# Simstone



## magpens (Oct 14, 2015)

Would be interested in hearing from anyone who has used the Simstone pen blank product - sold by Woodturningz

Does it drill and turn much like Trustone ?

What about polishing and finishing - does it need a clear coat like CA ? - can you get a nice glossy finish without ?


----------



## epigolucky (Oct 14, 2015)

I think R and B sells the same/similar product.  Says it's harder than the "US" (i'm assuming that is referring to tru-stone) brand.  

I plan on picking some up when I need to place another order.  Looking forward to seeing if any different colors come available


----------



## Akula (Oct 14, 2015)

I've seen it used in remodels and wondered at the time if it would be good for pens.  I could not find any cutoffs.  Nice to see it offered for pen makers.  If someone gets some, could you please share the actual size.  

Size: .7" square x 5.25" approximately

Trying to figure out if it would work for larger pens or what size would be best


----------



## Skie_M (Oct 14, 2015)

Akula said:


> I've seen it used in remodels and wondered at the time if it would be good for pens.  I could not find any cutoffs.  Nice to see it offered for pen makers.  If someone gets some, could you please share the actual size.
> 
> Size: .7" square x 5.25" approximately
> 
> Trying to figure out if it would work for larger pens or what size would be best




A pen that absolutely REQUIRES all the room of a 3/4 x 3/4 x 5 1/2 blank wouldn't work.   3/4" = .75 inches ... that blank is 1/20th of an inch smaller.  Honestly, though, it should work for pretty much any pen kit you can find out there.


----------



## ed4copies (Oct 14, 2015)

Akula said:


> I've seen it used in remodels and wondered at the time if it would be good for pens.  I could not find any cutoffs.  Nice to see it offered for pen makers.  If someone gets some, could you please share the actual size.
> 
> Size: .7" square x 5.25" approximately
> 
> Trying to figure out if it would work for larger pens or what size would be best



The different blanks are not the same size.  Read the description carefully.  You can see a vid on turning the material here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyZchqvy3x0

I strongly recommend carbide tools for these blanks.

Hope this helps,

Ed


----------



## triw51 (Mar 2, 2016)

ed4copies said:


> Akula said:
> 
> 
> > I've seen it used in remodels and wondered at the time if it would be good for pens.  I could not find any cutoffs.  Nice to see it offered for pen makers.  If someone gets some, could you please share the actual size.
> ...


 

Ed is faux stone and simstone the same?


----------



## TonyL (Mar 2, 2016)

I think I am the only one that didn't have any luck with it. I heard carbide should be used; I used very sharp HSS. It dulled my tools within seconds. I have a few blanks left and will use carbide the next time. Again, I think this is a case of "me" not being the right guy for the stuff. Others seem to do fine. It did polish very well.


----------



## mmayo (Mar 4, 2016)

*Simstone success*

I like the stuff enough to have purchased more of it after turning this pen. Sorry for the quick iPad photo, but that is what I have today.  For this Mesa I used a Simstone from Wood Turningz.







If you can turn inlace acrylester, you can turn this stuff.  Patience grasshopper!  This is definitely not alumilite or acrylic acetate. I not only used a freshly sharpened carbide insert, but I switched from my usual 2" radius to my round carbide tool.  It takes longer, but in the end it looks great and polishes well.  They should sell a larger blank for more money and I would buy those for larger pen kits and use what they sell now for smaller kits.

I initially had to complain about the first blanks I received, they were very small.  When squared up the were quite a bit less than 3/4" square so it was good bye to bigger pen kits.  They gladly sent me two larger blanks that were more square and larger for free.  I bought more and the second order was bigger.  I may be unlucky and get the runts sometimes.


----------



## mmayo (Mar 5, 2016)

I did not use any CA as a top coating and it looks great. Perhaps I'll try it next time as a comparison.


----------



## mecompco (May 1, 2016)

I finally got around to trying this stuff. They say it turns easily. Well, no, no it does not. I have no problem at all with Inlace Acrylester. This stuff is, I think, practically impossible with HSS tools. I got, perhaps, four passes on my very sharp skew before it was totally dull. I finally gave up and put it on the metal lathe--even that caught a couple of times. After getting it down to size, I got a few good passes with the skew to smooth it out and shape the ends. 

I will say that it wet-sanded and buffed up beautifully. I'll probably try it again, sometime, maybe.


----------



## mecompco (May 3, 2016)

Update: the pen I finished this weekend (Majestic Squire) looked lovely. Until I looked at it this morning, two days after finishing it, and found that the blank had a big crack in it on the nib end. Dammit! 

I'm liking this stuff less and less. I will use up the rest of the blank in one more attempt. This time I will make sure the components are pretty much a slip-fit into the tube and epoxy them in.

Regards,
Michael


----------



## magpens (May 3, 2016)

Thanks for your posts, Mike.
It sounds like using that stuff is an exercise in frustration.


----------



## mecompco (May 3, 2016)

magpens said:


> Thanks for your posts, Mike.
> It sounds like using that stuff is an exercise in frustration.



Well, yes, but I accept that the crack may have been my fault. I did make sure to sand out the tube of any residual epoxy that got by my plugs, but the threaded insert in the cap end did press in fairly tightly. I think the eventual stress crack is likely due to that. I guess the lesson is that there is NO flex in this material at all so the component fit wants to be loose. Perhaps this holds true for any of the sim/faux/etc. stone?

I do stand by my statement that this is NOT "easy to turn" as is advertised. But, the finished product sure is pretty, so it may be worth the frustration.


----------



## BCBULLDOG78 (May 20, 2016)

Just wanted to share my experience with the simstone blanks.

Ordered 2 of the blanks - the Malachite one and and Red Jasper one.  After turning them, here are my thoughts. 

1) Drilling is an issue - the upper half of the pen chipped when drilling to the point I was unsure if I was going to be able to salvage the pen.  Fortunately I cut my blanks a bit longer and had enough extra to be able to slide the tube down to avoid the broken area.  I would definitely recommend the cut, drill the depth you need, and then cut to expose the hole method. with these blanks.  

2) Turning - Did not have any issue turning with carbide tools - turned very much like the softer Tru-Stone blanks.

3) Polishing - Took lots of work with micro-mesh, novus 2, Hut Ultra Gloss, and then Novus 1 to get a polish level and scratch free finish that I was happy with.  That being said, it did finally polish to a good shine / sheen.  I don't have buffing wheels so I cannot speak to how it would perform with that form of polishing and scratch removal.

4) General - A) The colors are not true to what is advertised.  The Red Jasper is especially bad about this  - the primary picture on woodturningz site shows a fire engine shade of red.  The other pictures are somewhat closer to the actual color.  B) The weight is not there - I put the Red Jasper one on a Jr. Retro in Black Titanium thinking it would be a higher-end pen to put up for sale.  Likely I will disassemble the pen and use new tubes and turn a different body for this hardware.  The pen does not have the weight and substantial feel of a Jr. series in Tru-Stone.

Finally, as a general impression for the headaches with polishing and drilling - I would recommend ignoring this stuff and spend the extra 2-4 dollars and buy the actual Tru-Stone blanks from someone like R&B Crafts.  I had high hopes for these blanks but overall I am disappointed.   I called woodturningz this morning about it and the most they were willing to do is offer a 1/2 refund credit towards another blank because it was not a defect issue with the blank.

Hope this helps someone and maybe saves someone a bit of disappointment.

Bill
(BCBULLDOG78)


----------



## magpens (May 20, 2016)

Thanks for your honest opinions, Bill.


----------



## Swagopenturner (May 20, 2016)

As expensive as it is, I think I'll stick to Tru-Stone.


----------



## carlmorrell (May 20, 2016)

I won't use it because of where it is made.


----------

