blank preparation

Hi all, I've been trying to up my acrylic game lately, and I'm just struggling. The biggest issue I'm getting is a "crackling" effect on the inside of the blank. I can't tell whether it's the blank itself, the adhesive, or the paint that's doing it, but I've gotten it on pens I've done with...

*** pictures below *** I just failed at drilling out fauxstone blanks for a majestic pen kit. My strategy was: (a) reinforce the blank with 1/2" poplar (b) drill on the lathe using 8 progressively larger bits. The last four bits were in increments as low as 1/64" I was running the RPM...

Hi, I'd like to buy a drill press for pen turning. Question: what is the minimum spindle travel distance I need if I am drilling blanks of up to 5" length? One answer is > 5" which is obvious. But what about buying a good jig and using a >2.5" spindle; and then drilling out the blank from...

Just wondering what folks are using. When using medium CA to glue tubes, too often when I get a catch I notice that the blank doesn't seem to be adhered well to the tube. Is 2 part epoxy or Gorilla glue a better choice?