starting acrylic turning....help!!

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RonInSpringTX

Member
Joined
Nov 12, 2007
Messages
274
Location
Spring, TX.
Okay dudes/dudettes, between your pics & advice I'm going acrylic!! UUUGGGHHHH!!!I'll still do the wood, my favorite, but, I feel I have to make this addition to my repetoire, so to speak. I've already got the blanks, etc. I just have a few simple questions of the process, from start to finish, OK?? I could probably figure it out for myself, but with the expertise I've seen on here, I've come to you instead of blowing out 1/2 dozen blanks, etc. My Craftsman drill press crapped out, havs to get new tires for it, I hope!! Already bought a small Ryobi, seems to work good!!OK, here we go..


??? speed of drill press when drilling the blank??
??? gluing up....is the med CA ok?? or ??
??? speed / using trim barrel on blank??any blowouts??
??? speed on knocking off the edges/tools, gouge still??then finish with skew??? etc??
??? finishing.... up to what grade sandpaper, wet sanding @ what grade, if at all??
??? plastic polish from PSI, Renaissance wax??

I'm asking becuz' you know, thanks for your help!!!!!
 
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500
yes
cordless drill-med. speed, light touch
1200-spindlemaster-finish w/skew-warp speed
400/600 wet then buff w/ tripoli & WD
Ren. wax at assembly

This is what I do. Let me see, how many members here? Undoubtedly that's how many different ways there are!:D
 
pretty close to the same as Rick except i will use a belt sander to knock off edges first i will use a gouge untill round then switch to a skew as fast as the lathe will turn. i sand to 400 drit then micro mesh all the way to 12000 and then a final application of ren wax. hope this helps!!:D
 
The 2 above are good advice. All I will add is that if you want a glass smooth finish, get a beal buff system and use the tripoli followed by white diamond and then the wax buff(I don't charge the buff with wax really its more just to buff off the residue from the first 2 )
 
??? speed of drill press when drilling the blank??</u> - 500 RPM

??? gluing up....is the med CA ok?? or ??</u> - I prefer to use epoxy; you can color epoxy. Paint the inside of the tubes too.

??? speed / using trim barrel on blank??any blowouts??</u> - I mill all of my blanks on the drill press, so 500 RPM

??? speed on knocking off the edges/tools, gouge still??then finish with skew??? etc??</u> - 3000 RPM. A sharp gouge to knock off the corners, then a sharp skew. Light passes and take your time. You are not in a race with anyone. Your goal (I hope) is to make a nice pen, not to see how fast you can make a mediocre pen.

??? finishing.... up to what grade sandpaper, wet sanding @ what grade, if at all??</u> - 320 or 400 to make sure everything is even. Then Beale Buff it. I use Ren. wax in place of the carnuba. Rub the Ren. wax directly onto the blank and use the last wheel to buff it out/off.
 
Ron, I tend to run a little faster than most on here..

??? speed of drill press when drilling the blank?? usually about 1100.. go slow and watch chips.. I rarely have a blow out...

??? gluing up....is the med CA ok?? or ?? I use thick Ca.. I use thick on all my glue ups..

??? speed / using trim barrel on blank??any blowouts?? same as drilling on the DP

??? speed on knocking off the edges/tools, gouge still??then finish with skew??? etc??
I start with skew and turn at high speed.. usually 1800 or 2600 on my Jet Mini - make sure the skew is sharp.

??? finishing.... up to what grade sandpaper, wet sanding @ what grade, if at all??
I dry sand up through 500 grit, then switch to wet sanding through the 6 grits on the little sanding pads from PSI/CSUSA - I think top grit is 12000

??? plastic polish from PSI, Renaissance wax??
I use the Hut Ultra Polish
 
500 IMHO is too slow and the chips don't eject fast enough causing excess strain and heat, 900 is the magic number for me. A tip is to keep a spray bottle of water at you side to cool off the bit as you drill.
 
I drill at about 1300 rpm (recommendation from Berea years ago, and still works - and I drill all my blanks, wood, plastic, stabilized or not) make sure you use god and sharp bits.
Glue with Epoxy - 5 min Devcon
Turn fast (highest speed on my 1224), with sharp tools, carefully taking the edges off and round over - spindle gouge, finishing up with skew in scraping mode.
Sand dry with Abranet to 400, then follow with MM through 12K, Novus polish fine (used to wet sand, but this became too messy) - make sure not to get too hot when dry sanding.
No special finish, just a coat or two of TSW.

Now, since you new to this, there are acrylics that are more or less semi transparent, and when you turn them to size, the brass tubes shows through. Make it a habit to color the inside of the drilled blank and the outside of the brass tube with a complementing color. I use for quite some time now Testors model paint. Since you applying thickness to tube and making the diameter of the hole in the blank smaller, consider to drill a size larger hole!! I normally go 1/64 larger - worked for me well on all the pen models I do.
 
Originally posted by RonInSpringTX

If I paint the inside of the blank & the outside of the tube, how will that effect gluing the tube???
Click to expand...

You will want to test fit the tube into the blank before applying glue to make sure there is enough room for the glue. I don't paint the tube. I paint the inside of the blank and add paint to the epoxy.
 
Originally posted by RonInSpringTX

Scott... thanks, guess a brain fart on my end, again. But what about the paint vs the adhesive?? no problems??
Click to expand...

I haven't had any problems. I use 1-2 drops of the same paint I use for the blank to color the epoxy. I let ALL of my glue-ups sit overnight.
 
One other tip that I have picked up from Ed Davidson's video is to leave the blank long, drill then cut to length. This will help prevent chip outs when the drill breaks thru.
You may want to watch his videos and others in the library they are full of info.
 
Originally posted by jhs494

One other tip that I have picked up from Ed Davidson's video is to leave the blank long, drill then cut to length. This will help prevent chip outs when the drill breaks thru.
You may want to watch his videos and others in the library they are full of info.
Click to expand...
A weenie way to insure that you dont drill too deep and drill through the blank, (about 90% of the time you will destroy the blank) lay the tube next to the drill bit you will be using, place the end of the tube where the flutes of the drill begin then moving to the back end of the tube wrap a short length of masking tape around the drill bit alowing about 1/8th inch extra, this will show you where to stop drilling wfter which you can cut to length and your hole will be through, and your blank won't be a blowout.
 
Will blowouts still occur when drilling all the way through the blank if you use a backing board in a pen vise? I'm in the same boat as Ron- going to try my first acrylic soon.

One additional question---I understand that sometimes drilling will leave a visibly disturbed finish on the inside of the blank. So does painting take care of that? I seem to remember someone saying that they used a little acetone in the center of the drilled blank to clean that up. I got some of the "chameleon tubes" from CSUSA on my last order, so theoretically, I shouldn't need to paint the inside of the blank, unless it is to clean up the inner surface. Is that clear as mud now?

Thanks,

Dan
 
I have two questions for everyone here:
1. What do you mean by blowout?
2. Do you use a small model paint brush to accomplish the painting on the inside?

Grub32
 
nevermind, I'll figure it out for myself, like I do everything else!! (I don't mean those members who have helped me!!!)
geeez too much politics!!!

later, Ron
 
Originally posted by grub32

I have two questions for everyone here:
1. What do you mean by blowout?
2. Do you use a small model paint brush to accomplish the painting on the inside?

Grub32
Click to expand...
A blow out is when the blank breaks apart. Some times this can happen when turning, but it can also happen when you drill, as it breaks thru the end it can chip out or splinter and ruin the blank.
I usually just paint my tubes. This covers the brassy look. Some acrylics are translucent, and when you get it turned it is thin and you can see the tube,DAMHIKT, but it is ugly. I usually paint the tube a color that goes with the acrylic. Painting the inside of the blank ensures that the tube won't be seen. Even if you paint the tube you can see the gap between the blank and tube and it looks like an air gap or space that the glue can show thru. This is true on acrylics with clear in them. It also can be ugly.
Mixing paint, a small amount with the epoxy, camo's the glue, and helps conceal it.
I mix a few drops just to tone the color to match close to the blank.
This has never caused a problem for me with the glue becoming weak.
As far as painting the inside of the blank, try a Q-tip, it's cheap and no clean up just toss.
 
Originally posted by RonInSpringTX


??? finishing.... up to what grade sandpaper, wet sanding @ what grade, if at all??
??? plastic polish from PSI, Renaissance wax??
Click to expand...

I use micro mesh to sand when I am done turning acrylics, go thru all the levels to 12000. Wet sand. I use water, and a drop of dish soap. I have several sets of MM and the set for wet sanding stay in a tupperware container, don't tell the LOML where i got it, it is in the water and drop of soap solution always.
Keep the MM wet when sanding, you want to see the slurry, otherwise you can burn your MM.
I then buff with wax on a stationary buffer. Wax I use is from PSI I think..
 
Originally posted by RonInSpringTX

nevermind, I'll figure it out for myself, like I do everything else!! (I don't mean those members who have helped me!!!)
geeez too much politics!!!

later, Ron
Click to expand...

There's no advice here that dozen or so blanks and corresponding extra tubes can't fix! :D

John
 
Thanks Joe S.

That is extremely helpful. What type of epoxy do you use? I am using CA glue currently and I would like to be able to add paint to the epoxy and glue that way. Also, where do you get it? What type of paint do you use? I tried already an acrylic paint and it didnt want to stay on the inside of the blank? Any thoughts?

Thanks again for all the help,

Grub32
 
I have the 15 minute epoxy from PSI. When I paint tubes I use spray paint from Wally World. Adding paint to the epoxy, I use model paint from good old Wally World again.
Cheapest spray paint you can get to paint tubes.
I always let my tubes sit overnight after gluing.
 
Originally posted by RonInSpringTX

nevermind, I'll figure it out for myself, like I do everything else!! (I don't mean those members who have helped me!!!)
geeez too much politics!!!

later, Ron
Click to expand...

Ron---You might take into account the fact that your post asking the question about "blowout" was made at 1:18 AM , the one quoted above at 4:51 AM. These are not exactly prime surfing hours, so it's entirely possible that no one saw your post before you commented back. Most folks here are actually quite willing to share.

Dan
 
Originally posted by grub32

I have two questions for everyone here:
1. What do you mean by blowout?
2. Do you use a small model paint brush to accomplish the painting on the inside?

Grub32
Click to expand...

Question two: I use small paint brushes, initially I used Q-Tips, but they have a tendency to leave fibers on the surface, and I don't like this.

Whats a blow-out??:D:D
 
You can also add Pearl EX colorant to Epoxy at a ratio of up to 10% by volume, same with powdercoating colors, You may as well go ahead and buy these items, because the next thing you will be asking is "how hard is it to make my own acrylic blanks":D:D Please don't ask how I know this [:eek:)], Color tinting your epoxy and spreading some on the inside of the blank will cover nearly all drill uglies on the inside of the blank, even clear epoxy will help this ;) by the way did you know if you make your own blanks they cost way less than $ 1.00 a piece [?] just a thought Heh Heh [}:)][}:)][}:)][8]
 
Originally posted by bitshird

You can also add Pearl EX colorant to Epoxy at a ratio of up to 10% by volume, same with powdercoating colors, You may as well go ahead and buy these items, because the next thing you will be asking is "how hard is it to make my own acrylic blanks":D:D Please don't ask how I know this [:eek:)], Color tinting your epoxy and spreading some on the inside of the blank will cover nearly all drill uglies on the inside of the blank, even clear epoxy will help this ;) by the way did you know if you make your own blanks they cost way less than $ 1.00 a piece [?] just a thought Heh Heh [}:)][}:)][}:)][8]
Click to expand...

I just picked up my pressure pot from HF this afternoon!

Dan
 
You guys are freaking EVIL!! I am just tying to make a few pretty pens out of some acrylics that I bought....Now you want me to make my own??? I am in big trouble now!! Thanks for all the help...I was playing around some acrylic paint but I dont think that is going to get the job done!!

Grub32
 
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