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workinforwood

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Mar 1, 2007
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8,173
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Eaton Rapids, Michigan, USA.
So easy it's ridiculous. A fellow driver at my work really wanted a pen from one of my Stars and Stripes blanks. I painted the tubes yesterday, sparkle blue and red. I like to let spray paint cure 24 hrs. I drilled on the lathe, if your lathe is set up correctly then the monster of a bit for the cap is no problem, BUT before drilling such a hole I like to drill a smaller hole like maybe 10 mm all the way through first. That makes a major difference. Glued my tubes in with 60 min epoxy, then baked for 5 min at 150 degrees and let sit an hour. You don't want to bake plastic very hot or long, trust me!! Best option is let glue set overnight but I didn't have the time. My blanks are very round, so if you drill them true, you trim them in a collet a hair over length and after glue dries you just re chuck them and part the ends flush/square. After spun, wet sanded and plastic polish.
This blank fits anything from a cigar size and larger but of course bigger always looks better.
 
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workinforwood

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Mar 1, 2007
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Eaton Rapids, Michigan, USA.
Here is a side pic off my ipad
 

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magpens

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Feb 2, 2011
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Just a quick question or two, Jeff ...

Are these the same material as your other Rotacrylics ?

I have bought some of your Rotacrylics .... they are a joy to turn !!

I have been coating with CA to get a nice shine. Quite a bit of work. Is plastic polish sufficient to get a good shine ?
 
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workinforwood

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Joined
Mar 1, 2007
Messages
8,173
Location
Eaton Rapids, Michigan, USA.
Yes, this is a rotacrylic, Alumilite clear. I just wet sand with micro mesh and use plastic polish. I find it shines up pretty good, certainly a few levels below pr for shine but still plenty good. Sometimes a slightly lower level of shine is a good thing. There's other ways to make it shine even more that are far simpler than ca. For instance...take the pen as bright as you can with wet sanding and plastic polish, then apply a high gloss car wax, let it sit a few hrs and then just hand buff the wax off with a soft cloth.
 
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