Thread: Dirty (*%#$(&%)*%

Wow! looks like you hit it with a hammer seems you did all the right things and still managed to "blow" it , Not sure on the blank though ,I had some a while back from Addictive ,think they were called Galaxy blanks ,not fun to turn though Although these days I use the small metal lathe a lot for any thing I suspect as being difficult ,hope your toe gets better quick , cheers ~ John

Bummer

What are you using to turn them, and how sharp was it? I ask as the cut lines on the black blanks look weird, almost like the cutting edge was bouncing.

Originally Posted by dai sensei

Bummer

What are you using to turn them, and how sharp was it? I ask as the cut lines on the black blanks look weird, almost like the cutting edge was bouncing.

Hey Neil. I was using my Woodchuck Pen Pro, with a brand new edge, razor sharp. It all of a sudden just caught or grabbed and that is the result. I am using it as per instructions, and don't know why this happened, particularly to both 'Black' blanks. These Black with gold dust blanks are really brittle and very sticky to touch, weird bloody things. The white Pearl Opal cracked on me during pressing in of the end cap. Perhaps my angle was a bit off ??. I usually use my 3/4 roughing gouge, but thought I would give the pen pro a run today. I have had the odd nasty 'catch' using this thing before on some acrylics. It seems to 'chatter' the material off rather than cut smooth ribbons from the blanks. I do prefer the big roughing gouge as it always cuts shiny smooth and never really catches. Just one of those days

Stephen!!! It happens, just the slighest loss of concentration, dig in a little deeper combined with a little weakness in the blank, or a slightly incorrect gluing-and bang. It happened to me on the Roman Harvest in Red Resin , was making another, actually finished the turning, was doing the sanding, forgot about heat, and the resin came unstuck, the blank blew up and I wasn't happy! So, I really know how you feel, Amos

Thats a real shame mate, i've not had that happen to me usin the pen pro yet, touch acrylic lol. How was your tool post height, i find the pen pro really sensitive in that regard, i gotta keep adjusting when i switch to a regular chisel and back. I spent the day building in my garage less than 3 metres from my covered lathe, with the missus crackin the wip.

Neal.

Thanks for the support Amos & Neal. Yes, post height I also have found is critical with the Pen Pro. Instructions say hold the chisel at 90deg to the blank, just slightly below the center line of the blank. Trouble is, too much 'Slightly Below' center line and you will invariably get a catch or chip-out. I've had a bad week in the shed this week. Was running a really beautiful Silky Oak picture frame with special Hounds tooth banding inlay (1mm thick) through the drum sander, and turned the setting down a bit too much, and sanded right through the inlay into bare wood. Been working on this one for a 2 weeks. BUGGER !!!

Stephen,

Felt your pain one in the foot and the other in mind when things break up in this fashion.

This material leaves me cold to work with but can yield sensational results in my humble opinion some means of casting round would help avoid that crash from the square and I agree there is a getting to know you clause for every tool. There was however not much evidence of scraping the blank brass nor strong evidence of glue grip in the pic maybe the preparation two coats you applied masked that on the brass but the glue was missing.

Notice the availability overseas of coloured brass often wondered would this help.

Kind regards Peter.

If you are getting chatter when cutting then something is wrong, it should be cutting ribbons, or at least part ribbins (the webbing can break it up). Usually when I get chatter it is a good sign the tool is blunt or angle is wrong.

Are you using a square or curved tip? These blanks do not like big cuts, so ensure you are only cutting at a single sharp point, not a wide edge.

Personally, for these I sand down as much as I can, then use a skew on high angle of attack and light cuts. The single point of cut and downward cutting action (towards centre) certainly helps. Scraping does pose a higher risk.

Cheers

Originally Posted by dai sensei

If you are getting chatter when cutting then something is wrong, it should be cutting ribbons, or at least part ribbins (the webbing can break it up). Usually when I get chatter it is a good sign the tool is blunt or angle is wrong.

Are you using a square or curved tip? These blanks do not like big cuts, so ensure you are only cutting at a single sharp point, not a wide edge.

Personally, for these I sand down as much as I can, then use a skew on high angle of attack and light cuts. The single point of cut and downward cutting action (towards centre) certainly helps. Scraping does pose a higher risk.

Cheers

Hi Peter & Neil. Thanks fellers for you interest & help. Yes Neil, I was using the pen pro 'FLAT ONTO' the blank, so about 15mm of the new razor sharp cutter was in constant cutting contact with the rounded blank., hence the chatter. Went back to my 3/4" roughing gouge today on similar blanks with no problems at all. Peter, I always rough up the brass tube before glue up, but with a coat of grey etch primer, followed by a coat of color paint, the scratches are full of paint. As usual, the glue stayed put inside the drilled hole, bugger all on the painted tube. Might do my proceedure in reverse, and paint inside the drilled hole instead of painting the tube. Cheers.

PS, I really LOVE turning timber pens compared to acrylic.

Parriss I am a bit skeptical about the merits of gluing a blank to a painted surface ,I avoid it if at all possible you want the best possible bond between tube and blank ,if the paint lets go you have no bond one thing I do is to paint my tubes with brass black,which takes the brass finish off the tube but leaves almost bare metal to glue to not shiny bright, Another trick is to color your epoxy a little bit ,not sure what you can use to do that without reducing strength ,it would need to be compatable or neutral like pearlex or similar,that means your joint is better as nothing but adhesive between tube and blank
Baked enamel finish or powder coated is good also to bond to .
Cheers ~ John

Originally Posted by gawdelpus

Parriss I am a bit skeptical about the merits of gluing a blank to a painted surface ,I avoid it if at all possible you want the best possible bond between tube and blank ,if the paint lets go you have no bond one thing I do is to paint my tubes with brass black,which takes the brass finish off the tube but leaves almost bare metal to glue to not shiny bright, Another trick is to color your epoxy a little bit ,not sure what you can use to do that without reducing strength ,it would need to be compatable or neutral like pearlex or similar,that means your joint is better as nothing but adhesive between tube and blank
Baked enamel finish or powder coated is good also to bond to .
Cheers ~ John

Exactly right John. I was looking at some earlier pens I had done a couple of years ago using White pearl acrylic blanks, and I had NOT painted the tubes in these pens. Even though I could JUST make out the slight glint of the sanded brass tube, it seemed to give an extra sparkle to the finished pearl color of the pen anyway. Glue on top of paint in my opinion is a bit of a worry at best. One of my wife's work friends had a White Pearl Opal Sierra I made several months ago, with a painted & epoxied tube and it rolled off her desk and onto a tiled floor and it shattered into several pieces. Nothing left on the tube but the white paint

Not apretty sight at all!

Have to agree with john. Don't see the worth of glue on paint.

It happens unfortunately. Are you using a R2 or an R4 blade on the Woodchuck. Also, I set the too rest so the Woodchuck Pro is cutting slightly above the half way mark on the blank. I will even turn the Pro a little so that there is only one sharp edge in contact with the blank until I get it nicely round. It is trial and error. However I predict you will be able to recover the pens

Paris try wiping the painted tubes with metho before glueing up it helped me with non adhesion to tubes .PS epoxy only .