First Acrylic.

[alan morrison]

This is my first posting of an acrylic pen and the third acrylic pen ever.
The blank is of ringtail pheasant feathers and was given to me.

 

[Mark James]

Beautiful blank and you did a great job turning it. A lovely pen.

 

[Les ELm]

Nicely turned and finished.

Les

 

[fortress]

Good job Alan, looks great.

 

[Penpal]

Alan ,this is a neat pen,the only differences between plastic and timber can be the finishing,you acheived a beaut finish.

Peter.

 

[angelo49]

Alan, excellent blank, kit, turn, finish, and photo!!
*NICE*

 

[Paul hd]

Very nice Alan. Another feather in your cap.

 

[Bill Mooney]

A very nice pen Alan. It’s nice to see the barrel profile following the nib profile to give a pleasing shape.

 

[Themackay]

Nice blank and a good job done with it

 

[wm460]

That is a beauty Alan.

 

[Phil Dart]

There - that wasn't so painful now was it? You may even grow to love the endless ribbons twisted round your headstock.

 

[flexi]

I have done a few of those blanks and you have done a great job on that....nice shape and well finished, great pairing too with the Sirocco

 

[alan morrison]

You may even grow to love the endless ribbons twisted round your headstock.

Hey Phil, not painful just aggravating. No love affair going to happen, so no acrylic orders from me.
Alan

 

[alan morrison]

I have done a few of those blanks

Mark, what way did you finish yours?
I abranet sanded to 600, buffed with white diamond and then shone up with Aussie oil.
Interested in other people's finishes for acrylic ( just in case I forget my pledge to never turn another one )
Alan

 

[flexi]

Hi Alan, the secret to a good finish is patients...
I use Axminster mesh strips to sand to 600, but after each grit radially used I then axially sand the blank lightly(lathe off) then wipe the blank with a wet cloth to remove any residue. Once down to 600 I switch to liquid abrasive, I have been using Farcla which is a boat/ car paint finishing compound but of late I have found another from Machine Mart which works very well too. Again a little on blue towel rubbed in then polished with the dry part....there are 3 grades to this, which gets progressively thinner as the grit thins....Also i try to keep things cool and try to stop any heat build up.
All this is academic though as you won't turn another

 

[Curly]

Technically it is a polyester resin so chemically different from the usual Acrylic coloured blanks sold for pens. It is a clear version of the resin usually used to make boats, motor homes and other fibre glass stuff.

I turn them with a gouge and then switch to a skew. With the finish off the skew I can got straight to 400 grit paper or sometimes if needed 320 grit. After sanding a grit with lathe on I stop it and sand lengthwise along the blank, then wipe off the dust and grit. Lathe back on to #0000 steel wool and then off, wool lengthwise. Then I wipe the dust off before buffing with the three Beal buffing wheels. Tripoli, White Diamond and then the Carnauba wax. I buff across the blank first then diagonally both angles and finally lengthwise flipping the blank end for end so the wheel doesn't grab it from you. I clean off the blank between wheels so as to prevent coarser compounds from being carried up to the finer one next. They are nice and shiny and that's as far as I feel the need to go.

I do the same with a CA finish on wood.

Pete

 

[alan morrison]

Technically it is a polyester resin so chemically different from the usual Acrylic coloured blanks sold for pens. It is a clear version of the resin usually used to make boats, motor homes and other fibre glass stuff.
Pete

Yep, Pete. I just used 'acrylic' as a generic term and understand that it is polyester resin. I am an 'acrylic' novice so don't use the correct terminology.
Thanks for the run-down on your finishing process. I have been getting some 'acrylic/PR' blanks in the post from IAP contests so will be turning a couple more.
Give me timber anyday.
Alan

 

[alan morrison]

Hi Alan, the secret to a good finish is patients...
I use Axminster mesh strips to sand to 600, but after each grit radially used I then axially sand the blank lightly(lathe off) then wipe the blank with a wet cloth to remove any residue. Once down to 600 I switch to liquid abrasive, I have been using Farcla which is a boat/ car paint finishing compound but of late I have found another from Machine Mart which works very well too. Again a little on blue towel rubbed in then polished with the dry part....there are 3 grades to this, which gets progressively thinner as the grit thins....Also i try to keep things cool and try to stop any heat build up.
All this is academic though as you won't turn anotherView attachment 41517

Thanks for that Mark. Is car cutting compound too abrasive?
Alan

 

[flexi]

Thanks for that Mark. Is car cutting compound too abrasive?
Alan

No.....there are a few different grades these days from a course 200 grit to 1000 grit( I think it's a different grading) we also have a member on here who uses toothpaste to polish with, Yes it's an abrasive! Also very minty!!

 

[Phil Dart]

Technically it is a polyester resin so chemically different from the usual Acrylic coloured blanks sold for pens. It is a clear version of the resin usually used to make boats, motor homes and other fibre glass stuff.

I turn them with a gouge and then switch to a skew. With the finish off the skew I can got straight to 400 grit paper or sometimes if needed 320 grit. After sanding a grit with lathe on I stop it and sand lengthwise along the blank, then wipe off the dust and grit. Lathe back on to #0000 steel wool and then off, wool lengthwise. Then I wipe the dust off before buffing with the three Beal buffing wheels. Tripoli, White Diamond and then the Carnauba wax. I buff across the blank first then diagonally both angles and finally lengthwise flipping the blank end for end so the wheel doesn't grab it from you. I clean off the blank between wheels so as to prevent coarser compounds from being carried up to the finer one next. They are nice and shiny and that's as far as I feel the need to go.

I do the same with a CA finish on wood.

Pete

There we are - it doesn't get any more authoritative than that. For those who might not know, it's Peter's talented good lady, Marla, who makes these feather blanks in Canada.