Crushed sunflower seed blanks Ugh

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I

immls

Member
Joined
Mar 28, 2011
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17
Location
PA
Hi - I bought a couple of these from CSUSA thinking they would make a neat looking Gatsby. I've blown 3 out while turning and 1 while drilling. CSUSA rep was helpful but even with his suggestion to use CA I still managed to "throw" them all off the blank and all within about 1/16 of final width.
I slowed down the lathe and am using easy tool finisher.

Beside throwing in the towel any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks
 
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Sharp sharp tools and a very light touch.Keep the thin CA handy.I still have some of these in the shop.Never blew one up.Take your time and sand the final bit if you have to.Takes a bit longer.
 
I think some of the the Dakota burl blanks are not done as well as others. I had two and with REALLY sharp tools - sanding the final shaping with 80 grit paper and LOTS of CA on the inside they still blew up. Others blanks seem to do very well if you are careful. I no longer use them because of the bad time I have had with several.
 
I have done quite a few of these. I blew up the first few, then started using more CA and a woodchuck and had better luck. Also the 40 grit skew works well when you get near the shape you are working on.

The blanks are made of crushed sunflower hulls after the seeds have been removed. They make a very pretty pen and a good conversation piece when you live in sunflower country.
 
a good bond to the tube is a must i have had good luck with 2 part epoxy, also i think turning faster is a help makes it easier to keep a light touch. not sure a easy tool is right for the job because it cuts using a scraping action, i would use a skew or a really sharp spindle gouge.
make slow light cuts
 
Ditto on doing the final thickness with sandpaper. I wasn't going to do any more of these, but I'm going to stabilize a couple and see if It's easier going. If not, then feeding them to the birds would be a good direction.

Martin

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Bugger ! somebody sent me one of these in a blank swap , I was saving it for a special occasion , looks like it will now be a very special occasion :) :rolleyes:
 
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Hahahahah, I haven't managed to see one of those yet BUT, ain't nothing the Flap disc system and a CA bottle can't make into a pen, believe me...!:eek::wink:

I've heard of the magical 40 grit (and other grits) skew, the invisible wood rasp/course file, the (never me...!) block of wood/cork with sandpaper attached and many other material removing "utensils" and techniques, try the Flap disc systems and and let us all know how it went or, used it and don't say anything, that way you may not feel embarrassed to admit that you used a 4" grinder to make a pen with...!:eek: What one doesn't know, doesn't hurt, right...???

Don't worry, I will continue to suggest the Flap disc system for "difficult" blanks, until people start to have the courage to say, they are/used it, on the "bad boys...!":wink::biggrin:

Recipe;

Grab 1 or 2 of the inexpensive 4" grinders and some 40, 60, 80, and 120 Flap discs. The red ones are for wood mostly, the blue ones are a "cut all" type disc, a little more expensive but worth while. You will find great bargains on eBay/feeBay/fleebay on these for about $2.50 a disc in packs of 10 minimum.

Make a bracket to hang the 2 machines near the lathe, both plugged at all times. Use a combination of 40 - 80 grits for hard materials and 80 -120 grits for the very soft stuff.

Now that you got that done grab you blank and soak it with think CA, after stopping soaking, spray with accelerator. If the material is flaky and falling to bits, rap with masking tape or painters tape after you soaked it in CA.

Proceed to cut to length and drill, a little oversize hole is a good thing to use epoxy to glue the tube already roughed up with some coarse sandpaper and cleaned.

Trim the ends and to the lathe you go. Do not remove the tape, if was there to hold everything together for the cut and drilling so, leave it alone, the first pass of the coarser grit of the Flap disc will take care of it.

With the lathe a fast speeds, approach the disc to the blank as you do with the gouge/any cutting tool, gently and with the grinder turned a little to its side to follow the cutting angle and surface of the Flap disc. From left to right, right to left , from the center to the edges or from the edges to the center, all is OK, you will find the way you like to use the tool to the best results.

Do the "cutting" with the low grit and then swap to the "shaping" grit (higher grit) to work your curves/shapes, leave it a little rich from the bushing for you normal hand sanding stages...!

From this point on, and unless you do something silly or something goes badly wrong, you all all the chances in the world to finish that blank and put it in a pen kit, seriously...!:wink:

Do not believe me...???:eek:, no "problemo"...! try it and then let me know...!:biggrin: I will put my money where my mouth is...!:wink::smile:

Any questions you may have about this system, just say so...!

Disclaimer:
As unbelievable as it can look, I do not sell grinders nor Flap discs, I have no business association with any manufacturers of these type products, nor I receive any kind of commission for my recommendations/suggestions. I should also say that, to this day, I haven't received either a "thank you" from those making and selling these products, and quite honestly, I'm not expecting that to ever happen either...!:eek::mad::biggrin:


Good luck

Cheers
George
 
same way you turn a banksia pod, get a SUPER SHARP drill bit i recommend a colt pen drill bit, and then coat the thing in ca and soak it in, and let it sit and dry, when trimmming use the sander. and on the lathe go as slow as possible and Have super sharp lathe tools and take light cuts.
 
Try rounding them on a belt sander before turning. I use a round nose scraper(very slight curve) and keep it sharp. Don't worry, everybody who has ever turned these this have blown them up. And do what the guys above said.
 
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