Got this brilliant idea to make a pen using coarse walnut lathe
residue and brass residue from a key making machine.
What a mess. Wood working tools not made to turn brass.
Had to use 40, 50, 60, and 80 grit sandpaper to turn it.
Took hours. Repairs while turning are made with origional mixture and
turning residue using thin CA glue. Brass and CA glue chemically
react giving off metal oxide fumes.
Final pen is nice and is heavier than a wood pen. Feels good
and writes well, but I won't make another.

George

On Sat, 03 Jan 2009 07:40:25 -0600, bumhead wrote:

Got this brilliant idea to make a pen using coarse walnut lathe
residue and brass residue from a key making machine.
What a mess. Wood working tools not made to turn brass.
Had to use 40, 50, 60, and 80 grit sandpaper to turn it.
Took hours. Repairs while turning are made with origional mixture and
turning residue using thin CA glue. Brass and CA glue chemically
react giving off metal oxide fumes.
Final pen is nice and is heavier than a wood pen. Feels good
and writes well, but I won't make another.

George

Sharp turning tools should work well on brass.. What type of problems did you
have?
(chipping, crumbling, tools dulling, etc.)

I tried using brass shavings and filings mixed with either CA or Epoxy and they
turned all my buffing wheels black.. won't try that again..lol


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Tools dulled quickly and caused a lot of chipping out, thus having to
make a lot of repairs. Might have been my technique.
I sure had a lot of irritating smoke and fumes when I put CA glue
on the turning to make repairs!!! Caused me to sneeze an burned my
eyes before I figured out what was happening.

On Sat, 03 Jan 2009 10:05:16 -0800, mac davis
wrote:

On Sat, 03 Jan 2009 07:40:25 -0600, bumhead wrote:

Got this brilliant idea to make a pen using coarse walnut lathe
residue and brass residue from a key making machine.
What a mess. Wood working tools not made to turn brass.
Had to use 40, 50, 60, and 80 grit sandpaper to turn it.
Took hours. Repairs while turning are made with origional mixture and
turning residue using thin CA glue. Brass and CA glue chemically
react giving off metal oxide fumes.
Final pen is nice and is heavier than a wood pen. Feels good
and writes well, but I won't make another.

George

Sharp turning tools should work well on brass.. What type of problems did you
have?
(chipping, crumbling, tools dulling, etc.)

I tried using brass shavings and filings mixed with either CA or Epoxy and they
turned all my buffing wheels black.. won't try that again..lol


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

On Sat, 03 Jan 2009 21:13:48 -0600, bumhead wrote:

Tools dulled quickly and caused a lot of chipping out, thus having to
make a lot of repairs. Might have been my technique.
I sure had a lot of irritating smoke and fumes when I put CA glue
on the turning to make repairs!!! Caused me to sneeze an burned my
eyes before I figured out what was happening.


Sharp tools make a difference, for sure, also tool choice..
I've found that with some pens, a gouge does more harm than good and a SHARP
skew in a shaving (not scraping) angle is best..
I usually put away the gouge as soon as the blank is rounded..

Not sure why you were getting fumes, unless you were applying the CA while the
brass was hot.. Never noticed any fumes when turning, gluing or sanding brass..
I guess the DC might have sucked them out, but doubt it..
Was the walnut punky or spalted?




On Sat, 03 Jan 2009 10:05:16 -0800, mac davis
wrote:

On Sat, 03 Jan 2009 07:40:25 -0600, bumhead wrote:

Got this brilliant idea to make a pen using coarse walnut lathe
residue and brass residue from a key making machine.
What a mess. Wood working tools not made to turn brass.
Had to use 40, 50, 60, and 80 grit sandpaper to turn it.
Took hours. Repairs while turning are made with origional mixture and
turning residue using thin CA glue. Brass and CA glue chemically
react giving off metal oxide fumes.
Final pen is nice and is heavier than a wood pen. Feels good
and writes well, but I won't make another.

George

Sharp turning tools should work well on brass.. What type of problems did you
have?
(chipping, crumbling, tools dulling, etc.)

I tried using brass shavings and filings mixed with either CA or Epoxy and they
turned all my buffing wheels black.. won't try that again..lol


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Yes, when I was making repairs it was just after turning, so the brass
was at least warm, sometimes very warm. Could have just been the thin
CA glue evaporating when it hit the hot brass. I hadn't thought of
that. Probably just CA glue in vapor form. Not something to be
breathing. Another lesson learned.
On Sun, 04 Jan 2009 08:37:03 -0800, mac davis
wrote:

On Sat, 03 Jan 2009 21:13:48 -0600, bumhead wrote:

Tools dulled quickly and caused a lot of chipping out, thus having to
make a lot of repairs. Might have been my technique.
I sure had a lot of irritating smoke and fumes when I put CA glue
on the turning to make repairs!!! Caused me to sneeze an burned my
eyes before I figured out what was happening.


Sharp tools make a difference, for sure, also tool choice..
I've found that with some pens, a gouge does more harm than good and a SHARP
skew in a shaving (not scraping) angle is best..
I usually put away the gouge as soon as the blank is rounded..

Not sure why you were getting fumes, unless you were applying the CA while the
brass was hot.. Never noticed any fumes when turning, gluing or sanding brass..
I guess the DC might have sucked them out, but doubt it..
Was the walnut punky or spalted?




On Sat, 03 Jan 2009 10:05:16 -0800, mac davis
wrote:

On Sat, 03 Jan 2009 07:40:25 -0600, bumhead wrote:

Got this brilliant idea to make a pen using coarse walnut lathe
residue and brass residue from a key making machine.
What a mess. Wood working tools not made to turn brass.
Had to use 40, 50, 60, and 80 grit sandpaper to turn it.
Took hours. Repairs while turning are made with origional mixture and
turning residue using thin CA glue. Brass and CA glue chemically
react giving off metal oxide fumes.
Final pen is nice and is heavier than a wood pen. Feels good
and writes well, but I won't make another.

George

Sharp turning tools should work well on brass.. What type of problems did you
have?
(chipping, crumbling, tools dulling, etc.)

I tried using brass shavings and filings mixed with either CA or Epoxy and they
turned all my buffing wheels black.. won't try that again..lol


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

bumhead wrote:
Got this brilliant idea to make a pen using coarse walnut lathe
residue and brass residue from a key making machine.
What a mess. Wood working tools not made to turn brass.
Had to use 40, 50, 60, and 80 grit sandpaper to turn it.
Took hours. Repairs while turning are made with origional mixture and
turning residue using thin CA glue. Brass and CA glue chemically
react giving off metal oxide fumes.
Final pen is nice and is heavier than a wood pen. Feels good
and writes well, but I won't make another.

George
Is there a picture can not see it

You may consider yourself very luck... the fumes are Cyanide CN compound
(ECA = ethyl 2-cyanoacrylate) and produces a strong irritant when heated in
the form of the fumes you experienced... There is another caution, and that
is the brass compound can be composed of copper, lead, zinc and tin...
depending upon the alloy... the fumes of which are toxic as well as the
dust ...

Better to be cautious with these materials... a couple of years ago and
unrelated to your type of project a local fellow hobbyist succumbed to toxic
fumes from the removal of what he may have thought was zinc galvanized over
some finds of metal he wanted to use for a project, but it was cadmium...
he suffocated to death from metal fume fever ten days later while he
suffered from extreme flu like symptoms...

So just a head up in being sure as to what you may be dealing with in the
playing with our toys... By the way I really like your pens... I think I
will try making something with a similar effect but from a different resin
base...

Have fun and be careful...
--
Victor

"bumhead" wrote in message
...
Tools dulled quickly and caused a lot of chipping out, thus having to
make a lot of repairs. Might have been my technique.
I sure had a lot of irritating smoke and fumes when I put CA glue
on the turning to make repairs!!! Caused me to sneeze an burned my
eyes before I figured out what was happening.

On Sat, 03 Jan 2009 10:05:16 -0800, mac davis
wrote:

On Sat, 03 Jan 2009 07:40:25 -0600, bumhead wrote:

Got this brilliant idea to make a pen using coarse walnut lathe
residue and brass residue from a key making machine.
What a mess. Wood working tools not made to turn brass.
Had to use 40, 50, 60, and 80 grit sandpaper to turn it.
Took hours. Repairs while turning are made with origional mixture and
turning residue using thin CA glue. Brass and CA glue chemically
react giving off metal oxide fumes.
Final pen is nice and is heavier than a wood pen. Feels good
and writes well, but I won't make another.

George

Sharp turning tools should work well on brass.. What type of problems did
you
have?
(chipping, crumbling, tools dulling, etc.)

I tried using brass shavings and filings mixed with either CA or Epoxy and
they
turned all my buffing wheels black.. won't try that again..lol


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing