 2 kits and then add 10% to that total. He prob would have passed out.. lol
Thanks for the info about no one stopping in anymore.

 

[spilperson]

Another thing to watch for - Tru Stone will blow out while drilling very easily. Don't use too much pressure, and back out to clear the chips very frequently. If you can, cut your blanks a little long so that you can trim it if you do get some blow out.

I do a pretty standard finish - 150, 220, 400, 600, then all of the micro mesh pads, all wet sanding and polishing. Then I use some Plastix, then some paste wax.

Good luck!

 

[Mike D]

I've turned several trustone blanks and not had any problems, just take your time with small cuts with shap tools. Don't get in a rush and your efforts will be rewarded. Always wet sand and pay close attention to the temprature of the blank while sanding because it will crack if it gets too hot. Good luck!

 

[Len Shreck]

Thanks

 

[Tage]

My experience with TruStone consists of one pen, so I'm no expert by any stretch of the imagination. Here's what I learned (and I have another blank and look forward to working with it more):
1) Drilling - The blank and bit heated up and it drills slowly. I used water to cool the blank and bit frequently, and took lots of breaks to let things cool down. It took a lot of time.
2) Blank prep - I initially tried to start with the blank with square edges on the lathe to round it off. It was really slow going with my traditional roughing gouge. I wound up taking the blanks off the lathe and using a belt sander to cut down the corners. This helped.
3) Shaping - As I said, I started with my cheap Benjamin's Best roughing gouge, which I had to resharpen every five minutes or so it seemed. Then I got a hold of a carbide tool from a generous member here, and that helped a lot. (The people here amaze me and I look forward to paying this generosity forward). Again, shaping took a lot of time.
4) Sanding/Finishing - Took the most time. I used my typical finishing schedule of 220, 400, 600, then MM, followed by PSI's polish. I was not happy with the luster. I went through the MM again....still not happy. Then I went through MM again, and used Meguiar's (sp?) ScratchX and PlastX polishes which yielded a great finish.

The common thread of my experience is it took much longer to make this pen than any other I have done (my son and I actually did it together). And that should probably be reflected in your pricing. I don't know what amount you quoted, but by your formula, it sounds WAY low. I bought two blanks, fully expecting to blow one out, but got lucky so I have one waiting to be made. Good luck.

 

[pianomanpj]

Tru stone is female in gender. If it doesn't "get its way", it will crack up on ya!

Conversely, if you pet it, pamper it, go slowly and treat it lovingly and with lots of respect, it will produce the most special pen you ever made!

Aww....sheesh, Andy! I was gonna turn some Tru-Stone tonight, but now I think I've got performance anxiety! Maybe I'm just "pen-whipped"... :biggrin:

 

[Len Shreck]

Thanks Tage for a first timers point of view especially about the tool. The customer thought he could get that pen made with tru stone for 35.00-40.00 I told him that dont even cover the materials, so it ended up being a no go for now. I am interested in trying a tru stone blank if for no other reason just for the experience. At the price of them Im not buying any to just play around with.