Acrylic

Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
R

Ramon

Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2016
Messages
8
Location
Trochu Alberta
I am trying to make my first acrylic pen. My first effort was not stellar - lol. Can anyone give me some suggestions. What speed should I have the lathe running for the cutting as well as the polishing?
If you have any other helpful suggestions please feel free to let me know.
 
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
Ramon said:
I am trying to make my first acrylic pen. My first effort was not stellar - lol. Can anyone give me some suggestions. What speed should I have the lathe running for the cutting as well as the polishing?
If you have any other helpful suggestions please feel free to let me know.
Click to expand...

Lathe wide open for turning. Lowest speed for sanding. Back to wide open for the final polish or buff. At least that's what I do. Don't forget to MM laterally after sanding on the lathe with each grit.

What, specifically, were your problems? Have a pic, perhaps?

Regards,
Michael
 
ONLY have the lathe going as fast as you are comfortable with.
As you get better and it gets easier.......you will increase the speed.

SHARP TOOLS ---- LIGHT CUTS.

When I polish I normally begin slower. Putting on certain things with a slower speed helps to keep things from flinging off the blank. As what I am using gets into the blank.....I increase speed.


Just keep trying things till you find what works for you.
 
Ramon said:
What is MM laterally mean?
Click to expand...

MM=Multi Mesh. They are a set of nine pads that you use for wet sanding from 1500 grit to 12,000 grit. And by laterally, I mean "back and forth" with the lathe off after sanding radially while the lathe is on.

Oh, and I second the "sharp tools" advice--it makes all the difference when turning.

PS When I say polish, I mean "polish" as in using Mequires or other plastic polish as a last step after finishing the wet sanding. Polish works best at full speed. Sanding, either dry or wet should be done at a slower speed.
 
Last edited:
Just to clarify. You wet sand and between changing to lighter grits you use the MM pads. Do you use all 9 pads between the grit change? Forgive my ignorance.
 
Ramon said:
Just to clarify. You wet sand and between changing to lighter grits you use the MM pads. Do you use all 9 pads between the grit change? Forgive my ignorance.
Click to expand...

Well, this is how I do it.

After turning, dry sand if necessary (as you get better with the skew, there will be less and less need to). Again, sand laterally with the lathe off after sanding with the lathe on before going to the next grit (ALWAYS make sure there are no radial scratches left--they WILL show). Also, make sure to get off the sanding dust between grits. I end at 600 grit.

After dry sanding, start wet sanding with the MM pads. Sand with the lathe on low speed, then turn the lathe off and sand laterally. Wipe the sanding residue off with a paper towel, then repeat with the next grit pad, and so on.

As an optional step after the 12,000 grit pad, you can spin the lathe up to full speed and use a plastic polish to put a final shine on the blank. Even better is a buffing system, but that is purely an option.

I really like to turn acrylic as there is no finishing necessary--just the above steps.
 
Ramon said:
Thank you - I will let you know how I do.
Click to expand...

Please do! This is a learning experience--I'm still finding new and innovative ways to ruin pens.

Oh, and the easiest way I've found to add photos is to upload them to Photobucket the put the link in your post.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom