Something new for me.

[Dale Parrott]

A local penturner recently asked me if cork could be turned on a lathe. I'd never even considered it but that one question lit a spark. Suddenly, my brain was buzzing, and before I knew it, I was "borrowing" one of my wife's cork trivets and heading to the shop.

Naturally, I asked AI if you could stabilize cork with Cactus Juice. It confidently said no and then followed up with a bunch of technical stuff that sounded like it was meant for a chemistry textbook. I gave it a try anyway. (Spoiler: it didn't work.) But hey, I had to try. It's in my DNA.

The trivet was only 3/8" thick, but I made it work. I saturated the cork with thin CA glue and let it dry, then glued 2 layers together with medium CA. Most of the shaping was done with sandpaper, starting at 60 grit and working my way up like a determined woodpecker.

Now I'm thinking about giving it another go, this time with turning tools, just to see if I can push it a little further. Hope you enjoy the experiment!

 

[d_bondi]

Interesting... Bob Blanford (RJBWoodTurner on YouTube) recently posted a video with a cork/rubber blank.

 

[leehljp]

Here is one from a couple of years ago:

Trimline with Wave Cork

Through the years, the subject pops up every so often

 

[MRDucks2]

Quite well done, Dale. I do believe the finish you achieved on the cork is unparalleled. You would make any woodpecker jealous.

 

[Woodchipper]

Sandpaper is the way to shape cork or cork blends. Using regular tools will cause catches in the soft material and an expansion of the vocabulary.

 

[Dale Parrott]

Sandpaper is the way to shape cork or cork blends. Using regular tools will cause catches in the soft material and an expansion of the vocabulary.

That is so true. The cork was very similar to Hempwood.

 

[Herman]

I would consider a rotary tool, perhaps a small Dremel would do a good job. It could be a similar operation to grinding pneumatic shafts and pistons.

 

[Alan Morrison]

A few years ago George Valentine @robutacion turned down a blank made of polystyrene ( I believe ) using a flap disc.

No more blowing blanks rounding and shaping them...!

Hi everyone, Again, this is an issue that I have mention many times at many forums, but never actually taken pics of it, there is, the precise type of sanding disks that I was referring to. While on the subject, I decided to document the rounding process of one of the many very soft blanks...

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