Hints for working with inlace

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HarmonyByKen

HarmonyByKen

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Joined
Mar 6, 2021
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Location
Oro Valley, AZ
Every time I have worked with inlace in the past I always have issues with chips and or breakage. To the point of swearing it off until some months later, thinking I was just having a bad day(s). The main points I have always read is sharp tools, go slow, and take little material. I swear if I go any slower, I won't be able to finish a pen before I leave this earth. And I am used to taking off a couple of thousandths of an inch at a time on test fixtures, so I've got that down pat. I love the way it looks when it's finally polished, but the turning drives me nuts. Looking for any sage advice. Perhaps it's just the nature of the beast.
 
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I knock off the corners with a BS (or whatever); or sand them off using 80 grit SP
3000+ rpms
only tighten centers enough to withstand the chisel pressure
I like a HSS rough gouge, them HSS skew (but had use carbide). I will re sharpen the chisels several times per barrel
I have had success will small diameter (thin-walled) pens where barrel meets the hardware, but I try to use for thicker walled pens
I insert the hardware very slowly because I believe (not sure, never measured) the brass tube expands slightly to accept the h/w.
My shop is climate controlled, but maybe it needs to be warmer in the winter (I'm in GA though)
I use non expanding epoxy to glue tubes (don't know it that matters, just wanted to give you a complete answer)

Years ago, I never had to be so careful. However over the last 2 years, either my skills have eroded or the inlace had become more brittle. The folks at woodturnz are good people - not blaming them.

I love the stuff, but 2 of 10 times I get a split when assembling. I even applied some a flexible CA finish and I still had it happens. Until I figure this out, I still use inlace, but I lean more to rhioplastic (sp?) if I want a similar look. If I am making a pen for sale, I buy 2 extra sticks/blanks.

Certainly my approach is not fool-proof and I no longer enjoy the success I used to have.

I hope this helps (at least you are not the only one :) )

Best,

Tony
 
To me speed is the key. The faster the better and yes sharp tools will get you home. I always finish any pen material with my final passes with a sharp skew. but I have turned that material with carbide with little chipping. It really does come down to finding that sweet spot on cutting tool and holding that line. Amount of pressure you apply and speed of moving the tool. It is all about touch and feel. Just do not know how else to explain it.
 
Speed is one of the three keys to working with this material. The other 2 are: 1 - SHARP! Your tools MUST be as sharp as they can be. Steel, carbide or gumibears, they gotta be super sharp. And the last one is light cuts. Whenever I try to take more than a half millimeter (that's just a little bit) it seems like I get chippy.
So - high rpm, scary sharp and just tiny cuts.
 
Since I started using a carbide chisel held at an angle to get a "shearing" cut, I haven't had any problems with inlace acrylester. I turn at 2500 rpm.
 

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There is a lot of good information in this thread. Inlace Acrylester is a Trademark belonging to WoodTurningz. They have a technical publication related to working with it. According to them, "The results you get from a finished Inlace Acrylester blank far exceed any effort it requires to turn it.". I guess I have to concur, they make some gorgeous pens.

For turning, they say:
Aggressive cuts and Inlace don't mix. The best way to turn Inlace Acrylester™ is to use a fingernail bowl gouge or a skew in proper form to give you a "shear" cut. Using a shear cut, you will slice the material from the blank instead of scraping it off. Cutting will cause less impact to the blank and require less sanding. (** We recommend only using carbide tools with Negative Rake Cutters to turn Inlace.) If you don't have proper form with a skew or don't have a fingernail gouge, a standard spindle gouge will work. However, be certain to keep your tools sharp and use light cuts, or chipping may occur. As you reach final dimension, you will want to slow up a little and start gently working out any remaining chips or grooves. If you have
chipping that is too deep, you may use a drop of thick CA glue to fi ll the chip seamlessly. You will then want to turn the CA glue back to flush and finish polishing as usual.

Just like Jim's (qquake) experience, since I started using a carbide chisel held at an angle to get a "shearing" cut, I haven't had any problems with inlace acrylester. I turn at about 3500 RPM though. My first "shearing" cutter was a Magical Skew from T. Shadow. Since then I have built my own "shearing" tools using hex shaft instead of square bar stock so the carbide cutters address the blank at an angle. As with the Magical Skew they provide more of a "shearing" cut than one would get from a standard "scraping" carbide tool. This can also done using standard carbide tools by holding them at an angle on the tool rest. Jim's picture illustrates this exceptionally well.

Anyhow, I concur with WoodTurningz, the extra effort for working with Inlace is worth it considering the end results.

Regards,
Dave
 
I find any stiff bristle brush works well--bathroom brush, grill brush are my two favorites. Of course a good vacuum running behind the blank will also help immensely.
 
Ken, I see that you haven't posted a lot yet, so I don't know what your relative experience level is. My experience has been that on a continuum of difficulty level, the aluminite blanks seem to be the easiest to turn, Rhino blanks (polyester) are somewhere in the middle, and inlace acrylester are some of the most difficult. I would suggest getting some of the Rhino blanks as they are economical and polish up great to perfect your technique. You can get a box of 100 assorted Rhino blanks on eBay as seconds (search for RhinoPlastic) for $115. I bought three boxes of these years ago (still working on them lol) and they make great pens. Once you have mastered them, it should make it easier to move up to acrylester. Good luck!
 
I just stop the lathe and clean up. I can then check condition of the blank also. One thing to keep in mind when using a dust collector behind a lathe while turning plastics is that those ribbons will get hung up in the hose and on the impeller in collector so it needs to be checked often also if doing many of them type blanks.
 
Ken; Late to the party, But as others have said light cuts especially when starting and the cut is interrupted. Disk sander used to trim blank ends to length doubles as corner remover on raw blank. It doesn't have to be pretty. I use carbide and produce lovely ribbons. I use the tool BELOW center.
 
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