question about inlace acrylester

allen levine

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I got in my bottle stopper chuck so I decided to make a practice stopper.
Used some scrap walnut I had glued up.
drilled the 23/64 hole as instructions said, the first stopper came off chuck, couldn't finish.
second stopper, I used a 21/64 bit, fit tight, was able to finish it, but I wont use it, didn't sand it good, too boring.
before I drill some inlace acrylester, any suggestions as to what size bit? instrustions say 23/64(niles and psi stoppers)
 

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When you say it came off of the chuck, how do you mean this? It flew off and hit the wall? Unthreaded itself? Stripped its threads while you were turning it?
I don't have my set handy, but I do have a drill bit and a tap so I cut good threads in not just relying on the threads of the chuck to cut them. Then if the wood has any spalting or punking going on after cutting the threads I apply general amounts of thin glue, allow to dry and then recut the threads and have had success that way.
 
When you say it came off of the chuck, how do you mean this? It flew off and hit the wall? Unthreaded itself? Stripped its threads while you were turning it?
I don't have my set handy, but I do have a drill bit and a tap so I cut good threads in not just relying on the threads of the chuck to cut them. Then if the wood has any spalting or punking going on after cutting the threads I apply general amounts of thin glue, allow to dry and then recut the threads and have had success that way.

I do the same as Jonathan. :thumb:
 
Me three. I use a tap before putting the blank on the chuck. For your case Allen, I'd suggest drilling the hole with the smaller 21/64" bit, then using a tap to cut threads in the plastic. If it seems too tight for the tap, then I'd go to the bigger drill bit.
 
When you say it came off of the chuck, how do you mean this? It flew off and hit the wall? Unthreaded itself? Stripped its threads while you were turning it?
I don't have my set handy, but I do have a drill bit and a tap so I cut good threads in not just relying on the threads of the chuck to cut them. Then if the wood has any spalting or punking going on after cutting the threads I apply general amounts of thin glue, allow to dry and then recut the threads and have had success that way.

stripped its threads while on the chuck.
 
well, the wife has a house full of women tonight, so I decided at 7 to go out and try a stopper with this stuff.
The threads worked out fine. it held tight, and I had to use a wrench to screw it in the last few turns.

Ofcourse, Im ashamed to display my work, it was pretty much a disaster, as turning this stuff for me wasn't easy at all, and I had chip outs I couldn't repair with sanding.
My biggest mistake, an unforgiving one, is that I must have drilled the blank a couple of degrees off, so when I screwed in the stopper, it didn't go in straight, and doesn't sit flush all the way around.
So that and the chip outs, well, I failed. plain and simple.

The instructions say not to use carbide tips, but I don't work skews well, and the entire body of the piece came out without chip outs, it was only the top, maybe Im doing something wrong.
Tough to tell from the pictures.
I wont toss it, Ill keep it for my house when I have an open bottle, no one will notice but its good to remind myself to do better.
The glue set and I couldn't unscrew it, but for the 3.50 the stopper cost, eh.
 

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Inlace is a problem for experienced pen turners. Personally I won't use it if the same things can be found in PR. Have a shot with a 3/8...see if it's closer. IA doesn't do well with a lot of curves, must be turned with stupid sharp stuff and very light cuts. I can pull an 1/8 off a resin blank at a shot with a skew but IA...maybe 1/32". Those stoppers are chrome plated brass and will pit and "rot" in a really short time if used on a regular basis.
 
Seeing you were able to get clean cuts on the sides but not on the end, I suspect the chipout problem on the end was at least partially due to vibration. Since the base of the blank was not sitting flush on the chuck (or mandrel), the blank would be prone to vibrate when working on the end of it. Even though you may not be satisfied with the results, you still walked away with more knowledge that you started with, and you know the next one will be better because of it. ;)
 
Inlace acrylester seems to have hard and soft spots in it that causes the chip out problems you mention. You have to sharpen twice as often to keep your tools sharp and eliminate this. Also, LIGHT cuts. You have to remember you aren't working on an axle that runs through the work, you are working off of a stub. This can cause the flex. To help, I have the students bring the tail stock of their lathe up and then they have the "axle" effect while turning the stopper down to size and shape on the sides. Puts less to no stress on the threads this way. Then take the tail stock off to finish off the end.
You mention the stopper isn't cut square. No problem, unscrew it from the stopper you put it on, take it back to the shop, put a piece of brown paper (from a grocery store bag) around the threads of your chuck and thread your stopper blank back on but not quite all the way. (the paper should make it fit tight even though it hasn't bottomed out on the chuck) Sharpen your parting tool and then recut your end of the stopper. This will put the cut at 90 degrees to the hole and it will thread on the stopper and fit flush. Don't trim a bunch off because that will create the need to drill and tap a longer hole.
I tell my kids, "the only way to not make a mistake is to do nothing".
 
Inlace is a problem for experienced pen turners. Personally I won't use it if the same things can be found in PR. Have a shot with a 3/8...see if it's closer. IA doesn't do well with a lot of curves, must be turned with stupid sharp stuff and very light cuts. I can pull an 1/8 off a resin blank at a shot with a skew but IA...maybe 1/32". Those stoppers are chrome plated brass and will pit and "rot" in a really short time if used on a regular basis.

I purchased 6 of them so I could practice, also purchased niles ss hoping I get better at this later on.
 
Well looking at your pictures I cannot see what the fuss is about. They look perfectly fine to me maybe I need new glasses or you should put red circles around the problem areas you mentioning.:doh::thumb:

Also you turners need to cut down on the ss ia and any other abbreviations. Man its like reading code and I don't work for the cia nsa or kgb so its quiet a work out to read these posts and make sense of it. Now please SOS and write full words. :D;)

Jonathan I wish I was one of your students. They have no idea how lucky they are.
 
the only reason Im making bottle stoppers, figured its something nice to compliment a nice bottle of wine when I visit people.
Ill keep this bad one for myself, maybe one other one, but mostly its just to give as gifts.(its expensive to keep giving pens and other turned kits to people, Ive given out at least 30 pens to non family members, and Im giving out 10 more next month to my siblings and their kids)
 
the only reason Im making bottle stoppers, figured its something nice to compliment a nice bottle of wine when I visit people.
Ill keep this bad one for myself, maybe one other one, but mostly its just to give as gifts.(its expensive to keep giving pens and other turned kits to people, Ive given out at least 30 pens to non family members, and Im giving out 10 more next month to my siblings and their kids)

Nice slimlines cost me around 7 to build, saturns probably 10 dollars. Cheap by any stretch of the imagination when I see the thanks in their eyes and the hugs or handshakes I get from recipients. I have gotten past the trying to get rich quick with pens and like Mack really enjoy handing them out. Donating two antler pens to the wildgame dinner next Saturday, have done this for 4 or 5 years now. Always get orders for more pens from the people in attendance. Hope to post pictures of them next week when they are completed. I can't go out and buy a dang gone lunch for seven dollars.
 
I appreciate the compliments and thankyous I get from everyone when I hand them a pen, or even a set of Adirondack chairs.
but it adds up.
Im not a turner, but just stocking myself and purchasing the correct tools are a huge expense itself.

eventually, I would like to get into larger turned items, bowls, etc.
I can get a log for free, will make nice gifts eventually.
 
I followed the advice of JB who told me not to be aggressive with turns or shapes, and make sure I get very light cuts.
The red one came out with the pock marks, but the violet one, no shape, as simple as I could turn, came out near perfect, meaning no pock marks.maybe I should have turned the bottom a bit more, but this is the first one Im happy with.
I polished it off with flitz, and used a niles SS stopper.
Ill purchase plain acrylic in the future. I don't care for the wood stoppers, but a few people have expressed interest in the walnut one, so maybe Ill make them that shape, seems the simple shape is what everyone wants. go figure.
I purchased a pen wallet, hehehe, maybe Ill sell a pen one day to someone I don't know.

glued up 9 pen blanks this morning for some turning this week and weekend, but now I have to continue ripping down paneling and ceiling tiles. ugh. hate that stuff.
 

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