total novice - asking for direction

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J

jbmauser

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Joined
Nov 16, 2008
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Location
Roanoke, VA
I have turned less than a dozen wood pens and I enjoy it. I plan to build many more but out of odd materials. I do have this idea but I have no clue how to attack it. I want to cast or fabricate a top barrel that would be some material I can turn that would look like candy cane, either 2 or 3 colors twisted. I can imagine pouring material onto a twisting rod as it is fed into a mold to set or maybe material the can be manipulated manually while soft around a tube and then compressed until set. OR ....I have no idea...Any and all suggestions, comments or ideas are welcome. I don't know anything about any non wood products that you all work with. Thanks in advance.
JB
 
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Experiment with wrapping Christmas ribbon around a tube. When you get it just right - soak it with CA on the tube. And even this may require a few trial and errors. So order a dozen tubes or so to experiment. (Messed up tubes can be put in a jar of acetone and soaked overnight to get the mess off.)

Next, plug the ends and cast the covered tubes in a mold with a clear resin. I don't know if you have turned a square blank of clear PR over a tube covered with something or not - but it will probably look uneventful while square. However the look changes once rounded and polishing begins.
 
if you want to start with an easy one....Sculpey modeling clay can be wrapped around the tubes, baked to hard, then turned. very easy, not too fancy, but easy to start.
 
I think the oils in the hands tend to break the Sculpey down over time. It's not the best option, but it's defiantly an option. There was a woman on here two used it a bit. Julia maybe?
 
Do you think that the sculpty clay once turned after baking can be polished and then cast in clear acrylic to insulate it from oils etc? JB
 
You can print the candy cane pattern on an avery label - wrap it around a tube and cast it. it will look just like a candy cane. You may be able to cast a real candy cane (big one) it would have to have resin all around -- then again maybe the resin curing would melt the sugar still may make a cool pen - lol Maybe when I have time I will try that.
 
polarbear1 said:
You may be able to cast a real candy cane (big one) it would have to have resin all around -- then again maybe the resin curing would melt the sugar still may make a cool pen - lol Maybe when I have time I will try that.
Click to expand...
I tried casting a real candy cane...now I have resin stuck in my teeth.:biggrin:
 
Congratulations on wanting to be innovative even though you are new at this obsession. I really can't contribute much to what has been offered. Although, you might want to consider cutting red and white Corian into strips, heating then winding. CA them together and have at it on the lathe.
It is also refreshing to NOT see an inane question like we see so often here. e.g. Where can I buy candy canes?
Welcome and enjoy the obsession.
 
This won't give you a true "wrap around effect", but if you take red and white acrylics and laminate them at a 45 degree angle in several layers the length of the pen, it will have a similar look and be a lot less work. I know that's not completely what you're going for but it might be a good start just to get an idea of what I could look like.
 
Rifleman1776 said:
Congratulations on wanting to be innovative even though you are new at this obsession. I really can't contribute much to what has been offered. Although, you might want to consider cutting red and white Corian into strips, heating then winding. CA them together and have at it on the lathe.
It is also refreshing to NOT see an inane question like we see so often here. e.g. Where can I buy candy canes?
Welcome and enjoy the obsession.
Click to expand...
If you need the red and white corian, send me a PM and I will be happy to send you a couple of pens worth. By the way, welcome to the forum.
 
You can mix PR resin and pour it over aluminum foil, let it "gel up" a bit (you have more wiggle room than you think, as far as time is concerned). Cut into ribbons with a razor knife, stack them up color by color, and twist them.

Poke this twisty thingy over into a 3/4" PVC pipe mold and cast in white colored resin.


Just a thought.
 
Well, you have all given me ideas to work with and leverage from. In my haste to do something I ordered a basic acrylic kit from Penn State and I will see what I can do to build a tube and seal it. Can I add color to acrylic? Can you work acrylic as it is gel mode as well? my first go at this is to prime a tube and I will paint a piece of wax paper with acrylic paint and let is set up until I can peel it off and roll the tube and then cast it. wish me luck. JB
 
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