pipemakersforum.com

wow

a lava lamp and a pipe

and a question for chris where do you get polyester rod blanks in the uk?

regards
dave

At what speed do you turn/drill one of these? Also, for finishing, what grit do y'all recommend finishing with before buffing? Just ordered a few and can't wait to dig into them.

Thanks - John

I honestly don't remember what speed I used when drilling. I dont' think it makes much difference.

I sanded to 800 grit before buffing.

Todd

I drill plastic at about 750 rpm and I keep a bottle (a squeezy type oil-dropper) full of soapy water handy. This makes things SO much better it's not even funny. Keep it cool, keep it lubed, and it cuts like magic.

800 grit is for numbskulls. I sand to about 400 before tripoli. But thoroughly.

Sasquatch wrote:Keep it cool, keep it lubed, and it cuts like magic.

That's what she said.

And by "she," I mean Bruce Weaver.

Sasquatch wrote:800 grit is for numbskulls.

Sas,

One of these days you're going to hurt my feelings.





But not today.

Todd

Okay... what an I doing wrong now? I was sanding the button down on my french wheel using 150 grit, and the stem cracked perpendicular to the button (running length wise along the middle of the stem). I was verrrrrry gentle, as this is the Second time this has occurred.

Thoughts?

I had a resin blank do that while I was drilling the slot. It just went "pop", so I'm thinking that some of these resins are a little susceptible to that.

Are you using a Rhino or some other plastic? The one that blew up was a "bronze fire" from one of the other suppliers.

I guess my suspicion is that you are injuring the thing at some point, internally, and then when you heat it up sanding it it shows up? Just a guess though.

Both were Rhinos. On both occasions, I had drilled the slot and then gone to my disc sander to rough shape the button. While sanding I noticed a hairline crack. I think the first was Coal(?) (or something close to that - their black color) and the second was Moondust(?). On the second one, it was for a prince - and I was actually able to cut and reshape (although it will be used for a bent pot and not the prince) - so it's not a total loss. It's probably me - and I'm not going to slander the material or manufacturer as I really don't know what I'm doing - unless there are lots of folks having the same issue. I also notice extreme pitting tendencies as I was turning the blank. Again, I'm new to all of this so that was probably my inexperience as well. I was using a four jaw pin chuck at around 1800 rpm and an Easy Wood carbide mini-rougher. Tore. It. Up. Any suggestions (faster speed? different tools?)

I'm going to order some rod stock, as things are going well and I have many friends and acquaintances with spare cash who apparently don't know an ugly, ill-designed pipe when they see one. Also, I like the feel of ebonite better, and at least one of these pipes is going to be for me.

Again, Great forum gents, it helps more than you know!

John

It'll chip.... I use a real sharp wood turning gouge.

Only done the one blank, so I can't say for sure what your problem is.... wonder if you are cracking it with the drill somehow. I'll eventually order a few more and fiddle with them.

Hello all! thought i'd give a little update on one of my stems i made out of this stuff. I had made a pipe for the hat trade that i used a antique silver swirl blank for. I wasn't very happy with it so i made another pipe for the trade and decided to keep the first for myself.
So, I took the pipe to work with me today. I left the pipe in my truck, sitting in the sun, for about six hours. when i picked it up again i realized it has lost about half of the bend i put in it. Its not even a very warm day here! So, i guess this is one that doesn't hold a bend well.