HDPE pen blanks

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Mkorish

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Aug 23, 2021
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Onalaska, WI
Ok,newbie question....
Just bought a toaster over for 9 bucks, how do I go about making HDPE pen blanks?
Thanks so much and sorry for all the questions
 
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Do you mean use an HDPE mold to make resin blanks?

BTW, I'm new too, and I ask a lot of questions, too! ;) Its how we learn.
 
I'm new to the forum as well but have been turning pens for a little bit, do you mean to make pen blanks out of HDPE? I've never heard of such and am curious the purpose? Seems HDPE doesn't adhere to anything so you might struggle getting the tubes to glue in?

if your meaning to make a mold to make blanks out of HDPE, I think generally people just buy sheets of HDPE (not cheap) and make them that way. I looked at doing this and ended up just buying a lizard blank mold. A lot less hassle and about the same cost, highly recommend them.

Another alternative for a resin blank mold would be to make one out of silicone molding mix (two part chemical which hardens around a shape of your choosing). Alumilite has some videos on doing this kind of thing on their YouTube channel.
 
My apologies, I remember seeing this process done now that you jog my memory. Did you watch the " Brothers Make" video on their process. They use a panini press to do this and it seems pretty explanatory in their video?
They mention you can use a toaster at 300 degrees.

Given the toaster over as opposed to panini press I was thinking you could heat them up on parchment paper (top and bottom) pull them out and use a rolling pin to flatten the material and smush together. Repeat and fold as you see fit. Might work the same as their panini press process?

Seems like a cool recycling idea but they do mention the issue of gluing the tubes in not working so you have to undersize the hole and pressure fit the tubes in.

if your in it just to make a cool looking blank, you can achieve similar pattersn with resin and those blanks are a blast to make. There's a starter kit on Amazon with a mold and a small supply of resin with several dye bottles if you wanted to give it a try. (Note, they use liquid diamond resin which takes a long time to cure so you don't have many if any air bubbles but you have to wait before mixing otherwise the colors will bleed and turn to a black blank, #LearnFromOthersMistakes)

if you do try the HDPE process please document your experience/learning here so we can see how it goes. Good luck with it.
 
Last edited:
Mkorish said:
Ok,newbie question....
Just bought a toaster over for 9 bucks, how do I go about making HDPE pen blanks?
Thanks so much and sorry for all the questions
Click to expand...
Hi Mike

I am in the process of experimenting with this as well. As @Stubach mentioned above, Brothers Make on you tube have some great videos, it's where I got my start.
The temp should be around 150-175. I used a toaster oven the first time, but it is slower. I now have a panini press I picked up at a thrift store. It is quicker, but I am still experimenting with the technique.
My biggest stumbling block right now is the press. You need to press it really hard, and quickly. I am thinking about picking up an arbor press.
Another critical step is cleaning. Some of my failures, I am sure are due to some residual chemicals on the plastic, that my cleaning missed.
Keep in mind, this stuff does not thread well at all. I have not tried single point threading yet. I have read about a West System glue, that states in its directions that it can glue HDPE. I don't remember specifically which one right now.

Good luck on the journey.
 

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Shay Maher (BB Turning) has a few YT videos on how to take HDPE and make pen blanks, mallets and other things out of it. He then turns a few slimlines. Excellent videos. One of his videos ==>
 
A couple things about making pens from HDPE that you should be aware of . Getting tubes well glued in is not a problem if you use polyurethane foam glue such as the original Gorilla glue or equivalent .

You will be disappointed if you expect a surface with the high gloss finish achievable with most plastic blanks . It will be much less glossy than Alumilite , and probably less than PVC water pipe . Enhancing it with CA will be problematic due to poor adhesion .

Also , please recognise that the fire hazard is not zero with the suggested process .
 
I tried it and it took me forever, and i never got the putty like consistency but i did get it pressed into a nice block. I think i went like 200, but i honestly don't remember
 
I make hdpe pens a lot, I've found that sanding it to 1200 gives it a smooth matte finish. I also got my start from the brothers make video.
 
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