Prepping A Segmented Blank Before Turning

Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad

KenB259

Member
Joined
Dec 24, 2017
Messages
4,117
Location
Michigan
I recently started doing something different with segmented blanks and it seems to be helping a lot. I haven't lost a single blank since doing it. What I do is, after drilling, I saturate the inside of the blank with thin CA, using a q-tip. Sometimes redrilling is necessary, but that's quick and easy. Segmented blanks, as we all know, can be fragile and a little extra insurance isn't a bad idea.
 
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
So do I, but feel the CA seeps in and helps the actual blank hold together. Just a little added insurance.
Just something you do and I find no need for and I have done alot of segmented blanks too. If the segmenting was like a laser cut I would buy it but the segments were glued in so where is the CA going except into any unglued portion.
 
It can't hurt that's for sure and if it seals any micro fractures caused by the drilling then got to be worth the extra minute to do it.

I too use epoxy for tubes but have been known to back up any " questionable areas with CA hopefully when I notice and BEFORE any issue arises, sadly not always before though 😲
 
I like the idea of swabbing the inside of the segmented hole with some thin CA. Will surely provide a little extra insurance to keep everything bound together as we turn away the vast majority of the glued material when doing a pen, so a little extra gluing can't hurt! Similar to how I turn larger objects that have some potential defects - I generously apply thin CA to the affected area as I turn, allow the CA a little time to absorb, hit it with accelerator, and then keep turning. Helps strengthen any weak points and harden slightly punky areas. With a pen, I still would stick to final glue up with epoxy when inserting the tube, but using CA prior to that more as a binding agent sounds like a great idea.
 
Ive been doing that for a while....and the outside. It is not an original idea ( I don't have those ) I am sure I read that on here some where, some time....I think I might even have wrapped thread around the outside too. But I haven't done that in a while. I am not going to say that I have never had failures...but not very often. But then I don't do wood much either.

Edit: I had a particularly ornery blank one time that I stopped and doused with thin on the outside fairly often....3 or 4 times as I turned it down. Lots of times with segmented acrylic, I put it on my metal lathe and take light passes with a carbide cutter. I take it down close to the bushings and then sand it the rest of the way. ( Can I admit that?)
 
Last edited:
I have one of those special blanks sitting on the bench for some time and not sure how I want to drill it yet because I see failure written all over it. My original thought and may still try it is to encase it in a cast resin. I need to be able to drill it straight down the middle and that is where my plan may fail. It is on the to do list. If that plan works I will be sure to take a few photos. Maybe another method when drilling segmented blanks that are delicate.
 
Back
Top Bottom