Inlace Acrylester money blank

[qquake2k]

Has anyone turned one of these blanks? I have a friend who wants a pen made from one, but I haven't had any luck at all with Inlace Acrylester blanks. If anybody has turned one successfully, I'd love to hear how you did it and see the finished result.

http://www.woodturningz.com/Inlace-Acrylester-Pen-Blank-Money

 

[Penpal]

Dont keep too many pens they work for me sometimes a bit brittle.

Peter.

 

[wm460]

The Inlace Acrylester blanks I have turn have been very brittle, best I found is a very sharp skew.

 

[flexi]

Hi i have turned inlace and as above, it tends to be brittle...but worth the effort with sharp tools

 

[Jim]

I would give it a go Jim, full speed and sharp tackle ..

 

[Woody]

I havent turned that stuff for a few years now as peter said light cuts with a skew or shear scrape again very lightly the pen on the left is inlace from T/R a long time ago

 

[qquake2k]

Thanks for all the advice, guys. The blank should be here Friday, so I'll find out if I'm able to turn it soon enough.

 

[wm460]

Looking forwards to seeing end results.

 

[Bill Mooney]

Best of luck Jim.

 

[qquake2k]

I got the blank in the mail yesterday, and started turning it today. Drilling it was no problem. I back painted the blank with kelly green acrylic paint, and colored the epoxy with the same paint. I also trimmed the corners with the bandsaw, to give myself a headstart.

 

[qquake2k]

I tried several different chisels, including a 1" skew, 3/4" forged spindle gouge, and a 1/2" fingernail gouge. But the one I had the best success with was a 1" roughing gouge. I sharpened it several times during turning, and found that it cut best for me with it rotated slightly to the left. I don't know why. I did get some chipping here and there, but nothing too bad. I took my time, and channeled my inner patience.

 

[qquake2k]

Once I got it turned close to the final diameter, I switched to the "sandpaper skew". I started with 100 and 150 grit dry to shape it, and then went to 320 and 400 wet. 320 and 400 wet is part of my normal polishing process. The last photo is after the wet sanding.

 

[qquake2k]

After wet sanding, I went through all 9 grades of Micro Mesh wet, then polished it with Meguiars PlastX plastic polish. There were a couple of small voids in it, but they disappeared during sanding. It polished out really nice. But you can see that the money shreds did get thin, and it's a good thing I reverse painted and colored the epoxy.

 

[qquake2k]

Overall, I'm very happy with how it turned out. It took me about three times longer than normal to turn the blank. Hanna will be ecstatic. She wanted a "money pen" really bad, but I told her I couldn't turn acrylester. Do I feel a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment? Most definitely. Do I like how the pen looks? Obviously. Would I turn another money blank? Hell no! LOL

 

[Macaronytony]

Thats a stunning Pen Jim, came out great..
Well worth all the effort.

 

[Penpal]

The love of money varies which way you look at it in this form it patterns well, tells a story and holds its own in my observation and thanks for the pics it has had a happy ending.

Peter.

 

[wm460]

Thats a beauty Jim.

 

[qquake2k]

I gave the pen to Hanna yesterday. She was beyond overjoyed! I knew she'd be happy, but I didn't think she'd be as happy as she was. She was totally surprised, she thought I wouldn't be able to make it (and I didn't either). It was worth all the effort.