Inlace Acrylester

[jlmort1980]

Ok, I have just recieved a couple Inlace Acrylester blanks and have never turned this material before. I have turn a lot of Acrylic Acetate before though. Is there anything I need to know about this material? Does it turn similar to Acrylic? Any special tips or trick would be greatly appreciated before I ruin a bunch of blanks trying.

Thanks

 

[el_d]

I have only turned one, very "chippy", but got it done slow and easy.
Polished up great....

 

[ldb2000]

I love Inlace , I've turned over a hundred pens with it and have only blown up one blank . It is very brittle and will blow up if you look at it wrong but when it is finished , it shines like glass !!!
The old Mantra of "Sharp tools and a very light touch" applies here . It's really not bad to work with if you don't rush it . If your one of those people that has to turn out twenty pens per hour , you are going to have problems . Slow and steady wins this race for sure . Take your time and take very light shearing cuts with a very scary sharp skew and you will have no problems .

Edit;
It can also be very translucent so make sure to paint the hole before you glue your tubes in and I would advise using epoxy to glue them in . Also when drilling advance the bit slowly , don't force it and don't try to drill the hole all the way through , cut the blank long and drill short then cut off the excess .

 

[Polarys425]

As he said, very slow and easy.

Cut your blank for tubes 1/2" long if you can. Drill it deep enough for the tube, but not all the way thru the blank. Then you can cut the blank shorter, close to the length of the tube, and this will open the other end. This will prevent the blank from cracking or breaking, as it will if you just try to drill it all the way thru.

Turn it with very sharp tools, and a light touch, and keep the cutting edge of the tool at or above the centerline of the mandrel to help prevent catches.

 

[workinforwood]

Yes...that's the very most important thing...drill then cut. If you drill all the way through..it's almost guaranteed to break the blank before you even have a chance to tube it and spin it!

 

[Mack C.]

Ok, I have just recieved a couple Inlace Acrylester blanks and have never turned this material before. I have turn a lot of Acrylic Acetate before though. Is there anything I need to know about this material? Does it turn similar to Acrylic? Any special tips or trick would be greatly appreciated before I ruin a bunch of blanks trying.

Thanks

Here's Woodturningz' instructions regarding working with Inlace Acrylester.
http://www.woodturningz.com/docs/Working_with_Inlace_Acrylester.pdf

I have just finished turning 3 pens from it in the past couple of days, sharp skew only. I'm glad I looked at the instructions since I was getting a lot of pitting with a 3/4" roughing gouge.

 

[Nick]

One other thing I do in addition to the above posts, remove the corners of the blank on the sander then turn the blank.

 

[Mack C.]

One other thing I do in addition to the above posts, remove the corners of the blank on the sander then turn the blank.

Hi Nick; I've never done that, and I probably should! I considered it but really never knew why. Help me out here.

 

[ToddMR]

Round stock is easier to turn then square stock. Knocking off the corners/edges helps to avoid issues early on for some.

 

[Mack C.]

Round stock is easier to turn then square stock. Knocking off the corners/edges helps to avoid issues early on for some.

That sounds reasonable to me. Why was I attempting to make this operation seem more complicated than it really is? (this is a question not really requiring an answer)

 

[ldb2000]

Again , a proper "Shearing" cut is the most important thing with this material , or any other for that matter . Using a shearing cut , knocking the corners off is easy . A shearing cut "Slices" the surface of the blank off with minimal chip out .
For those that don't know , A "Shearing" cut is holding the the cutting edge of the skew at a 45 degree angle to the blank and riding the bevel . "Riding the bevel" means that the beveled edge of the cutting part of the skew is paralel to the surface of the blank then tilting the cutting edge into the blank ever so slightly . When you get the proper angle the cutting edge will start to take off thin slices off the blank and will become first little flakes then becoming small pieces of ribbons getting progressively longer as the edges are cut away . If your skew is sharp enough this process will only take about a minute or less and you will have a perfectly rounded blank .
Continue this cut and again if you have the proper cutting angle you will be able to throw the ribbons away from the blank keeping them from getting wraped around the blank as you turn it down to proper size . You will also get a surface that will require little or no sanding when you are done .

 

[randywa]

Again , a proper "Shearing" cut is the most important thing with this material , or any other for that matter . Using a shearing cut , knocking the corners off is easy . A shearing cut "Slices" the surface of the blank off with minimal chip out .
For those that don't know , A "Shearing" cut is holding the the cutting edge of the skew at a 45 degree angle to the blank and riding the bevel . "Riding the bevel" means that the beveled edge of the cutting part of the skew is paralel to the surface of the blank then tilting the cutting edge into the blank ever so slightly . When you get the proper angle the cutting edge will start to take off thin slices off the blank and will become first little flakes then becoming small pieces of ribbons getting progressively longer as the edges are cut away . If your skew is sharp enough this process will only take about a minute or less and you will have a perfectly rounded blank .
Continue this cut and again if you have the proper cutting angle you will be able to throw the ribbons away from the blank keeping them from getting wraped around the blank as you turn it down to proper size . You will also get a surface that will require little or no sanding when you are done .

I finally get it. I've been trying to get my mind around the skew thingy for quite awhile. That was the only explanation of a shear cut that I've understood. Thanks for the kick start.