# Turning coffee bean blanks



## rogerpjr (Oct 16, 2010)

Can anyone give me some tips (other than using sharp tools) on getting a nice finish when turning blanks with coffee beans cast into them?  We've tried turning the white ones from Woodcraft and have problems with the beans chipping or completely popping out of the blank.  These are pretty pricey just to keep tossing them out.


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## 1080Wayne (Oct 16, 2010)

Soak each bean with thin CA as it becomes exposed .


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## warreng8170 (Oct 16, 2010)

Exactly. Keep a bottle of thin right beside the lathe. As you turn the blank down, keep hitting it with CA. The CA wicks into the bean and keeps it solid as you turn it away. 

Once I get down to final size, I use medium or thick CA to fill the voids in the beans. From there I use a sharp skew to make the final pass before doing my normal CA finishing process.


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## Craftdiggity (Oct 16, 2010)

Ditto on soaking the beans with CA.  This is one of those projects that don't get finished as quickly as some others do.  Cut a little and then apply the CA.  Repeat until you get to finished size.  I also have noticed that if I finish the pen and put it together right away I almost always find that within a few days I can feel the beans as if they expanded a bit.  So now I apply a few coats of finish and let it sit for a few days or a week.  Then I sand the ridges down and go from there.


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## VampMN (Oct 17, 2010)

You could also try using some of PTownSubbie's coffee bean blanks. I ordered some from him, and they turned really well. The best part is that he treats his beans with plexitone (if this is wrong, please correct me) before casting. Had no beans fly out, or explode, or anything. I didn't use any super glue until I needed it as my finish. They are also cheaper than Woodcrafts, and he ships really fast. Goodluck!


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## nava1uni (Oct 18, 2010)

Another thing that I do is dry fine ground coffee and when turning coffee blanks.  If a bean or a part of a bean pops off then I fill it with coffee grounds and CA glue.  You can't tell the bean is missing, sure works great.


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## spnemo (Oct 18, 2010)

I use a really shark skew and turn at high speed.  I take very light cuts with the skew in a scraper position. Then when I get close to the final dimension I soak with CA.

Be sure you you a hard finish after turning.  Moisture on the beans will stain everything.


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## PTownSubbie (Oct 19, 2010)

VampMN said:


> You could also try using some of PTownSubbie's coffee bean blanks. I ordered some from him, and they turned really well. The best part is that he treats his beans with plexitone (if this is wrong, please correct me) before casting. Had no beans fly out, or explode, or anything. I didn't use any super glue until I needed it as my finish. They are also cheaper than Woodcrafts, and he ships really fast. Goodluck!


 
Thanks for the plug Margaret! The stabilization of the beans definately makes them hold together much better than normal beans.


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## Monty (Oct 19, 2010)

spnemo said:


> I use a really shark skew and turn at high speed.  I take very light cuts with the skew in a scraper position. Then when I get close to the final dimension I soak with CA.
> 
> Be sure you you a hard finish after turning.  Moisture on the beans will stain everything.


Don't believe I've heard of a shark skew before. :biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:
Perhaps you are referring to a skew as sharp as sharks teeth.


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## KDM (Oct 27, 2010)

I've just turned down my own coffee bean blank. No beans popped out, or anything like that, but there are holes where the beans are hollow.

After reading this post, I tried to fill the holes with medium CA, but it doesn't seem to work. I dunno if the CA is soaking into the beans, or what, but, it just doesn't seem to have any "bulk." When I come back to the lathe after a an hour or so, it's like I hadn't applied any CA at all!

Any ideas?


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## KDM (Oct 27, 2010)

I may try the trick with the ground coffee / CA mix, actually.


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## David M (Oct 27, 2010)

i have used ground coffee as filler , it works for me . the finer the better, if you have a small electric chopper to make power out of it works real well .


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