Segments

[Jamie]

If a person was going to put a couple segments of .025 copper in a blank, what would a person use to turn the blank with? Would a scraper work? And when it was sanded, wouldn't there be high spots where the copper was? Will sand paper do much to copper? Are there any tips or tricks to a operation like this? I only have woodworking tools, should I just stick with wood? thanks for any help.

 

[loglugger]

I haven't tryed it but copper is solf and should be okay with your tools and sand paper.
Bob

 

[desert1pocket]

Copper is pretty soft. Normal tools will work fine for turning, but will dull a little quicker than normal. As long as the wood isn't a super soft wood, there shouldn't be any problems sanding. The wood and copper will expand and contract at different rates from temp and humidity changes over time. Often this will cause a noticeable bump where the metal and wood meet after a year or two. This can be minimized by using super dry, well seasoned wood.

 

[skiprat]

Jamie, I'm sure you can use 'normal' tools but I use a good flat file.
What I like about it is that you are essentially taking minute bites with each tooth on the file, so it can't snag. I do take the metal down to almost flush with the rest of the blank with the lathe off first though. Also, I try to stick to rounded metal to begin with.
Most DIY stores sell ali and copper tube. Ali normally comes in 1m lengths and copper in a 10m roll. I find these ideal ( unless I can find scrap )
I'm busy trying to put a copper vein through ali tube at the moment.
Good luck

 

[workinforwood]

The challenge is to drill the copper. The copper gets really hot really fast. You have to drill it seperately most likely...you glue it in a blank, when the drill hits the copper, it'll heat up super fast, melt the glue and mess up the blank. Don't dare touch the copper..it'll burn you quite nicely. Otherwise, a chisel is probably a better choice because it'll not cause quite as much heat as a file, which melts your glue as I said earlier. this project could be more than you expected.

 

[skiprat]

Jeff, (Woodaholic) with all respect, I'm afraid I must dissagree.
If the copper was segmented at 90deg to the blank (like a cb) then the thickness you are drilling really won't get hot. With such a thin piece sticking out the sides of your blank, I would imagine that as soon as you touch it with a chisel, it would just fold over or snag. If the copper is angled and sticking out the blank, it would snag for sure. Here are two pics ( crappy I know ) that show a slither of copper CA glued into a ali tube. I'm sure you must agree that you could not (safely) turn this with a chisel. The second pic shows how I got it flush and smooth with a file. I filed it reasonably flush first with the lathe off and then with the lathe on.
Before I did any filing, I mounted the rough blank in my PH vise to really hold it together then drilled the length of the copper to fit the tube.

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[gketell]

When I did the aluminum in my dbl-celtic-knot pen I just used my normal roughing gouge to turn it. I cut the blank, glued in the aluminum, hit it on the sander to bring it back to "blank shaped" then proceeded like any other pen blank. Normal drilling, normal turning.

For sanding, I used normal sandpaper but I wrapped it around another blank and used that to sand that way there was no chance to sand the softer areas more than the harder metal. And on the MM I did not use the foam-centered pads, I used the thin sheets.

Good luck. It will make your pen gorgeous.

Skiprat, that is really cool!!
GK

 

[RPM]

In my opinion, being only .025 thick, its a non issue.
Richard

 

[gerryr]

This pen was made by a friend of mine. It's ebony and brass and was turned on a Jet Mini with a skew.

 

[gerryr]

On a woodworking forum there were recently a couple of topics related to using wood and metal in pen blanks that might be informative.

http://www.woodworking.org/InfoExchange/viewtopic.php?t=13564

and this one too where PoolQ proves he is a man of his word.

http://www.woodworking.org/InfoExchange/viewtopic.php?t=13603

and the final result.

http://www.woodworking.org/InfoExchange/viewtopic.php?t=13627

Lest anyone think I am poking fun at him, I am not. I give him a lot a credit. He figured out basically how to make the blank, gave it a shot and posted pictures of the result. This all might provide some inspiration for others.

 

[skiprat]

Gerry, your 'friend' (and maybe mine I hope) has inspired me from the beginning. His work is truely great.

I hope no-one has got the impression that I am stating the a chisel CAN'T be used, what I should have made clear is that I am too inexperienced and a bit chicken to try, esp when I know that I can do it with a file.

PS Did you see the pic of the 'end' of your friends blank. Really cool!!