Segmenting play

[bluntchisel]

Very nice, Doug - and well done for posting photo so we can all learn a bit!

Bob.

 

[alisboy]

I like it a lot.
Ernie

 

[jttheclockman]

Doug, 2 thumbs up. I love it. You obviously know the secret to get the color change. I am hoping you hold off telling the mysterious secret:wink: till Turnaround gets past trying the celtic knot I had shown in the other post. He asked for another try. I like your creation. I may have to try a few of those myself. You may want to show a photo of the other side so that people can get a feel for what you are doing.

 

[Buckeye]

The aluminium I got hold of is 1mm thick Jim, my problem appears to be heat build up as I try to drill the blank, the epoxy softens as it gets warm & eventually lets go before the hole is drilled

I`ve tried thick CA but it didn`t give an even enough glue line & the blanks broke down during turning, I bought some different CA from Harrogate so need to try this out at some point, but I want to get some turning done at the mo as I`ve messed about with this aluminium for long enough, another one that will sit on the back burner for a while

Doug, there are quite a few things that help when using aluminium or brass. Make sure you abrade the aluminium so that the adhesive has a keyed area to help with adhesion. When drilling it is imperative that your bits are sharp, if you are not using a split point bit then always use a small bit to drill through the metal first. Don't be tempted to drill straight through, it will create to much heat and the joints will fail or you will weaken them so that they will fail when turning. Use progressively bigger bits to drill until you are at the correct size, do not rush it, you will create to much heat.

When turning square to round use a sharp skew if you can, again be careful of generating heat. Once round if you have a round carbide tipped tool use that or a skew, I always turn at 1500 or higher once it is round, but keep checking the heat of the metal. I use thin CA, I have tried medium and epoxy, but I don't like the epoxy as it is so messy.

Peter

 

[Doug]

Thanks for taking the time to post that Peter, I`ve tried a few of the things you suggest but others give good food for thought, I`ve now bought some heat proof epoxy so will give that a try, probably over the Xmas hols.

 

[Buckeye]

Thanks for taking the time to post that Peter, I`ve tried a few of the things you suggest but others give good food for thought, I`ve now bought some heat proof epoxy so will give that a try, probably over the Xmas hols.

I forgot probably the most important consideration and that is drilling at low speed. After I screwed a couple of my first attempts at the drilling stage because I could only drill at a minimum of 700 now I can do 100, I decided to turn the lathe by hand and that worked perfectly creating no or very little heat.

Peter

 

[Doug]

I forgot probably the most important consideration and that is drilling at low speed. After I screwed a couple of my first attempts at the drilling stage because I could only drill at a minimum of 700 now I can do 100, I decided to turn the lathe by hand and that worked perfectly creating no or very little heat.

Peter

That`s something I do with most of the blanks I drill Peter, I have a preset on the lathe at 200 RPM for the acrylics & polygem & just slow it down a bit for my more delicate segmented stuff. Cheers.

 

[Penpal]

Doug, To the manor born the best result in that space in time I have seen. Pics are great does not matter with whatever means the flow is fantastic. I have painted myself into a corner( shifting the deck chairs as in Titanic) around in my workshop I have to steel myself with the trailer adjacent to the open door to downsize and clear up if only to spare the cuts and bruises as I move through my workshop areas.

Indeed a pleasant very early start for me today.

Kind regards Peter.

 

[jttheclockman]

Well Doug it looks like our friend Frankie has conquered the Celtic Knot with different colors so it would be safe to say you can procede with your pictorial. This would be great for the library if you have one set up here. Your work looks great and great color combination.

I will give you my take on the aluminum because I have used it for a number of blanks as I have shown. A couple little things I stick to. If I am inserting aluminum as a means of a ring of some sort I will predrill to tube size and build the blank on the tube one piece at a time. This eliminates the heat build up. I always use epoxy but the key is to use epoxy that has a long open time and not 5 or 15 minutes. This type epoxy is subject to heat breakdown moreso than say 2 hour or 12 hour. I always let the blank cure overnight. I never drill the same day I built the blank. That goes for any blank. I do slow down the lathe to drill. I do step drilling. I cool my bits with denatured alcohol.

A celtic knot with aluminum has the metal at angles and you are drilling at angles so this makes this even more difficult. When I get a blank like that I take some gauze and wrap the blank and soak in thin CA. This gives the blank some ridgidity. I have also at times lined all 4 sides with popsicle sticks glued to the sides. These are all tricks that can be used when segmenting.

Now when turning blanks with wild grain and metals or in fact any blank always work the ends down first and the work the center to the ends both ways. I find you put less strain on the material. When putting final passes I like to always work toward the center of the blank and not toward the bushings if you are using them. I use a carbide cutter for most cutting but finish off with a sharp skew always. Leaves little need for sanding which can be a pain with metal and wood combo.

Not sure if any of this is any help to anyone but it is what I follow.

Again nice work Doug. I look forward to many more.