stevers
Member
Hi All,
I'm going to post this in two forums, Casting and Stabilization and Show Off Your Pens. I feel this should be seen by as many of us as possible. The info and techniques I learned in Curtis' (MesquiteMan) tutorial have opened some awesome doors for me.
http://www.penturners.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=26599
I had about 50 or so Eucalyptus Burl blanks which I obtained while on the job. I found the large burl on the side of a tree I was cutting down. The Euc burl is so punky and full of voids, it is impossible to turn without some sort of stabilization. I turned a hand full using CA. It was slow and used a lot of CA. Not to mention how messy it was. I used Curtis' Worthless Wood tutorial on one a few days ago and got very promising results. Of course, it needed improvement. There were still some very small voids inside the blank which showed up when I turned it. They were easy enough to fill with CA. Seeing real possibilities with the process, the other night I cast three molds of blanks. Two small molds with one each of red and green opaque PR. And one larger mold with a yellow PR, closer to amber.
Tonight I tuned the red ones. I cut them to size, drilled them, glued in the tubes and mounted them on the lathe. They are being turned as Euro's. One of the most impressive things I have found, with the earlier blanks and these, is how easy they are to turn. I got very aggressive with these blanks. Even when bringing them to round. I wanted to test them, so I laid into them quite heavily. And I realize the ease in which they turn, will have to do with the way I mix my PR. Which is 3 drops per ounce, actually 8 drops for 3 ounces in the small molds. It is like the best of both worlds between wood and PR.
One thing I did notice is that once you get down to the finish, the wood and the PR react differently to the finish steps. I chose to put on some CA for a top coat. By the time I reached MM, some of the CA over the stubborn wood ares was thin. I just applied a couple more coats of CA and it was fine. I have had trouble with this wood since I first tried to use it. It absorbs the CA at different rates and that makes it difficult to get a consistent finish. This pen is still an experimental piece and it has a couple of very small holes in the finish.
I am actually considering a double cast idea. Cast and turn it just under size, then cast a very thin coating over that to insure a perfect top coat. Just an idea to help me deal with this punky burl. It is a pain in the a_ _ to work with, but the results are gorgeous.
Here is a shot of the first blank I turned. It was to be a cigar. Look at the depth in which the PR penetrated, all the way to the tube. And this started out at least a 13/16 or better blank.
Curtis, I will say it again, thanks for researching this and developing the techniques to make it work. This is a big wood savor for me.
And the rest of you out there that are thing about doing this, do it, it's worth it. If you have some stubborn burls around and don't want to loose it or cant afford to send it off to be treated, this is for you!
I'm going to post this in two forums, Casting and Stabilization and Show Off Your Pens. I feel this should be seen by as many of us as possible. The info and techniques I learned in Curtis' (MesquiteMan) tutorial have opened some awesome doors for me.
http://www.penturners.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=26599
I had about 50 or so Eucalyptus Burl blanks which I obtained while on the job. I found the large burl on the side of a tree I was cutting down. The Euc burl is so punky and full of voids, it is impossible to turn without some sort of stabilization. I turned a hand full using CA. It was slow and used a lot of CA. Not to mention how messy it was. I used Curtis' Worthless Wood tutorial on one a few days ago and got very promising results. Of course, it needed improvement. There were still some very small voids inside the blank which showed up when I turned it. They were easy enough to fill with CA. Seeing real possibilities with the process, the other night I cast three molds of blanks. Two small molds with one each of red and green opaque PR. And one larger mold with a yellow PR, closer to amber.
Tonight I tuned the red ones. I cut them to size, drilled them, glued in the tubes and mounted them on the lathe. They are being turned as Euro's. One of the most impressive things I have found, with the earlier blanks and these, is how easy they are to turn. I got very aggressive with these blanks. Even when bringing them to round. I wanted to test them, so I laid into them quite heavily. And I realize the ease in which they turn, will have to do with the way I mix my PR. Which is 3 drops per ounce, actually 8 drops for 3 ounces in the small molds. It is like the best of both worlds between wood and PR.
One thing I did notice is that once you get down to the finish, the wood and the PR react differently to the finish steps. I chose to put on some CA for a top coat. By the time I reached MM, some of the CA over the stubborn wood ares was thin. I just applied a couple more coats of CA and it was fine. I have had trouble with this wood since I first tried to use it. It absorbs the CA at different rates and that makes it difficult to get a consistent finish. This pen is still an experimental piece and it has a couple of very small holes in the finish.
I am actually considering a double cast idea. Cast and turn it just under size, then cast a very thin coating over that to insure a perfect top coat. Just an idea to help me deal with this punky burl. It is a pain in the a_ _ to work with, but the results are gorgeous.
Here is a shot of the first blank I turned. It was to be a cigar. Look at the depth in which the PR penetrated, all the way to the tube. And this started out at least a 13/16 or better blank.
Curtis, I will say it again, thanks for researching this and developing the techniques to make it work. This is a big wood savor for me.
And the rest of you out there that are thing about doing this, do it, it's worth it. If you have some stubborn burls around and don't want to loose it or cant afford to send it off to be treated, this is for you!
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