Blank material?

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dabeeler

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Joined
Dec 11, 2006
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77
Location
Sevierville, TN, USA.
Other than wood, what blank material do you like turning best? I like turning Lucite as I have found it to be easier and faster to turn to size than PR. Corian is also rather slow to turn.
 
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Walrus Ivory, followed closely by antler, then bone. Horn stinks to high heaven but turns very much like acrylic. I like the look of trustone but cant get past the cost of it.
 
Rigid urethane materials (Alumilite) Shore D hardness rating 75 and up. Elongation greater than 20%. There are lots of urethane materials out there to be had. Make sure you use sharp tools.
 
I'm a big fan of Lucite myself. Threads nicely. I have been testing out some Rhinoplastic and have found it to be a great material to work with. Alumilite is also a house favorite.
 
I won't give a shameless plug for RhinoPlastic on this thread, lol. RhinoPlastic is almost TOO easy to turn and get a good finish and I like to push limits of what's possible.

The most challenging and beautiful thing I have ever turned is Alligator jawbone. It is too hard to use non-carbide tools, it can fly into splinters while turning, it stinks like deathand you will have to shower after turning it and your shop will stink for days and it is messy.

But it makes one of the most beautiful and unique pens I have ever made and the people that I give them to or sell them to, seem to take more pride in them than any other pens I have ever made.
 
This is kind of interesting. I like turning the clear silmar from blanks such as Marla's feathers as it turns very easy and comes off in ribbons and is very soft to the touch. While a little more difficult to turn, I love to turn Curtis' worthless woods to see what is hidden inside. I do like the M3 blanks now that I use the WoodChuck but it is a little dirty to turn and shine up, but oh so worth it.
 
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