Circuit Board Sierra Vista

[jennera]

Rebecca has been wanting to turn a circuit board blank for ever since she first started turning in January. She had some Christmas money so she purchased the blanks and Sierra Vista Kits from Exotic Blanks.

The shipment arrived today and as soon as she arrived home from school, she opened the box, pulled the black blank and bushing and headed to the garage. Unfortunately, the black circuit board blank did not survive. So a call to Dad was made with a request to stop by Woodcraft and pick up a new carbide blade on his way home. Off to church for a couple of hours, back home with a new carbide blade, and here is the result of her work.

She was very disappointed that she wasn't successful turning the black circuit board blank but then she is told that red is the favorite color of the friend who will receive this pen tomorrow! It all works out in the end!

 

[dcrichlow]

Great looking pen ...I love the circuit boards....

 

[Buddy Stacy]

I have not done a circuit board pen yet. Being a techie this is definitely a pen I want to do. Great job!!!

 

[OZturner]

Beautiful Pen Rebecca,
Excellent Fit and Finish, of the Circuit Board Blank.
Great work.
Brian.

 

[MTViper]

Beautiful job. I love circuit breaker pens. I've turned a bunch of them. One thing I learned early on though is that the ends are very sensitive, especially when using carbide tools. They are much less forgiving than wood or even other acrylics.

She needs to make sure her tools are sharp and cut from the center of the blank toward the end and just kind of sneak off the end. If you try to start a carbide took on the end and work toward the middle a catch is almost inevitable, especially if the blank isn't completely round yet.

She's doing a wonderful job, though.

 

[Charlie_W]

Rebecca, Excellent job on the pen! Congrats!

 

[mecompco]

That came out really nice! Circuit board blanks can be a challenge. Good advice above! All it takes is a split second of inattention to catch an end. The red circuit board pen I carry had this happen--peeled off a good jagged half-inch of the PR off one end. After an unsuccessful attempt at a CA repair, I put in in my Sierra mold and re-cast it in PR. If you look close, you can see the seam, so not sellable, but fine for daily use.

Oh, and I'm not sure you know that you can sharpen carbide cutters with a set of diamond hones like these: https://www.amazon.com/DMT-D3EFC-Di...0427&sr=8-20&keywords=diamond+stone+sharpener

Gets them pretty much back to new, though I do notice I have to re-sharpen after two or thee pens per cutting edge.

Regards,
Michael

 

[luckyscroller788]

Not a fan of the circuit board blanks, but a huge fan of Rebeccas skills!!!! Great pen!

 

[jennera]

She says she's gotten the hang of it now. I am sure the new blade helped. The old blade has a couple of chips in it. She is keeping one and gifting the other two.

Thanks for all the nice comments and the tips and tricks! After she finished these, I found the insert Ed included with his recommendations for a successful turn. She was so excited to start turning them yesterday, she just pulled the blanks out and headed to the garage!

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