Making a web

[mb757]

I'm enclosing a picture of some of the left over pieces that I used to make the pen cap (1st picture lower pen). The blank on the left (lower picture) is how they start off, I rip a board at a 45 degree angle the length of the board. Keeping the blade at 45 degrees adjust the fence to give you about a 3/16" thick board and cut 7-8 pieces, I plane them down to 1/8" after I cut them. I cut extra pieces because at that thickness they tend to tear out on the planer. You want to keep the outer pieces and use them to sandwich the thin pieces and veneer between them. I use a flat board with wax paper between and cross braces on top to keep every thing flat. After the glue dries run the piece through the planer to get rid of all the excess glue and you will be able to start with a flat surface. When your blank looks like the piece on the left, you need to make a perpendicular cut to the veneer at 30 degrees. Insert a piece of veneer between the six pieces and glue them together. I use rubber bands to hold them together. When you turn it you should end up with a piece that should look like the one on the right.

The bottom pictures pen is an Atlas that's made of walnut and maple veneer with aluminum trim between. It's made with a different process I'll get to that later. It turned out better than the first, but it's still a work in process.

 

[kirkfranks]

OK I think I got my head working enough to ask the right questions.
I had to re-read that post 3-4 times[B)]

I am stuck at
"Insert a piece of veneer between the six pieces and glue them together. I use rubber bands to hold them together."
In the picture there is two pieces with a rubber band. Are you saying that there really needs to be six of these cut pieces and they then all go together to make an hexagonal blank? Do you glue all six pieces at the same time or do you glue up pairs and then larger groups.

Thanks.

Edit in.
I can't wait to see how you did the bottom of the pen.

 

[mb757]

I was using some pieces that were left over to show how they were made and didn't have enough to show the complete process. You are correct there are six pieces total to make this web. The second piece from the left is one piece of the six needed. The picture of the two pieces with a rubber band holding them together has a piece of maple veneer between. I glue them in pairs, after the glue dries I assemble the three pairs with veneer between them to for a six sided blank. The rough blank will have six flat sides and the veneer will look like a straight line. When you turn the blank the scalops will appear and give the illusion of the web. You can use this process with out the veneer between to make the pen top below. The only difference in the one below is that it has 8 pieces and the perpendicular cut is 22.5 degree instead of 30 degree and no veneer between the pieces.

 

[wlk]

These pens are beautiful and the method ingenious!

I have a couple of questions about the aluminum you use:

What kind of aluminum is it?
How thick is it?
Is is soft enough to be used with ordinary woodturning tools?
Will it take a curve? (I'm thinking of various applications)
Where can it be found? (I'm in PA)

Wade

 

[Aderhammer]

Bump I have some of the same questions as wade, wade where in pa are you? I'm in the allentown area.

 

[mb757]

I used aluminum sofit material. I got a scrap piece at the local lumber yard. It's a little thicker than pop cans and the baked on paint seems to adhear better to the wood. I scuff the paint and use brake cleaner to clean the aluminum before the 30 minute epoxy. The aluminum is soft and can be turned with regular wood working tools. There isn't much of a curve to learn how to work with the aluminum, but you have to make sure it's clean or you will have problems with it not adhearing well. If it's not cleaned properly it may separate down the road if it's not cleaned properly.