I turn mostly acrylic blanks that I make, but I still enjoy turning wood the most. 10x easier to turn and finishing for me. I really like the different colors and designs you get from acrylic.
No doubt about it alright, some of those acrylic blanks are absolutely gorgeous. If this one turns out okay for me I'll undoubtedly be turning more. Thanks for viewing :)
I use an old roasting pan on the lathe bed especially when I am doing a CA or friction polish on a bowl.. When you are wet sanding you don't need that much water and a couple of rags thrown over the lathe bed should be sufficient protection. I use a small spray bottle like the one CA accelerator comes in to apply the water to the micro pad. That way you don't have a lot of water running all over every thing. A good coat of WD40 on the lathe bed is also a good idea in case on accidents. LOL. I also apply a good past wax to my lathe bed about once a week. This helps protect against rust and allows the banjo and tail stock to slide freely
Oh and Ron you can use mineral oil as a wet sanding agent to if you are really worried about getting water on your lathe . Otherwise I just put a 1/4 inch board on the lathe bed and any water dropped it won't penetrate through to the bed. And if your getting water on your head or tail stock , your rpms are too high, or you are being too wild with the water..lol
Thanks for using the bandsaw Ron. It was a lot easier to watch. I even kept both eyes open this time. :-) I dry sand up to 600 and then wet sand with Micro Mesh. I lay a big bath towel across the ways. If you are really worried, you can put a piece of waxed paper on the ways first. The Micro Mesh doesn't take much water. Did you find any tiny air pockets in the blank? JimE
I start at 220 Abranet with the lath at about 150 and that is all I so with the lathe on. I then just sand 320, 400 and 600 by hand "with the grain" or end to end. When I go to the Micro Mesh I go back to the lathe turning. I keep the speed so the water doesn't fly and stays on the blank. My not be right for everyone but it works for me. JimE
I was thinking that my lathe should be running a lot slower than for wood since higher rpm will produce heat that will melt the acrylic --- not good, lol. Thanks :)
If you are worried about rust use WD40 (or just plain kerosene) as the lubricant. Isopropyl alcohol will work too but it evaporates quickly, good for quick wet sanding jobs but might be annoying with the amount you have to do.
I turn mostly acrylic blanks that I make, but I still enjoy turning wood the most. 10x easier to turn and finishing for me. I really like the different colors and designs you get from acrylic.
No doubt about it alright, some of those acrylic blanks are absolutely gorgeous. If this one turns out okay for me I'll undoubtedly be turning more. Thanks for viewing :)
So glad to see this blank. The scale look should really give it a shimmering look when sanded and polished.
My first acrylic. I hope that I don't mess it up. Fingers crossed :)
I use an old roasting pan on the lathe bed especially when I am doing a CA or friction polish on a bowl.. When you are wet sanding you don't need that much water and a couple of rags thrown over the lathe bed should be sufficient protection. I use a small spray bottle like the one CA accelerator comes in to apply the water to the micro pad. That way you don't have a lot of water running all over every thing. A good coat of WD40 on the lathe bed is also a good idea in case on accidents. LOL. I also apply a good past wax to my lathe bed about once a week. This helps protect against rust and allows the banjo and tail stock to slide freely
Thanks for the tip here John. Also I just learned something new re: "the banjo". I always thought of that as "the tool rest thing" lol
Oh and Ron you can use mineral oil as a wet sanding agent to if you are really worried about getting water on your lathe . Otherwise I just put a 1/4 inch board on the lathe bed and any water dropped it won't penetrate through to the bed. And if your getting water on your head or tail stock , your rpms are too high, or you are being too wild with the water..lol
I was concerned that an oil based lubricant may soften the acrylic, but apparently not. Thanks :)
Ron Calverley no it will not soften it , just keep your rpms low.
Thanks for using the bandsaw Ron. It was a lot easier to watch. I even kept both eyes open this time. :-)
I dry sand up to 600 and then wet sand with Micro Mesh. I lay a big bath towel across the ways. If you are really worried, you can put a piece of waxed paper on the ways first. The Micro Mesh doesn't take much water.
Did you find any tiny air pockets in the blank? JimE
Thanks for that info. Haven't noticed any air pockets, yet anyway.
btw, what rpm do you sand at? Thanks :)
I start at 220 Abranet with the lath at about 150 and that is all I so with the lathe on. I then just sand 320, 400 and 600 by hand "with the grain" or end to end. When I go to the Micro Mesh I go back to the lathe turning. I keep the speed so the water doesn't fly and stays on the blank.
My not be right for everyone but it works for me. JimE
I was thinking that my lathe should be running a lot slower than for wood since higher rpm will produce heat that will melt the acrylic --- not good, lol. Thanks :)
i really like the green color off the acrilic, its going to be a vary nice pen.
We'll soon see :)
The sand paper will still not remove all the residue from the wax as it can penetrate the valleys of the scratches . Keep that in mind.
Are you refering to "dry sanding" ? Thanks for the tip :)
Ron Calverley yes, dry sanding the tube will still leave wax at the end. I would recommend still wiping it.
If you are worried about rust use WD40 (or just plain kerosene) as the lubricant. Isopropyl alcohol will work too but it evaporates quickly, good for quick wet sanding jobs but might be annoying with the amount you have to do.
Thanks for that tip :)
The banjo holds the tool rest .thingy.
Very funny John. Watch part 2. I actually couldn't resist mentioning that I didn't know what that was called, lol.
What's that tan sheet material you use at 2:40 to plug the ends of the tubes?
Wax www.penblanks.ca/Baseplate-wax/
I'm subscriber 5001st
:)