First and last acrylic pen!

Hi,

I fancied having a go at an acrylic pen and my it was hard work. Think I ran before I could walk.
I definitely prefer wood. This pen took over four hours and I almost gave up.

OK I have to ask why did it take so long and what tools did you use?

Now I know you have just started and Acrylic pens do take a little bit longer than wood for 2 reasons A the stupid stuff winds round the pen and the mandrel so you have to constantly clear, Personally I use a compressed air blower it goes in seconds whilst its still turning. Second because it doesn't have a grain you can't follow it so you just need to turn it less aggressively. Nevertheless 20 mins tops and I suspect that most round here will call me slow!!.

BUT have you tried a negative rake scraper? George Watkins put me onto them when I bought some of his blanks and I was having a bad time with them. I didn't end up making one but I took a normal scraper, made sure it had a 15 degree burr and turned the acrylic with the tool rest set low and cut under the curve (same effect as a negative rake scraper from a different angle) Works 10 times better that a skew. OR take an Ashley Isles Martin Pidgeon all rounder and use it as a roughing gouge until you get to the last bits where you use it as a proper spindle gouge.

Pierre

PS after edit it doesn't look three bad, if you used micromesh through each grain it would end up being a bit shinier but seriously its a nice pen.

4 hours seems a long time Ruth. Like Pierre I use a negative rake scraper to good effect. I make more acrylic pens than wooden ones simply because I sell more & I enjoy making them. Let us know how you turned & finished your & we'll try & make it easier for you.
It turned out OK in the end.

Sorry but I prefer acrylic. That is one lovely blank. I prefer to finish with Tcut gives a lovely shine.:wink:

Plenty of colour time changes with skill nbetter one good pen than a few split ends. I like timber but plastic is sure eye candy.

Peter.

It may have taken 4 hours Ruth but it looks to be well turned & finished don't give up on them (take a rest), they can be just as rewarding as making the wood ones and many pen makers sell more acrylic than wood, people like shiney & blingy

While it's true that acrylics are harder (in the sense that the material is (normally) less forgiving than wood - except true burrs of course - ) they can provide a real sense of achievement when done well. Personally, I have always found that an acrylic takes probably twice as long on average as a wooden pen to turn, but unlike some others I still use the skew chisel straight from the off.

When roughing, take fairly gentle cuts and change direction frequently to avoid the "cone creation" which is more prevalent with acrylics than it seems to be with wooden blanks. Once down to a cylinder, the cuts can be increased in depth until the final stages when reducing them again will help with finishing. The real trick is the sharpness of the tool, and I very often hone the chisel two or three times during the course of making one acrylic pen.

Don't be frightened of acrylic blanks or unfamiliar tools - they are there to be mastered, and once you have you'll wonder what all the fuss was about.

Aye Ruth, I do what Alistair says, get the hang of sharpening your tools, really sharp! By what ever method. Emery stuck to glass will work, going down the grades. As I sad before diamond hones will do you can buy several grades on one square tool quite cheaply. Trick is to keep your angles applied to your chosen sharpener consistent. Nice blank you will make more they are popular, nice job anyway.

The end result is wonderful Ruth, as this is the first acrylic i can understand the time it took, but with the sound advice given above you will soon beat your Personal Best ..

Don't give up Ruth. Sharp tools really are the key to working with acrylic. I know from your previous posts that sharpening is something you are just starting out on. Persevere and you will get there.
One other thing, sometimes it just all seems to go wrong and one spends ages on a single pen. That is just part of the fun really, you never quite know how it is going to turn out ( no pun intended). We all have simple tasks that everyone else seems to manage that we get stuck on. Keep trying and somehow it just clicks.

I think it would have been a lot quicker if I didn't stop and start due to chronic pain. I just couldn't see the piece properly because of the shavings sticking to the blank. My tools weren't very sharp either. I had the lathe running around 1200.

I think it took so long because I was stopping and starting as I suffer with pain. Couldn't see the piece properly due to shavings sticking.
I used a roughing gouge, spindle gouge and sanded using 150-600. I'm too nervous to use the skew.

Plenty of good advice there Ruth - but look in the bright side - you're not going to loose that one in your handbag are you?

Thank you everyone for your advice. It really helps.

LittleMissCreative said:

I think it would have been a lot quicker if I didn't stop and start due to chronic pain. I just couldn't see the piece properly because of the shavings sticking to the blank. My tools weren't very sharp either. I had the lathe running around 1200.

Click to expand...

If your tools are not sharp don't bother with the acrylics as you will get lots of chip outs in fact it's the same for wood, but slightly less critical.

Peter

Hi Ruth I think you have produced a wonderful pen there and it would be a shame if you stopped turning acrylic have you ever considered using a carbide tip tool I use them all the time on acrylic. cast polyester and true stone blanks they stay sharp longer than HSS steel tools especially on acrylic and are a lot easer to sharpen I use two different types the radius and the round tips so you get 4 sharp sides each time you sharpen them and all you need to do is remove the tip and lay them flat on a lubricated diamond stone and give them a few rubs and they are razor sharp again

You have done a good job with that one - I really like the blank.

Like Alistair, I use a skew from the start with my acrylics, but I often end up using it as a scraper right at the very end, just to nibble off little bits. Sharpening is essential, but that can be done with fine sandpaper or wet & dry on a thick glass sheet.

It takes a while to get used to working in the different medium, but now you have a better idea how it behaves, the next one will probably go faster. Just don't be too aggressive rounding out, as chips can happen. If you do get a chip in a bit that you can't turn off, you can fill it with medium or thick CA - stick a drop in it, and let it dry naturally (don't use accelerator). You might need to do a few drops over time, but once you have it filled over the level of the chip, you can turn it back down normally with a sharp tool. I have repaired a few this way.

Anyway, good job!

That's a really smart pen I'm in the same vote as you I have the bits to turn one now just got to get round to it

Don't give up!
I probably destroyed my first 5 before
I got one good one.