Fordite how do I hate thee

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lvturner

lvturner

Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2025
Messages
55
Location
Las Vegas
Every 6 months or so I forget how difficult Fordite is to work and I jump right in. Never anything but regrets until the end. This micro screwdriver blew out 4 times and I persisted.

Very happy with results. I drilled the blank at a cant to get a different swirl effect at top and bottom. But I still hate working it.
 
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I have made many fordites with no issues. I also never take a gouge or a skew to it. I sand it more or less round on the bench beltsander, then only sandpaper on the lathe.

And for the purists that will criticize my technique. NEVER has anyone that looked at my pens thought, "I bet he doesnt know how to use a skew".
IMG_3090.JPG
 
carlmorrell said:
I have made many fordites with no issues. I also never take a gouge or a skew to it. I sand it more or less round on the bench beltsander, then only sandpaper on the lathe.

And for the purists that will criticize my technique. NEVER has anyone that looked at my pens thought, "I bet he doesnt know how to use a skew".View attachment 387286
Click to expand...
That's a hell of a piece. I did use a negative rake carbide round for most all of it. But sanded about 30% to end. It was rough.

How thick of a piece did you start with that you were able to achieve that angle? Or how did you achieve that angle?
 
carlmorrell said:
I have made many fordites with no issues. I also never take a gouge or a skew to it. I sand it more or less round on the bench beltsander, then only sandpaper on the lathe.

And for the purists that will criticize my technique. NEVER has anyone that looked at my pens thought, "I bet he doesnt know how to use a skew".View attachment 387286
Click to expand...
Wow, that is one beautiful piece of fordite! Those colors have a vintage look to them! So nice!
 
lvturner said:
That's a hell of a piece. I did use a negative rake carbide round for most all of it. But sanded about 30% to end. It was rough.

How thick of a piece did you start with that you were able to achieve that angle? Or how did you achieve that angle?
Click to expand...
I made a crazy looking 3 dimension clamp setup. Then glued 3 pieces together to make the blank. I started with a piece that was about 3/4" thick.

20231217_131346.jpg
 
lvturner said:
Do you think a similar look could be achieved by cutting the three pieces, individually drilling the 3 pieces at an angle and then glueing the 3 together?
Click to expand...
It would be tough to line up the holes. Not sure what the advantage would be. If the issue is getting a long bore. I have two solutions for that. One is a long drill bit. I did get a longer 7mm drill. The other is to lower the drill bit in the chuck after an initial drilling. This easily can get you another inch.
 
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