Help on turning & detailing polyester resin

[David Newson]

Can any give me any tips on turning and detailing polyester resin which I want to use as a inlay in box lids and maybe an oval vase side ?

I have tried a small trial piece in the chuck using a sharp scraper and a skew, and also a chatter tool, :mad: but found the resin chips very easily, not wishing to waste any more I'm open to any suggestions, THANKS.

David
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[David Newson]

I guess nobody has tried turning Polyester resin blanks ?

David
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[Jeff Taylor]

I guess nobody has tried turning Polyester resin blanks ?

Hello David, I have turned quite a few polyresin blanks .. but none with a chattertool ..
Could you elaborate on how you are embedding the resin in the other material? Are you carving the wood and casting directly into the wood? are you using CA to hold in chunks ? I think you will find that resin and chattertool work will not be a beautiful mix .. a rose engine such as Yoyospin (Ed Davidson) is using is another matter .. a skew or a scraper would be a better place to start .. perhaps you can use a high-speed rotary carver to detail the resin inlay ..

[Glenn Hodges]

David, after you finish turning the piece for the last time and have a grove for the resin. Pore it in, let it dry, and only sand it, not turn it. I think you will have better results, and no chipping.

[David Newson]

Thanks - Glen for your reply, I best explain the polyester that I'm referring to is the solid round polyester blanks, I brought a 2" x 12" solid black one to imitate Ebony whilst at a wood show last week, I'm pretty sure they also available on your side as well.

http://www.ivoryalternative.com/

They was not the actual people I purchased from but I believe they the only company that manufacturers the stuff and sells it to dealers.

At various shows I've seen this resin being worked on in a lathe but never really paid much attention to technique or tools used, what I aiming to do was fit half of the length into the chuck and shape,or detail,or combination of both on just the end and part of and glue into a recessed box lid or that was the idea ?

David
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[John Grabowski]

I make my own resin blanks and turn them into pens. Its rather easy to turn resin with a sharp skew and high speeds. I always rough mine to round with a roughing gouge, very sharp!! Then I switch to the skew to ensure it is baby's bottom smooth before the finishing process. Two piece pens take 30 mins from the moment is goes on the lathe through finishing with micromesh...Its best to turn at high speeds about 2500 RPM's.

It works out quite well for me.

John G

[Ed Davidson]

Don't really folllow what you're trying to do, but these poly resin turning video tutorials might be helpful:

http://content.penturners.org/video/epr_sierra_high_res.wmv
http://content.penturners.org/video/3Dresin_3.wmv
http://content.penturners.org/video/3Dresin_part2.wmv

[robert hainstock]

I start with hte 80 grit roughing gauge, and go down through the numbers. I believe I keep my tools as sharp as most, but have had great fortune chipping blsnks of manmade materials with them. Must be I'm not holding my nose right. anyway, it works fore me. :rolleyes::)
Bob

[David Newson]

A big thanks to everyone for your help its most appreciated,

After looking at the video links It looks like you can shape and cut the resin with a skew chisel but it requires a 45 degree angle ground on the skew chisel, and it suggested a rounded oval one, so once I've sent for one and sharpened it to 45 degrees hopefully I'll have better luck.

Thanks and I'll keep you informed how things go.

David
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[Ken Fitzgerald]

David,

Here is a link to a bottle stopper that I turned. I bought these and they are manufactured by Ed Davidson who posted earlier. They turn exceptionally well. I turned them mostly with a skew.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=61609