# Tip: Drilling & Milling Inlace Acryester



## Bree (Oct 31, 2011)

My last tip got some good discussion and different options.  So here is another.  Let's see where this one goes.  I have been doing some demos on turning Inlace Acrylester blanks.  It is very chippy stuff as you can see when you look at the edges of an Inlace blank.  That scares people away.

BUT... the resin takes a very high solid load and a very high polish.  That makes for some great pens full of nice sparkly and colorful goodies.  So learning how to work with this material is a good idea.  Also you can often buy blanks cheap since stores like to move them and there is resistance to turning them.

To successfully drill them I set my drill press depth so that the drill tip just breaks the bottom surface but does NOT come all the way through.  Often you have very small amounts of excess so doing this allows you enough room to cut off the bottom on the bandsaw which is a best practice for all synthetic blanks.

Before I drill them I remove any flash from the bottom so it is dead flat.  Then I TIGHTLY wrap the bottom part with STRAPPING tape flush with the bottom of the blank... one wrap plus a slight overlap.  This is just about the strongest tape you can put on there and it helps keep the internal structure from fracturing.

For drilling I use a Colt Parabolic bit.  I think it is without equal for drilling this kind of material.  It clears the refuse better than any other bit I have used.  That keeps it running cool and clean.  Indeed Colt recommends one straight shot to the bottom with no in and out.  I do this on PR blanks but on the Inlace I do pull out and go back in just to let it cool a bit more.  500 RPM on the drill press is what I use.

For milling, I use a four spur mill and I try to keep it very sharp.  Even so the material sometimes will pit and that is not good.  So... I have found that slowing my drill to an extremely slow speed and literally pushing the blank into the bit and holding it under a good bit of pressure will give me a clean cut and no pits on the end of the blank.  Running the drill at high speed can be a very dangerous thing to do so ratchet down the speed big time... when you are getting ribbons... keep doing what you are doing.  If you are getting dust, try increasing pressure and slowing speed.

Once you have the blanks drilled and milled it just a matter of using a scary sharp skew and you are good to go for a great pen.  LOL!  Well there are some tricks to that but that's another tip!!

Now have at it boyz and girlz!  Here are some PIX of the last one I turned with a Rockler Peacock Inlace blank.  It look just fabulous in person.  I gave the other half to a friend for her birthday and I might as well have given her a bar of gold for the happiness it brought her.
:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:


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## D.Oliver (Oct 31, 2011)

When I first started turning, Chuck (dalecamino) sent me a box full goodies. In it was aa inlace blank (Peacock; same as yours). I didn't know anything about any of the plastics. Not knowing any better I just went ahead drilled and turned it just like I would do on a wood blank. I wasn't very good (and still am not) at sharping tools, so I know my tools weren't scary sharp. I turned most of it with spindle gouge. Even after doing everything wrong I ended up with a pretty nice pen. 
http://www.penturners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=83882

Ah, ignorance is bliss. If I tried that now that I know better it would explode 10 out 10 times.


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## Bree (Oct 31, 2011)

I used to be the same way.  After you blow out a few you start getting smarter as your purse/pocketbook keeps getting hit.  Wisdom thru financial suffering!!

:smile-big::smile-big::smile-big:

PS  Chuck is like me... he deep down loves Wolftat's blanks!!  He sent me a nice red/gold/black one he made that I keep on my desk all the time.  I guess now he is on the metal turning train.  LOL!


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## Wood Butcher (Oct 31, 2011)

I live within walking distance of WoodTurningz who makes all of the Inlace Acrelester that is sold and turn a fair amount of it.  They supply Woodcraft, Rockler and others here and overseas.  That being said, one of their employees taught me how to drill, turn and finish this beautiful material.  Chippy, yeh you bet; small "bubble holes" yup; but all of this can be overcome.  I drill at 300rpm with the Norsman bits slowly with a lot of backing out and coolin time for the bit and the drilled hole.  As was stated by another, do not drill all the way through.  Even if you don't blow the bottom off you will most likely have cracked it and will find the crack when turning.  Barrell trimmers must be used very gently and carefully.  I use a 3/4" roughing gouge that is sharp and run the lathe at top speed or the speed below top end and take slow cuts until the blank is round.  The high speed, or the high speed gods, seem to make the tiny bubble holes just disappear.  Finishing is with the usual 320 paper, MM and Novus polish.  Gotta paint the tubes and the drilled hole.  The Pink Cotton Candy, Peacock, Molten Metal, Crushed Mud and others are colors and patterns that have not been duplicated elsewhere.  It's a challange but worth learning to use this stuff.  JM2CW
WB


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## Bree (Nov 1, 2011)

Wood Butcher said:


> I live within walking distance of WoodTurningz who makes all of the Inlace Acrelester that is sold and turn a fair amount of it.  They supply Woodcraft, Rockler and others here and overseas.  That being said, one of their employees taught me how to drill, turn and finish this beautiful material.  Chippy, yeh you bet; small "bubble holes" yup; but all of this can be overcome.  I drill at 300rpm with the Norsman bits slowly with a lot of backing out and coolin time for the bit and the drilled hole.  As was stated by another, do not drill all the way through.  Even if you don't blow the bottom off you will most likely have cracked it and will find the crack when turning.  Barrell trimmers must be used very gently and carefully.  I use a 3/4" roughing gouge that is sharp and run the lathe at top speed or the speed below top end and take slow cuts until the blank is round.  The high speed, or the high speed gods, seem to make the tiny bubble holes just disappear.  Finishing is with the usual 320 paper, MM and Novus polish.  Gotta paint the tubes and the drilled hole.  The Pink Cotton Candy, Peacock, Molten Metal, Crushed Mud and others are colors and patterns that have not been duplicated elsewhere.  It's a challange but worth learning to use this stuff.  JM2CW
> WB



I agree with everything that you said.  I will just add one thing... this material  does not like being scraped unless you are truly shear scraping in which case you might as well have just used a skew.  It doesn't like being gouged much either as the gouges tend to pit it.  It likes being cut by a sharp skew and as WB said it likes high speed.  Just remember that the bevel rubbing at high speed generates heat which is one of the enemies of this material.  So keep the tool moving.  Don't baby it but don't dilly dally either.

Clean your skew often as the material can melt onto the skew and you lose bevel and sharpness.


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