Red Palm Blowouts

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mark james

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Well, both red palm and white palm. Last year I turned a few pens with Palm as the end cap accent rings. I had no real issues, turned carefully and no issues. All the blanks went fine.

I now have an order for 10 pens with the same caribbean theme (Trees common to the islands): Royal Poinsiana/coconut palm end caps (red/black/white palm). I can easily substitute mango (which I have, thanks Joe!), caribbean mahogany, etc., but the Poinciana looks very nice.

I have turned 4 simple segmented blanks, blew out on the Palm, some several times :eek: . The palm on this go round just seems different. I'm just posting for others that may use this material. Some are no issue, some are "ornery." I have been able to do 4 and a 5'th is on the bench. For the final 5 pens, I am using the palm as the middle material and will use Mango or Poinsiana for the end caps - these will be Sierra Vistas, so a lot more shoulder dimensions for the end caps.

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magpens

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Very nice pens, Mark !!

I have never turned any palm woods ... too scary for me ! . You seem to "work" them very well !
 

mark james

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Nice work mark! I also have one palm blank. Just from the feel of it makes me not want to turn it. Lol

I am now saturating the ends with CA, hopefully to stabilize. And also going back to my tried-n-true epoxy glue-ups. I will be using 2 part epoxy (5 minute) but letting set overnight. I drilled/glued the last 6 blanks today, will work on turning them tomorrow with end caps. I have time, so no need to hurry.

I have been sharpening my HSS gouges regulary, but still am having issues. Not sure if it is a tool problem or my left eye (lots of floaters 30-40% reduced clear vision).
 

eharri446

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I found a Youtube video that a guy did which showed how he stabilized black palm and eliminated the tear out issue. I have a board of black palm and a board of red palm that I am going to cut into 3 inch long blanks and then stabilize once I get my order of Cactus Juice in in the next week or so.
 
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Good looking pens... I like them.

I read somewhere that Palm is not a wood at all, but rather a form of grass... the few that I have turned were like turning sand... they turned okay, but the chips were gritty like sand. I did do a pepper mill from a chunk of black palm that turned out well. It sold the first time I showed it at the
market.
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1080Wayne

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Until I scrolled down and saw the pictures Mark , I assumed you were doing something a bit difficult , like cross-cutting the palm . Definitely thin CA the drilled hole and give it hours to cure before gluing the tube in . I would also liberally apply it to the turning when you get down to about 1/4 inch over finished diameter . Accelerator probably okay to use then .

I did try to stabilize black palm for a friends knife handles a couple years ago . Have mislaid my notes , but if I remember correctly , it didn`t absorb much Cactus juice , so that may not be as effective as CA .

All of that said , I checked my stock of black palm blanks , and noticed a fair range of density variation among them . That might explain why you`re having trouble this time .

And I would be happy to palm off a piece of Sabal palmetto (cabbage palm) and one of red hala if you want more practice .
 
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Dehn0045

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I did try to stabilize black palm for a friends knife handles a couple years ago . Have mislaid my notes , but if I remember correctly , it didn`t absorb much Cactus juice , so that may not be as effective as CA .

I think your memory is spot on Wayne, I found my notes and the piece of black palm that I stabilized with CJ a while back increased in weight by only 17% (this ranks in the bottom 15% of the 50 or so species that I have stabilized).

The only other suggestion that I will make is to consider using a foaming polyurethane glue (gorilla glue). I think that this type of glue results in more well-distributed bond between blank and brass. With the few black palm pens that I have turned I noticed that the middle portion of the blanks held up well but the ends tended to be rather chippy -- I think that using it as the middle material will be much much easier.
 

studioseven

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Mark,
What material do you use for your white accent piece? I use credit cards but it looks like you are using something different.

Seven
 

howsitwork

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Well I hope it was just a one off as I've just stabilised 6 black palm blanks with stickfast to stabilize them. Not drilled them yet some now some concern about it but live and learn. Will update you in new year once they're done.

Hapoy New Year to one and all
 

howsitwork

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Well they drill OK but very powdery. Not sure if the stabilizing resin has totally penetrated despite getting overnight session before cooking as the edges are distinctly flakey along the " frond lines" when cutting them.

Currently got one sat with epoxy in curing overnight. Will update you ongoing as curiosity now piqued.

Ian
 

BRobbins629

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+1 for soaking with CA. Just recently had a similar situation with some crosscut California redwood that was felled in the 1800s. After 4 blowouts drilling soaked in CA and my problems went away.
 

mark james

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Well I hope it was just a one off as I've just stabilised 6 black palm blanks with stickfast to stabilize them. Not drilled them yet some now some concern about it but live and learn. Will update you in new year once they're done.

Hapoy New Year to one and all

I do suspect it is manageable with CA. Today went much better (pictures following). Yesterday I coated the ends and sides of the palm with CA, let set overnight. The blank that had the Palm on the ends turned much better, and is a successful blanks waiting assembly.

I also began the blanks with the Palm in the center, with credit card and Royal Poinciana end caps. I also coated the ends of the palm before final tidying before assembling the sandwich. I turned one 4 hrs later, and it was very easy. I also think I like the palm in the middle, with the Poinciana on the ends. Looks nice and eliminates some issues.


+1 for soaking with CA. Just recently had a similar situation with some crosscut California redwood that was felled in the 1800s. After 4 blowouts drilling soaked in CA and my problems went away.

Yes, I had a much better day prepping 5 blanks with the palm coated on the ends in CA.
 

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Grampy

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Dec 28, 2019
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Well, both red palm and white palm. Last year I turned a few pens with Palm as the end cap accent rings. I had no real issues, turned carefully and no issues. All the blanks went fine.

I now have an order for 10 pens with the same caribbean theme (Trees common to the islands): Royal Poinsiana/coconut palm end caps (red/black/white palm). I can easily substitute mango (which I have, thanks Joe!), caribbean mahogany, etc., but the Poinciana looks very nice.

I have turned 4 simple segmented blanks, blew out on the Palm, some several times :eek: . The palm on this go round just seems different. I'm just posting for others that may use this material. Some are no issue, some are "ornery." I have been able to do 4 and a 5'th is on the bench. For the final 5 pens, I am using the palm as the middle material and will use Mango or Poinsiana for the end caps - these will be Sierra Vistas, so a lot more shoulder dimensions for the end caps.

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Those look fantastic.. Good imagination / insight...and even better execution..
 

howsitwork

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Oh boy are these delicate ! Even with stickfast stabilisation i can see fracture lines between on the cut ends. This is going to be an interesting turning session. Think I'll turn a little magnet knob first and see how it reacts.
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This shows the offcuts from the end of the blank with an M4 rod embedded in the end with CA. I use the expanding nutserve at the right to hold this in the jaws of a drill chuck secured in the lathe to turn it. Works like a dream with most , but not all plastics.
 

mark james

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I did get the last of the blanks turned without problems. As suggested, I coated the ends with CA, and used CA during the turning to re-stabilize. This was for the last blank with the Palm on the endcap (darker wood).

For the last five blanks, I switched to a Sierra Vista, which has huge shoulders for more material on the tube ends. I also switched the Palm to be the middle section and the Royal Poinciana to be on the ends, this aided with turning the palm smoothly with no exposed ends (straws šŸ¤£ ). I also like the Palm in the middle, a nice variation.

I need to clean up the ends and then will assemble the final four.
 

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Grampy

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Mark,
What material do you use for your white accent piece? I use credit cards but it looks like you are using something different.

Seven
With the added benefit of less spending.. (sorry I had to, I laughed when I thought about it..)
Looks great, I like the technique..
 

howsitwork

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Well the experiment with the little knob turned OK, photo will follow but tool MUST be Razor sharp or the finish suffers more than normal.
I used very delicate cuts to avoid splintering , cutting in carefully from the middle towards the ends in small sections with a small deep,flute bowl gouge initially . Not sure how well the stickfast has penetrated but it did hold together OK .
It came off more as powered than shavings but that might be the stickfast as I noticed that with some red gum burk I'd stabilised this way too so maybe it did penetrate?

Pen blank later in week and that will show me if it's worth the effort but looks so far are good.
 
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