# Turning trustone



## scotian12 (Aug 26, 2008)

I've just started turning a trustone blank and am having difficulty with it. I took it slow drilling the blank but it took an hour to rough turn it to round. I am now reducing the size of it with my skew. I get about 4-5 passes with the skew and then have to re sharpen. Is this normal? At this rate I will be a couple of hours turning the blank? Any suggestions or advice in reducing my turning time on this material.   Thanks    Darrell


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## GoodTurns (Aug 26, 2008)

you're right on pace!  depending on the tru-stone type, it can and will eat your tools quickly.  take your time, it will be worth it!  you can save time by hitting it with the grinder/belt sander to rough it round.  once you get used to it, it speeds up and makes a beautiful finished pen.


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## ldb2000 (Aug 26, 2008)

Which Tru-Stone blank are you turning , some of them are much harder then others .
I was VERY cautious turning my first blanks but have now done enough to get them done quickly .
The softer ones are just like turning acrylic and harder ones are more like corian .


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## scotian12 (Aug 26, 2008)

*trustone blank*

The trustone blank is from Arizona Shilhoutte. Its a beautiful blank with a gold thread through it. I am putting it on an TI Emperor kit. It will be a heavy pen for a select market but once finished it will be beautiful. In the meantime until I get a few more posts I have tried grinding it down with 80 grit sandpaper to save my skew. I will have to pay attention to heat buildup.
Darrell


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## philthephlier (Aug 26, 2008)

*I turn a lot of trustone*

I am a very big fan of trustone.  I have turned about 30 pens from it and there is a learning curve, but it's not a mountain to climb.  The tool I use very successfully is a 3/4" round carbide insert reground for wood lathes.  The tool is mounted on a 16" steel shaft and is available on ebay from a company called Unique Tool.  I actually use it for most of my rough turning on almost all blanks but especially trustone.  I turn trustone at high speeds despite the admonitions to the contrary.  I take reasonably light cuts and the trustone comes off pretty readily even with the harder blanks like the black with gold web or matrix.  I doubt if I spend more than 5-8 minutes turning before I am ready to sand.  When the round carbide insert gets dull, just use the allen wrench that comes with the tool to rotate the cutter for a fresh sharp edge.  When the whole insert needs sharpening run it back and forth on a 8" diamond stone for a few minutes and tou are ready to go again.  The carbide stays sharp for a long, long time.  Sanding I use 220 grit 3M yellow to smooth the blank, then 400 grit for about 5 seconds, then all nine Micro Mesh Pads used wet.  The results are spectacular.
Good luck!


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## Jim Smith (Aug 27, 2008)

Philtheohlier, 

Is this the tool that you're referring to?


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## philthephlier (Aug 27, 2008)

*tool*

That's the one!


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## Daniel (Oct 2, 2008)

You might want to look at the SKOGGER Tool that has just been offered in the individual classifieds as well. it is a carbide insert tool made specifically for pen turning. I am getting one just to use on Acrylics and expect it to do well on truestone as well. I don't use as mush truestone  as I do other materials though.


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## NewLondon88 (Oct 2, 2008)

I've seen the Skogger tool but haven't tried it yet. It's on my list along 
with a bedan and a swan neck Hunter tool.
(that list just keeps getting longer and longer and longer...)

I've done about a dozen or so TruStone pens so far, but none of them
seemed particularly hard. So far I've turned the red jasper, malachite and turquoise. I think I spent about 10 minutes on them before sanding. and once rounded, they turn so smooth that I didn't use anything except the 1-1/2" roughing gouge, although I touched it up on the stone once in a while.

just got another batch yesterday and I'm expecting another in a few days.
(ordered them here!) We'll see if these are any harder.

But an hour doesn't sound like fun..


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## Sylvanite (Oct 2, 2008)

Yes, some trustones are more difficult than others.  I've had good success so far using just a round-nose scraper.

Regards,
Eric


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## penmanship (Oct 2, 2008)

scotian12 said:


> The trustone blank is from Arizona Shilhoutte. Its a beautiful blank with a gold thread through it. I am putting it on an TI Emperor kit. It will be a heavy pen for a select market but once finished it will be beautiful. In the meantime until I get a few more posts I have tried grinding it down with 80 grit sandpaper to save my skew. I will have to pay attention to heat buildup.
> Darrell


 
when you get it completed, I'd like to see the photo's.  Sounds like a beaty!


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## Firefyter-emt (Oct 3, 2008)

The blue lapis is a killer! I started one many times and got sick of turning them pen.  Then one day I decided to chuck i tup in my metal lathe. Man alive did that thing bring that pen down fast!  I got the pen withing a few thous and then finished it off by hand with a skew.  Saved me hours!


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## marcruby (Oct 5, 2008)

The really hard truestones are a nightmare to turn.  I just turned a piece of AZ Chrysollaca and wound of switching to an old oval skew that I hate.  I used it to buzz down the blank and then started 'finishing' with 150 grit sand paper.  Looked great when I was done but I swear that skew is an quarter inch shorter.


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## NewLondon88 (Oct 6, 2008)

Has anyone tried a bedan on the TruStone?
I just picked one up this weekend and was thinking of breaking it in
on something this week.

I usually turn the TruStone with just a roughing gouge, since the ones
I've turned so far seem to turn easily. But I did order some lapis from
someone here on the board, so I guess I'll find out soon!


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## Texatdurango (Oct 6, 2008)

NewLondon88 said:


> Has anyone tried a bedan on the TruStone?
> I just picked one up this weekend and was thinking of breaking it in
> on something this week.
> 
> ...


 
In my opinion, some of the truestone is so hard it makes no difference which tool you use.  If it has an edge, that edge will dull quickly.  I chucked a blank on my metal lathe and used a carbide tipped cutter and it turns the blank down ten times faster than anything I could use on my wood lathe.

I read in another thread where someone is selling carbide tipped gouges, perhaps that's something to look into.


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## NewLondon88 (Oct 6, 2008)

Texatdurango said:


> In my opinion, some of the truestone is so hard it makes no difference which tool you use.  If it has an edge, that edge will dull quickly.  I chucked a blank on my metal lathe and used a carbide tipped cutter and it turns the blank down ten times faster than anything I could use on my wood lathe.
> 
> I read in another thread where someone is selling carbide tipped gouges, perhaps that's something to look into.



Well, after doing a couple of pens in soapstone, the TruStone was a breeze. (who said soapstone is soft??) 

Truth is that I had to turn it by using a half round file laying on the rest
but UNDER the blank. I didn't so much turn it as beat the hell out of it
until it got somewhat rounded. And that dust goes everywhere, and it can
be tough on motors.. abrasive stuff!

Pen looked OK till someone dropped it on a glass counter. It broke the
pen AND the counter. Heavy sucker..:frown:


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