# Last of the Cocobola - First Acrylic



## Viking48 (Jan 24, 2006)

I used the last of the Cocobola that DeerDude gave me (Don and I are trying to "work a deal" for more) and tried my first acrylic. Don't think I like that stuff much - what a mess. Stringy stuff all over getting wrapped up on the blanks and mandrel - had to stop after each pass and clear the path so I could see what I was doing. Then, when using the EEE I found that it can get too hot. When it starts smoking you're only seconds away from meltdown and you have to start over.







Glad I did it and may try more later but I think I'll stick to wood for now. Guess I need to get one of those fancy plastic displays to put these things on (and upgrading the camera wouldn't hurt either) but here's a pic.


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## Tortuga (May 21, 2004)

Good lookin' work, V....That Coco is the coolest...Gotta laugh at yore comments on the acrylics...Been telling you birds that it was a booger..LOL...You can get Bobby to drop by and pluck that gunk off the spinning mandrel for ya...but I'm gonna go with your method of stopping the danged lathe and picking it off...It don't take long...and when I was first starting with them I tried B's method and almost got my danged finger caught between the mandrel and the tool rest...I NEVER get bit by the same dog twice..LOL

For all your misery...that acrylic came out beautiful...and folks just luv em.. I put the EEE on with a quarter of a folded paper towel and when it starts getting too warm on my fingers I just back off and let it cool down.. Didn't realize that it would get so hot it would smoke and melt the acr...but it sure makes sense... The acrylics are really good for expanding your obscene vocabulary.. I think up new words each time I turn one of them..LOL

Good luck....jim


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## Viking48 (Jan 24, 2006)

I didn't mean I stopped the lathe - I just stopped cutting. Can't waste time waiting for that thing to quit spinning.


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## deerdude2000 (Feb 17, 2006)

Viking48 said:


> I used the last of the Cocobola that DeerDude gave me (Don and I are trying to "work a deal" for more) and tried my first acrylic. Don't think I like that stuff much - what a mess. Stringy stuff all over getting wrapped up on the blanks and mandrel - had to stop after each pass and clear the path so I could see what I was doing. Then, when using the EEE I found that it can get too hot. When it starts smoking you're only seconds away from meltdown and you have to start over.
> 
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> ...


 I'm with you i'm staying with wood my wife want's me to try the acrylic but just don't know hard to teach an oid dog new tricks!!!1


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## Bobby (May 21, 2004)

Plastic takes longer. Thats for sure. I enjoy them. Youu don't have to heat them up that much just slow down and it won't get as hot. As far as the stringers. Wait till you can get some that will fly over your head. LOL They are so light most of the time I just reach behind the mandrel and use a pinching motion and pull it off. Comes off real easy. Or I will use the tip of my skew and lift it off. Got to carefull doing that so you don't hit the blank and chip it.


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## Flat Fish (Jun 18, 2005)

The acrylics make a nice change from wood every now and then, but they cut much different. Just takes a little getting used to.

Those look good!


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## Tortuga (May 21, 2004)

Viking48 said:


> I didn't mean I stopped the lathe - I just stopped cutting. *Can't waste time waiting for that thing to quit spinning*.


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Lol, Vik...jist stuck yore thumb in between the spinning pen and the tool rest. It'll stop in an instant...:redface: (DAMHIKT)....


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## Viking48 (Jan 24, 2006)

Tortuga and I were discussing the dust collector for the lathe and I sure wouldn't want to suck those things into the DC. Anybody tried the garbage can trap - will it catch the plastic before going into the DC? I think I'm going to get the hood for the lathe and some hose to see unless someone has already tried it. I used to work for a plastics company and had forgotten that they used suction to pull the plastic strands off the lathe as they were cut. Might make it a little easier to do.


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## Hooked (Oct 15, 2004)

Good lookin' resutls V........that acrylic looks great.


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## EndTuition (May 24, 2004)

Viking48 said:


> Tortuga and I were discussing the dust collector for the lathe and I sure wouldn't want to suck those things into the DC. Anybody tried the garbage can trap - will it catch the plastic before going into the DC? I think I'm going to get the hood for the lathe and some hose to see unless someone has already tried it. I used to work for a plastics company and had forgotten that they used suction to pull the plastic strands off the lathe as they were cut. Might make it a little easier to do.


I use a small DC motor hooked up to a trash can and it will pull most of the strings off the work piece as you turn. Maybe 75%. I have had those strings go all the way through the DC with out a problem. I don't turn acrylic, but I do turn some delrin evey now and then and it's sort of cool to see how long a thread you can make with one cut. Now that I have a decent tool sharpener, I may have better luck with the acrylic. Got some pretty cool rice blanks from Bobby to get after.


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## Bobby (May 21, 2004)

Here are a couple good videos on turning acrylics.





 




I been told that you can use automatic transmission fluid as a lube to keep the acrylics from getting too hot while drilling them.


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## Viking48 (Jan 24, 2006)

EndTuition said:


> I use a small DC motor hooked up to a trash can and it will pull most of the strings off the work piece as you turn. Maybe 75%. I have had those strings go all the way through the DC with out a problem. I don't turn acrylic, but I do turn some delrin evey now and then and it's sort of cool to see how long a thread you can make with one cut. Now that I have a decent tool sharpener, I may have better luck with the acrylic. Got some pretty cool rice blanks from Bobby to get after.


I wanted to go to Woodcraft yesterday to get some more hose and give the can a try but several "Honey-do's" reared their ugly head. Sure seems like those long strands of plastic would wrap themselves around the impeller. I remembered that I have some Hardware Cloth and may cut a piece to screen the outlet of the lid. Just have to do some experimenting when I get the time.


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## Viking48 (Jan 24, 2006)

Thanks Bobby - pretty interesting.



Bobby said:


> Here are a couple good videos on turning acrylics.
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## EndTuition (May 24, 2004)

Viking48 said:


> I wanted to go to Woodcraft yesterday to get some more hose and give the can a try but several "Honey-do's" reared their ugly head. Sure seems like those long strands of plastic would wrap themselves around the impeller. I remembered that I have some Hardware Cloth and may cut a piece to screen the outlet of the lid. Just have to do some experimenting when I get the time.


The trash can lid has an elbow on the underside to deflect the sawdust into the side of the can and have it sprial to the bottom. The outlet pulls from the very top. That deflector WILL fall off every so often untill you put a screw in it. When it's not on, the sawdust and everything else will be picked up by the outlet and passed to the motor. Before I put a screw in mine, I had some amazing stuff pass all the way through. I exhaust the DC out the garage wall and down to the ground. I have no idea how the delrin threads made it through, unless they got shreaded in the fan. Made it through the grate on the exhaust vent aslo. At one time it looked like a giant black plastic ant hill had formed under the exhaust vent. I toss all sorts of stuff in the DC vent, old sandpaper, wood scraps, rags (not with combustable stuff on them!). As long as that deflector is on there, no problems. Now. I was cutting some Texas Ebony with a hack saw the other day and the wood and the blade got hot enough to start smoking. I didn't give it any thought and then I realized I had the DC on and was sucking those smoking embers down into the can and stoking the heck out of them! Did an emergency shut down, pulled the can apart and expected to see a fire in there. I got lucky, no fire. Now I'm super cautious about running the DC when I'm doing any cut that can get hot enough to burn the wood.


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## Viking48 (Jan 24, 2006)

You'd better slow down with that hack saw. I'm going to try and get some more hose today and try it out when I get time. Supposed to head for Corpus for a couple of days so it may be later in the week.


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## EndTuition (May 24, 2004)

Here is a pic of my set up. Not very pretty, but functional.


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## Viking48 (Jan 24, 2006)

Picked up some hose and fittings. Didn't get the lathe hood (I plan to get that at Rockler today) but did get a big hood and clamped it to the lathe and turned a blank. Worked pretty well and picked up most of the shavings. When I get a chance I will rig up the garbage can and see how it works. I bought another plastic blank to try. Also did the CA finish that biggreen showed me and it seemed to work well. Haven't checked this AM but it looked good last night. Need to pick up some alcohol so I can try Bobby's method.


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