First Acrylic

[Serapheem]

So this is my first acrylic with a CA finish. Actually looking for folks to point out the spots where it can be better. I tend to learn more from criticism...but a little praise will keep me from crying

 

[1080Wayne]

I like that shape . It is my standard for slims . Could have been turned down a bit more to the center band diameter . Why CA finish though ? Shouldn`t be needed on acrylic .

 

[DrD]

Overall a nice job. You have done a few things that most all of us have done in the past, none of which makes your pen a bad pen; it is a nice pen. In most all of the photos it is evident the blank is proud of the matting furniture, and that may have been your goal. However, many strive to have the blank mate seemlessly with the nib, center band and top finial. In picture 4 with the glancing/oblique light, one can detect circumferential (around the blank, not across the blank) sanding ridges. These can be dealt be a combination of things: lessening the pressure on the sand paper while sanding; turning off the lathe and sand across the blank while manually indexing the piece, going to higher grits. In picture 5 it appears that the brass tube can be seen thru the acrylic; acrylics are notorious for this, thus many turners will paint the inside of the drilled blank, paint the outside of the tubes, or both.
Again, good job, keep turning, keep learning/experimenting, and keep sharing your lovely work!
DrD

 

[1shootist]

Good job for your first acrylic pen.
DrD above gave you great pointers for your next one..I look forward to seeing it.

 

[WriteON]

I love acrylic. It is beautiful when finished. CA not needed on acrylic. There are a lot various plastic polishes. Great job on first acrylic blank.

 

[John Eldeen]

I like the shape that is one of my standard design on a slimline. On to the bad I would second everything the previous posts have said. One other is it doesn't look like you back painted the blank in the yellow areas it looks like you can see the tube. When you are choosing the color to back paint the blank think about what impact the back color will have on the colors of the blank itself.

 

[bsshog40]

I agree, it looks good. Get the ends a little closer. I haven't done much acrylic but I think painting the tube with a yellow paint would have hidden it better. I use acrylic paint on my tubes and inside the blank. I then let them dry overnite so the glue doesn't mess with the paint so much when gluing the tubes in. Also, as stated, don't need CA on acrylic. I sand mine all the way up to micro mesh 12000. Nice first acrylic though!

 

[BruceA]

Good first effort! You may try one of the Sierra style single barrel kits to get your bearings - you can get TWO pens out of one 5" blank, and the diameter is larger (.425"). Buy a couple dozen Sierra tubes and ONE kit for starters. Work with your finished diameters to match the kit for practice. The Sierra kit is easy to even switch blanks on as you can punch out the top finial easily without damage, and then install in a different tube.

For plastic polish, try the Hut Ultra Gloss https://www.hutproducts.com/prodinfo.asp?number=0106, or Plast X https://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-Pla...=sr_1_4?keywords=plastx&qid=1569618603&sr=8-4. I prefer the Plast X because it's thicker, and stays on the blank and not your shirt, and is cheaper, and smells good! One bottle will last your for YEARS.

 

[Serapheem]

thanks to everyone for the help. I love that folks on here are ready and willing to help each other out.

So I went back and pulled a similar colored blank and tried tried again... this time with a pencil kit. Took more time getting the ends better and also painted the tube before gluing. NO CA this time Just lighter sanding, polish and buffing. And yes i know my picture taking needs to be addressed as well

 

[BruceA]

Good job on the mating of blank to metal on nib and centerband. Much better! This particular acrylic blank is problematic from the standpoint of opacity - looks like you painted the tube white? The white tube shows through on BOTH of the colors yellow and green, and reduces the intensity. I'd recommend using a bright yellow paint as a first try. Better to seek out an acrylic blank that isn't as translucent unless you can come up with a tube/blank back paint color that compliments the color saturation. My 2 cents...

 

[Serapheem]

looks like you painted the tube white? The white tube shows through on BOTH of the colors yellow and green, and reduces the intensity. I'd recommend using a bright yellow paint as a first try.

Actually I did use a yellow paint. I'm thinking I didn't wait long enough for the paint to dry before gluing the tube in place. Also I was painting the inside of the blank... better results painting the tube I assume?

 

[BruceA]

Look at the green portions of the pen - see how it's showing through, and looks like a white base? Possibly your yellow was a lighter shade? Best strategy is to paint BOTH the tube and the blank, and make sure you've got a good solid color coverage. Sometimes it's just a futile effort if the blank tends towards translucent - try a blank with strong solid colors, and paint the tube the dominant color of the blank, or black.

Like I recommended before, the Sierra pens use a 2.21" blank, so you can get TWO out of a standard 5" full blank. That way you can play around with this kind of thing and not use up a full blank on one test.

There's a lot of trial-and-error involved in this hobby...keep with it!!