PR vs Acrylic

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kludge77

kludge77

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Dude.

I just turned my first PR blank. A freebie included in my order from Ed (Thanks!)

I'd only turned two other plasitc blanks before. They were acrylic blanks from Woodcraft. They were beautiful, but what a pain in the behind. This was SO much easier than the acrylics. Yeah it still smells and I'm still not a fan of the crap wrapping around the blank, but chip out was near nill, and drilling was a breeze!

Why can't you buy PR pens from Woodcraft and the like? Now that I know better, its obviously the way to go!
 
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kludge77 said:
Dude.

I just turned my first PR blank. A freebie included in my order from Ed (Thanks!)

I'd only turned two other plasitc blanks before. They were acrylic blanks from Woodcraft. They were beautiful, but what a pain in the behind. This was SO much easier than the acrylics. Yeah it still smells and I'm still not a fan of the crap wrapping around the blank, but chip out was near nill, and drilling was a breeze!

Why can't you buy PR pens from Woodcraft and the like? Now that I know better, its obviously the way to go!
Click to expand...

There ARE some PR blanks made commercially. The "metallics" that we sell on exotics are a PR product.

Be a little careful though, the Inlace acylester product is also a PR, but much different mix of catalyst to "goo". It is much more "chippy".

Dawn has made PR blanks for several years now, there is a "learning curve".

Glad you liked it:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:
 
I think acrylics are pretty easy to turn - ribbons and decently high polish...

Inlace Acrylester is a PAIN to turn - chippy moon-craters, but it can take a monstrous shine! It really glows when you do it right....

The more brittle the blank, the harder it is to turn, and the more shine it has in the end...it's a trade-off, so you have to compromise and choose either easy to turn and very good shine, or very hard to turn and excellent shine. (we're talking subjectively here, however - the 'easy' blanks shine up danged nicely as well!)

That's my opinion at least. The other side of it is there are a LOT more blanks in the 'easy to turn' spectrum, and they look pretty great turned anyway, so I rarely turn inlace any more!
 
I suppose it's all a matter of perspective.

Easy for me = Walnut
Challenging for me= Pinecone

Plastics are in between. I'm not saying acrylics are impossible, but certainly not as easy as the resin I worked this weekend. Also I found that once turned it was simpler to get the swirls out and get it shined up.

In addition to the equation, the acrylics I turned were back in 2008 and near the beginning of my first pen turnings. That might have something to do with my perspective as well. Also did a few dymondwoods back then. Another challenge if I recall.

Anyway. PR = good. In my simple brain at least! :)
 
I have to say .... If you're finding any "acrylic" hard to turn, then you'd be surprised what sharper tools can do for you.

Without listing out acrylics (and I have turned MOST of them now), I find that each has their benefits and uniqueness. However, thanks to some tips from Ed and others.... A REALLY sharp skew and using my drill doctor for bits, I can say that I can successfully turn them all.

Now the most forgiving blanks are definitely a pleasure to turn. Not too long ago I saw a note somewhere that said "you can't turn acrylics with a gouge". I'm gonna have to make a video, because I pulled out a cheap gouge, sharpened it up - the proceeded to turn 2 blanks (One of JohnU's which was round already and one of dawns from square)... I used the gouge exclusively down to the last couple 1/16 of an inch! I only switched to the skew to save myself sanding cause I get get a smoother cut with the skew.

That being said... One of these days I'm going to dig out an Inlace and see if I can "gouge" it without chips.

Why do I make this point? Because there is a ton of materials out there... and they all very greatly (even from any one vendor). Alot of what you learn from turning acrylics may help with those other products too (like bakelite, etc!). Acrylics (general term) are alot more like wood than you think in that each piece is unique and may turn differently.

Oh... as for the the stuff wrapped around... 2 words: dust collector!
 
kludge77 said:
I suppose it's all a matter of perspective.

Easy for me = Walnut
Challenging for me= Pinecone

Plastics are in between. I'm not saying acrylics are impossible, but certainly not as easy as the resin I worked this weekend. Also I found that once turned it was simpler to get the swirls out and get it shined up.

In addition to the equation, the acrylics I turned were back in 2008 and near the beginning of my first pen turnings. That might have something to do with my perspective as well. Also did a few dymondwoods back then. Another challenge if I recall.

Anyway. PR = good. In my simple brain at least! :)
Click to expand...

In general I would agree that PR = good, but then again you will find a ton here that swear by alumite. (spelling?)... I'm happy to say that learning how to deal with acrylics solved 90% of my issues with dymondwood too! :)
 
alphageek said:
That being said... One of these days I'm going to dig out an Inlace and see if I can "gouge" it without chips.

quote]



It can be done. I used to do it all the time when I used to turn that stuff.

All I use is a gouge for all plastics. I can get a nice clean cut that shines with a gouge, similar to what I've seen some do with a skew.
I just keep it sharp and hold at an angle, rather than straight in like most do.
Click to expand...
 
PR, great to turn. Alumilite, good/great to turn (depending on who you talk to and which alumilite white, crystal clear, water clear). Inlace, really hard to turn. Some tru-stone easy to turn, other tru-stone a real bear to turn.

I also think that the additives have an impact on chippiness.

And lastly, not only is it the casting material, it is the quality of how they are made. If they have a lot of teeny tiny air bubbles, or not so tiny air bubbles, then you have tear out blow out. I know that when I get PR from exotics I don't have any tear out or blow out. When I have gotten pr from other sources, yeah, I've had a few.
 
Don't overlook the experience factor. I often turn PR from begining to end with a round nose scraper and occasionally turn Inlace acylester entirely with a scraper, although using a skew is safer. I couldn't do that on the first few I turned. After doing almost nothing but resins, lots of them, it now seems suprising how aggressively you can dig into wood. It won't take long and you will be doing whatever comes along with equal ease.
 
Peter:
If you can find a way to attach a shop vac or dust collector directly behind the lathe, you can avoid the build up on the ends.
 
When I first saw this post, I thought PR vs Acrylic...and well, you know they are both the same thing right? Acrylic is plastic. It's a pretty generic term. I covers PR, Alumilite, Inlace, Acetate and many more. Each type of acrylic of course has it's own different properties. Most blanks at Woodcraft are Acrylic Acetate, and that is a soft plastic that melts easy but also spins easy.

Ribbons are good...if you are getting ribbons, it means you are turning the blank correctly.

I used to always spin acrylics with a Gouge too. Now I use the rotondo tool, but a gouge is fine as long as it's sharp. I also liked to hold my gouge on an angle and a bit twisted to the side.
 
Does anyone know what the plastic is that Woodcraft sells on the circuit board pens?
I have turned a few lately and have had some issues with chips, my fault, but it does not have the pungent smell of some blanks that I have to wear a resperator or the smell drives me out of the shop.
 
Boz said:
Does anyone know what the plastic is that Woodcraft sells on the circuit board pens?
I have turned a few lately and have had some issues with chips, my fault, but it does not have the pungent smell of some blanks that I have to wear a resperator or the smell drives me out of the shop.
Click to expand...


Pretty sure it's PR. It's even sticky on the outside.
 
Best tool for turning plastics is the Pen Pro. You never have to look at another tool again. No more grinder for sharping. Just buy the inserts. They last a long time.
 
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