resin pen blanks

[pussaw]

this is my first post
i want to cast some pen blanks what is the best type of plastic to get and where do i get it. some books say acrylic polymer where others say there blanks are a polyester resin.
i see that there is a new pen on the market which is almost .05 bigger than its look alike. catalogs say thay do this so more resin will be over the material which is on the tube.
my other question is is it possible to splice different size tubes together and then use a chunk of wood or antler to make the transition back to the pen cap or tip this way i could use a smaller tube to cover with a material and the resin and not have to worry about busting thru the resin. :confused: dave

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

Dave

Let me be the first to welcome you to the site. You have made a great first question and am sure you will get alot of answers from experienced pen makers. I have tried to get this site to become more active in pen turning subjects because the owner of this site Steebar Corp. is a big player in the pen industry. They have lots of blanks and kits. Now me being very new to turning in general and have yet to turn a pen my answers will be based on things I have read and may not be as complete as others will be able to supply. But with that said I will give you some basic facts. First I do not know if you have turned wooden pens or not but if you haven't that is the place to start. If you have I will jump into some parts of your questions. I can get long winded and blame a fellow member who will be nameless ( Greybeard Phil :p ) To start with there are two kinds of casting resins that I am aware of. Polyester resin and alumilite resin. There are a number of places on the net where you can buy polyester resin with ebay being one and others, but if you want to just try it and see what it can do go to your nearest craft store such as AC MOORE or Michaels or Hobby Lobby and they carry the resin and catalyst. For the other look here. http://www.alumilite.com/ The big difference is the poyester resin smells and the other is odorless but cost more. To some this is a big factor either way.

The next thing you mention shapes. There is no limit to any shapes. You can make them as fat or skinny as the blank allows that you are using. You can make them any length too. The advantages with resins you can cast different items such as snake skins, you also can make them any color and any combination. You can buy any length tube also. Again go to hobby or craft store and just make sure it is the same dimension as the kit says to use. Many people splice different materials and woods together to make segmented pens. Look in the gallerys here under pen turning and you will see examples.

Like I said I only touched the surface with these answers and I am sure others will post to this and also include some photos. So keep watching and keep the questions coming.

[pussaw]

i have been to the store and seen both products been to http://amazingmoldputty.com/ and http://www.sculpey.com/ and was not really sure if this stuff would spin or shatter. i have turned all kinds of wood hollow and spindle, acrylic, and snake blanks. next is poly clay. i have wrote to dealers who sell clear blanks but the dont know what their supplyer is using in the way of plastic. mabe i should ask for a MSD sheet (next option). turn a pen and c what u think it only takes a few minutes. i have also bought from steebar nice guy 2 do business with. if u hear more let me know dave

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

Dave

If you want to try the clay pens, there is a person here PaulD, who has turned them and even gave us a tutorial as to how and what materials to use. Check this thread out, http://www.woodworkingcrafts.com/info/forums/showthread.php?t=167 You can PM here and he will be more than happy to answer your questions. The site has been slow for the past couple weeks. It maybe people are starting to get outdoors and things slow down. But give the thread a check and like I said ask away. You will get an answer.

[PaulD]

Yes, I have worked with casting resins in the past and there are a few on-line tutorials about making pen blanks out of them. Bottom line, the stuff work fine and is not much more prone to on lathe shattering then anything else. I prefer working with the polymer clay as it is a lot less smelly, I have a lot more color options and I can go from start to finish on a project a lot faster. However, a lot of people like working with resin and do a fine job with it, so pick your poison and give it a shot if you wish.

[pussaw]

i saw that u were doing blanks out of pclay and when i at the stores looking at casting resin i almost bought a couple of blocks of clay uno the stuff is cheep and after watching these craft shows on the boobtube it opens a whole new world to pens. i never bought the stuff cuz i wasnt sure if it would smell up my oven and the more i started looking at the stuff i really think i would need a pasta machine and a toster oven since i cant c firing up the big oven for just a few blanks. but 4under 100.$$$ i dont think it would to bad of a deal to get started with. i am gonna meet with a lady who teaches pclay classes today and what i want to find out is (mayb u could answer these??)
how brittle is the clay after baking

can it b turned and sanded and polished (micro mesh)

will it shrink during baking (or expand) will the tube slip once baked (sanded no dought or will it need to b glued be4 it is baked and what type of gule

will this act like wood after cooked (machining with pen mill and threded and using a texture tool)or will it chip

im sure i have more ?? or will i just have to bite the big one and jump in and try the stuff. dave :confused: what is blo finish on sprial atlas

[PaulD]

In response to Pussaw's questions or statements.....

Don't use a regular oven if you have an alternative. Its probably won't really hurt anything, but everything I read says don't, so don't. There is something about not mixing raw polymer with anything you eat off of. I guess the baked stuff if fine, but the soft stuff isn't.

Yes, you need the pasta machine. For $20 bucks do it right and it makes the clay a lot easier to work with.

Some of the other questions are really in the forum link JT references, so I won't repeat anything that is there. However, yes you can sand and MM the clay. No it doesn't noticeably shrink in baking. And yes you can turn it after baking, but it does act somewhat like the resin acrylic and you need to be careful turning it as it can fracture off of the blank.

The Spiraled Atlas is mine also, so I'll tackle that too. BLO is boiled lindseed oil. You can get it from most any paint or hardware store.