MESQUITE AND ME

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IT'S GOTTA BE ME

Just blew Mesquite blank number three, with a new edge on my Woodchuck. Think I'll quit for the day.:confused:
 
Mesquite should cooperate pretty well, you have to figure in most of the country it's an invasive over grown weed, (but it sure can be pretty, and it's usually quite stable. Try turning up the RPM and see if that helps..
 
yeah that is unique, i turn lots of mesquite too, and never had that issue, I agree with Ken about turning up the rpm's, sometimes faster is better!
 
Thanks for the tips. I turn with a Shopsmith set at "M". I think that is about 2500 RPM. Do you recommend higher? BTW, I have successfully turned Mesquite before and even sold one or two. Don't know why these happened.
 
Me also, I figure it must be the figure in your mesquite. I've had other woods blow out because of the grain in the figure and how it was oriented compared to my chisel and the tube but hopefully the rpm's will solve it for you. Good luck with it.
 
Try turning up the speed and turn the woodchuck 45 degrees to the blank. Use the corner of the insertt to rough out the size.
 
How are you gluing up your blanks? I hear about pens blowing out while turning quite frequently but I've had very few is any over hundreds of pens turned. I almost always use Gorilla Glue. I'm sure I have no special technique and for sure my tools aren't as sharp as most can keep them so I have to credit the Gorilla Glue.

John
 
It maybe that you have the phunky type. If you like I can sell you the piece of burl I got today. It may also be that you may not have a good quality or paerhaps the root of the tree that is not too stable.
 
I have found that nearly every blow out I have is due to poor glue coverage. Usually it is a case of trying to hurry the process - which, too often, causes a delay in which I have to start over again with another blank.
 
thewishman said:
I have found that nearly every blow out I have is due to poor glue coverage. Usually it is a case of trying to hurry the process - which, too often, causes a delay in which I have to start over again with another blank.
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Thanks for the response. I never thought I was rushing the process. I'll be more deliberate from here on in.

John
 
jedgerton said:
How are you gluing up your blanks? I hear about pens blowing out while turning quite frequently but I've had very few is any over hundreds of pens turned. I almost always use Gorilla Glue. I'm sure I have no special technique and for sure my tools aren't as sharp as most can keep them so I have to credit the Gorilla Glue.

John
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I've never used Gorilla Glue before on pens. Does it expand out the ends when curing? How long before you can turn? I use medium or thick CA, depending on how tight the tube fits in the drilled blank. I had used medium CA on all the blanks that I blew out, because the fit was tight. Quite possibly my glue coverage was not consistent and thorough on the tube. Think I'll oversize the hole a bit and use thick CA.

Thanks for the tips everyone.

John
 
Try epoxy or the gorilla glue. GG does expand but it has worked better than CA for me.

Is there any glue on the bare tube or blank where it blew apart?
 
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