Brummie Bash Acrylic Challenge

[CHJ]

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__________My first Acrylic on a wood lathe.__________click on image for larger view

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Having scattered some acrylic blank samples * amongst turners of pens and other objet d’art that might use them at the Brummie bash I thought it only fair to have a go myself and see what problems, if any, I encountered.

Having read comments about avoiding heat whilst drilling, turning and finishing I proceeded with this very much in mind.

On the drilling front I tackled the Blue blank first, this being a longer single blank kit to see how hot the drill got.
Despite the drill being freshly sharpened it did get very hot even with constant clearing and although I had no indication of melt it was completed at a very leisurely penetration rate compared to a similar piece of hardwood.

Glue-ups were done using thick CA with no problems as far as inserting tube due to long working time with this no moisture substrate.

Trimming the ends was easy, almost within hand tool alone ease it cut so freely.

Removing the corners on the Lathe was accomplished with a freshly sharpened 3/8 spindle gouge (lathe set and held at 2000rpm throughout)

Turning to size was done with an oval skew, main problem being the 5-10 metre long threads of acrylic that wrapped around the mandrel and were the subject of constant stopping to clear.

I experienced no heat problems with the turning but to my surprise did have to stop and sharpen the HSS skew half way through both projects.

Sanding was done with Abranet, thought being any excessive heat buildup would be readily apparent through the mesh, again no heat problems.
Finishing was done with Chestnut Burnishing Cream, having read of using metal polish,wirewool etc. elsewhere I was pleased to see burnishing cream recommended on the sample guide label as this was all that was to hand and to my surprise was more than abrasive enough to satisfy my requirements.

Several of the Sample Acrylics warn of translucency if turned thin, and indeed if you know what you are looking for, any scratches or blemishes on the brass tubes can be seen even at greater than 2mm thickness in the paler sections of the plastic.

A disappointing thing I found with the red sample I turned, is that the uneven coverage/gap filling of the CA glue is visible though the acrylic, in fairness, to those not knowing what to expect the effect could be mistaken for a function of the blank patterning.
I will have to investigate alternate glueing/bonding methods to overcome this in future even if it is only just for my own satisfaction.

Final thoughts; if I'm asked for pretty colours I don't mind turning them, actual turning took me longer than the equivalent wood though, balanced out by the fact that finishing is much quicker than wood with no worries about durability of the finish.

I await with interest the experiences of other recipients of the samples and any tips the regulars with this media care to pass on.

* kindly donated by Terry (Chestnuts) for those in attendance at the bash.

 

[Paul.J]

They look good Chas,though i think the piccy isn't doing them justice
Do you have to use the Skew :shock: to turn these Acrylics,or is this used to get the cleaner finish before sanding :?:

 

[CHJ]

.....Do you have to use the Skew :shock: to turn these Acrylics,or is this used to get the cleaner finish before sanding :?:

No, use what you like, I just found the skew easier to achieve a controlled even cut than the gouges, I think it's because of the increased bevel contact achieved with the way I hold it..

Being quite a hard and smooth substance it is somewhat easier to get good skew control.

Main thing regardless I would say is that the tools need to be as sharp as you can get them, the surface left by a sharp tool is quite smooth, albeit a little uneven dependant on your tool control.

 

[Paul.J]

Chas.
Would it be any better drilling with a smaller drill bit first :?:

 

[CHJ]

Chas.
Would it be any better drilling with a smaller drill bit first :?:

I doubt it Paul, may result in a tendency for the subsequent larger drill to 'grab' because of lack of point resistance unless you dull the cutting edges to form a scraper action (this in turn will generate more heat without coolant though).

Use engineering (metal) drill with a point angle of 118 or greater, not a wood spur bit.

 

[jpt]

Welcome to the world of acrylics. ccasion5:

They can be fun to turn and very frustrating at the same time, I haven't found any cure for the strings wrapping themselves around the mandrel except turning off and cutting them free.

As you say drilling is best done with an engineering drill and I cool mine down by dipping in water between blanks.

The tube showing through can be a problem and the best way I have found to stop this is to paint the tube with acrylic paint a day or two before using this tends to hide it very well.

As for gluing I use different glues according to how see through the blank is and the colour of it, but which ever one you use you will still be able to see the glue pattern if you look hard enough.

hope this helps

john

 

[CHJ]

OK so it's not just newbie problems with the visible tube/adhesive then, a relief but still a disappointment. I have only ever welded Acrylics in the past so was used to an invisible join. (unless air entrapment occurred)

 

[greggy]

nice pens there chas, well done. i always paint my tubes when doing acrylics just in case you can see the tubes. you can use normal turning tools for all acrylics, then i use micromesh to 12000 grit wet, dry off then use brasso to finish off

 

[stevebuk]

nice pens chas, i tend not to use acrylics if doing a slimline or other very slim fitting, and save them for the bigger pens, you can turn away lots of detail from the blank by thinning it right down.
As already mentioned, painting the tubes is a good way to hide them, i , like colin sand with micro mesh to 12000, then finish with ren wax in order to hold off the finger prints.
Let see more pens :lol:

 

[Jenx]

They look great Chas ....
If anything - I prefer the redder one just slightly -- It looks to be the slimmer of the two in the picture, giving it the appearance of being just that tiny bit 'finer'... but both look terrific 8)

Has anyone tried the larger 'lumps' of Acrylic that Axxie have in their catalogue for doing things like eggs ?
My Catalogue is a couple of issues old ... from memory there's a toroiseshell egg and an ivory coloured one, shown as an example.

 

[Paul.J]

Here you are Chas.
Here are the two samples i had,can't remember what the names of the colours was,but i have to say that for my first attempts with Acrylics i enjoyed doing them
I turned the Orange one first and left it chunky so as not to see the inners,and also kept stopping the lathe to remove the shavings :?
The Blue one i thought i would put a bit of shape into it and made it slightly thinner,but with this one i was just quickly picking the shavings off with the lathe running,which saved some time.
Sanded down to 1200 wet n dry paper.Haven't got anything finer

Edit :-Forgot to say that i had no problem with heat when drilling,and just used the drill i had with the Mandrel kit,a 7mm brad point bit.Just drilled as i would with wood :?

Click on image

 

[beejay]

Nice pens gentlemen and all being well I'll be turning mine at the weekend.
Meanwhile just to see if I've followed Tam's pic posting instructions:

Here is....... my first ever post:


Hope this works.
regards, Bill

 

[Paul.J]

Love them all Bill
Glad you sorted the posting piccys out,so will now look forward to seeing plenty more

 

[Terry Smart]

Hi All

Thanks Chas for distributing the blanks for us and for having a go with them, and also to Paul for his contribution. I'm looking forward to seeing more soon!

The translucency of the blanks was a little disappointing for us but it seems this is a common factor and relatively easy to overcome; it has even been suggested that our stains can be used to colour the inserts to help disguise them.

For anyone interested, as far as I can tell the blanks shown so far, from the top, are called:

(By Chas)
Flying Sorcery
Mondo Sinistro

(By Paul)
Cafe Society
Timeless Skies.

Cheers

 

[CHJ]

__________
__________OK three more just to get the hang of the stuff.__________click on image for larger view

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The top two are heavily pigmented with only just a faint hint of see-through on the white areas at 1mm but nothing that would not be seen as part of the basic material.

The pale blue Necro. is very translucent at these thicknesses but seeing Terrys' comment about stains I tried colouring the tube, not very successful despite thorough degreasing, but in the process of staining my fingers and just about everything else I touched I managed to impart stain into the CA being applied and this has resulted in a bond that blends well into the inbuilt texturing and disguises the tube quite well.

The colours are:
Modern Times (black/white)
Constantinople (dark green)
Necromancer (how come pale blue gets associated with the divination of the dead, black arts etc.)

 

[Paul.J]

Those look nice Chas
I like the Modern Times one.Is that one as translucent as the others :?:

 

[CHJ]

Can't remember who asked me about the price of the blanks at the bash, now have details so PM me if you still want the info. for comparison.