Skie_M
Member
Just recently, a friend from work noticed my handmade pens and keychains, and made inquiry concerning what else I could make. As Christmas is fast approaching, she was quite keen on obtaining gifts for other members of her family, as well as a few items for herself. I brought a copy of the PSI catalog to work for her perusal, and she immediately fixated upon the Mirrored Compacts as an excellent idea. She desired them in a small array of colors, as each family member had their own favorite color, so the 4-piece dyed boxwood burl for around 18 dollars in 2 1/4" x 2 1/4" x 1/4" seemed ideal.
In addition to the 3 mirrored compacts and the dyed boxwood set, I needed the mandrel to assist me in turning them round, squarely, and to the proper size. I purchased the 2" Vanity Chuck Mandrel. The total cost of this little project is around 50 dollars, currently.
Whilst awaiting the arrival of my order, I used my 1" Chuck Mandrel (for various utility projects) to assist me in developing my techniques. I picked some material up that happened to be free (Silestone samples, from The Home Depot). These samples are approximately 2" x 4" x 3/16" rectangular pieces with squared edges, manufactured of compressed quartz. THIS IS NOT WHAT YOU TYPICALLY WANT TO TRY TO TURN ON A LATHE. It was free, however, and offered me multiple learning experiences in working this material. I will give updates on turning the quartz in another thread at some other time, let us suffice to say that the turning itself was successful and not terribly eventful, though rather a dusty experiece.
My issue developed while trying to take the piece of quartz off of the 1" chuck mandrel. I had secured it with superglue. I did not want to expose the turned quartz to acetone or other harsh chemicals, and I know for a fact that exposing the finished turned wood to extremes in temperature (blowtorch, freezer) would damage the wood, I resorted to subjecting the piece to shock (slapped it on the table a few times to dislodge the CA adhesive). While this did work, I chipped the stone on one edge.
Ok ... can't do that with the wood for sure. So ... 20 minutes ago I came up with a much better idea.
Craft Foam is really cheap stuff!
I took a piece of craft foam and cut 3 2"+ squares out of it, and CA glued them to the 2" mandrel. I also applied the wood to the craft foam using the same CA (I do have a spare piece in an unwanted color to test with), and it is currently curing (I'll give it about 20 minutes for the CA gel to set reasonably, I don't ever use any accelerator).
When the project piece is completed, I will use an extendable breakaway razor blade to slice through the craft foam to part it from the mandrel, and then true up the surface with sandpaper for the next piece, adding more craft foam or totally scraping the surface clean to re-apply new craft foam as necessary.
As it's currently the Christmas season, and everybody out there is doing their best to turn projects that may be similar to mine, I thought it would be a great tip to share!
Prep work for the wood: sanded on belt sander with 120 grit to achieve a reasonably smooth flat surface on one side and glued that side to the craft foam. This side sealed with the CA gel applied for the glue-up and will also be sealed with epoxy in the final glue-up for the finished mirrored compact.
Top will be given the full treatment for a sealed CA finish, complete with a glassy mirror polish, though additional dye may be needed for the undyed sections within the wood, to improve appearance. It seems that alcohol can pick up the dye, as cleaning it with isopropyl left dye stains on the paper towel.
In addition to the 3 mirrored compacts and the dyed boxwood set, I needed the mandrel to assist me in turning them round, squarely, and to the proper size. I purchased the 2" Vanity Chuck Mandrel. The total cost of this little project is around 50 dollars, currently.
Whilst awaiting the arrival of my order, I used my 1" Chuck Mandrel (for various utility projects) to assist me in developing my techniques. I picked some material up that happened to be free (Silestone samples, from The Home Depot). These samples are approximately 2" x 4" x 3/16" rectangular pieces with squared edges, manufactured of compressed quartz. THIS IS NOT WHAT YOU TYPICALLY WANT TO TRY TO TURN ON A LATHE. It was free, however, and offered me multiple learning experiences in working this material. I will give updates on turning the quartz in another thread at some other time, let us suffice to say that the turning itself was successful and not terribly eventful, though rather a dusty experiece.
My issue developed while trying to take the piece of quartz off of the 1" chuck mandrel. I had secured it with superglue. I did not want to expose the turned quartz to acetone or other harsh chemicals, and I know for a fact that exposing the finished turned wood to extremes in temperature (blowtorch, freezer) would damage the wood, I resorted to subjecting the piece to shock (slapped it on the table a few times to dislodge the CA adhesive). While this did work, I chipped the stone on one edge.
Ok ... can't do that with the wood for sure. So ... 20 minutes ago I came up with a much better idea.
Craft Foam is really cheap stuff!
I took a piece of craft foam and cut 3 2"+ squares out of it, and CA glued them to the 2" mandrel. I also applied the wood to the craft foam using the same CA (I do have a spare piece in an unwanted color to test with), and it is currently curing (I'll give it about 20 minutes for the CA gel to set reasonably, I don't ever use any accelerator).
When the project piece is completed, I will use an extendable breakaway razor blade to slice through the craft foam to part it from the mandrel, and then true up the surface with sandpaper for the next piece, adding more craft foam or totally scraping the surface clean to re-apply new craft foam as necessary.
As it's currently the Christmas season, and everybody out there is doing their best to turn projects that may be similar to mine, I thought it would be a great tip to share!
Prep work for the wood: sanded on belt sander with 120 grit to achieve a reasonably smooth flat surface on one side and glued that side to the craft foam. This side sealed with the CA gel applied for the glue-up and will also be sealed with epoxy in the final glue-up for the finished mirrored compact.
Top will be given the full treatment for a sealed CA finish, complete with a glassy mirror polish, though additional dye may be needed for the undyed sections within the wood, to improve appearance. It seems that alcohol can pick up the dye, as cleaning it with isopropyl left dye stains on the paper towel.
