i've been making pens for a little while now and have been asked questions
about using tagua nuts (natural fake ivory)
for making bands around the middle. one fellow was having two problems with
them...1. they seem to crack a lot. and
2. they chip when being turned. they sand just fine. we tried normal super
glue, but that didn't help the crack problem.
we put the band on the brass tube with 5 minute epoxy...could it be heating
up too much and causing the cracking? Could
chatter while the band is being turned cause the chipping and cracking both?
Any ideas?
rich

--

atv rider polaris 500
glass creations
drz400s
wood carver
spode

Perhaps the nuts you obtained were old? I haven't had either problem
working with them.

-Keith

On Sun, 09 Jan 2005 07:37:02 GMT, "res055a5" wrote:

i've been making pens for a little while now and have been asked questions
about using tagua nuts (natural fake ivory)
for making bands around the middle. one fellow was having two problems with
them...1. they seem to crack a lot. and
2. they chip when being turned. they sand just fine. we tried normal super
glue, but that didn't help the crack problem.
we put the band on the brass tube with 5 minute epoxy...could it be heating
up too much and causing the cracking? Could
chatter while the band is being turned cause the chipping and cracking both?
Any ideas?
rich

"res055a5" wrote in message
news:ya5Ed.3647$ig7.2729@trnddc04...
i've been making pens for a little while now and have been asked questions
about using tagua nuts (natural fake ivory)
for making bands around the middle. one fellow was having two problems
with
them...1. they seem to crack a lot. and
2. they chip when being turned. they sand just fine. we tried normal
super
glue, but that didn't help the crack problem.
we put the band on the brass tube with 5 minute epoxy...could it be
heating
up too much and causing the cracking? Could
chatter while the band is being turned cause the chipping and cracking
both?
Any ideas?
rich
=======================
Rich,
Try soakinking the nuts overnight in water. That will soften them some and
help with the chipping. Can't help with the cracking, since I haven't had
that problem.

Ken Moon
Webberville, TX

On Sun, 09 Jan 2005 07:37:02 GMT, "res055a5" wrote:

i've been making pens for a little while now and have been asked questions
about using tagua nuts (natural fake ivory)
for making bands around the middle. one fellow was having two problems with
them...1. they seem to crack a lot. and
2. they chip when being turned. they sand just fine. we tried normal super
glue, but that didn't help the crack problem.
we put the band on the brass tube with 5 minute epoxy...could it be heating
up too much and causing the cracking? Could
chatter while the band is being turned cause the chipping and cracking both?
Any ideas?
rich
how thin are these bands? I have turned Tagua jars so thin light
shines thru them, but if he is using narrow, thin pieces, I suppose
the tiniest mistake could catch and any drying could cause cracking.
(Taguas are subject to distortion, like any vegetable product, and I
never tried using them in that way.)

how thin are these bands? I have turned Tagua jars so thin light
shines thru them, but if he is using narrow, thin pieces, I suppose
the tiniest mistake could catch and any drying could cause cracking.
(Taguas are subject to distortion, like any vegetable product, and I
never tried using them in that way.)

slimline ink pen bands.. the idea is to cut and sand the proper width
of nut the same as the pen band....drill the proper sized hole in the nut
slice
so that it fits over band and use an adhesive to keep it on. then turn the
nut
band on the lathe. this way we can use a slimline pen kit to make a
"fatter"
style of pen with an ivory look to it. we have been using CA glue. the
fellow
that has been doing the turning is a beginner, old, and doesn't have the
best eyesight.
that is why i thought that he might be causing the chisel to chatter or put
too much
pressure on the chisel or might not have it sharp enough.

Another use for the nut is when a blow out occurrs in the pen while turning.
we have
been turning the wood down to the tube and gluing on a nut band to bring it
back to
the proper length....with the same problems.

i have also been making checkerboard patterned pen blanks...sometimes in a
spiral
pattern. I would like to use tagua nut for the white color occasionally,
horn for its
colors, antler, ivory, and possibly eventually turquoise chips in epoxy.
all just experiments
that are fun to try out. And then I will try personalizing pens by sawing
bronze or silver
sheet into letters and forming them around the proper diameter cylinder
before epoxy
holds them on and sanding smooth.

pushing the limits in experiments is more fun for me than making the same
pen all the time...no matter
how good the pen style looks, how good the wood looks, or how much
practice/skill i acquire
turning the same style over and over until i can do it in my sleep.
rich

On Mon, 10 Jan 2005 05:47:38 GMT, "Ken Moon"
wrote:


them...1. they seem to crack a lot.

My guess is heat checking. Don't sand so aggressively.

2. they chip when being turned.

Sharper tools and a less aggresive cut. You should approach them more
like Corian than wood. Being a hard substance, they will chip of you
try to cut them too aggressively.

they sand just fine. we tried normal

Could
chatter while the band is being turned cause the chipping and cracking
both?

You could try chatterwork, but I would use a light touch on a piece
that thin. Better just to leave it be, smooth.

Try soakinking the nuts overnight in water. That will soften them some and
help with the chipping. Can't help with the cracking, since I haven't had
that problem.

All of the places I've ever bought these from say explicitly that you
should definitely not soak them. They are made of a starch/sugar,
rather like a cross between a really hard potato and an acorn.


--
Chuck *#:^)
chaz3913(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
Anti-spam sig: please remove "NO SPAM" from e-mail address to reply.


September 11, 2001 - Never Forget


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