Acrylic Pen Turning Tutorial by David Troutman

[@marksonger1962]

Thank you for posting this. It was very helpful.

[@DanoSlingz]

Enjoyed your video! Very nice looking pen 🙂

[@amkii2]

Beautiful product! Great video. Thanks! Very helpful. :)

[@toddmcelravy1847]

Great video and great looking pen!!

[@russbellinis5466]

My first Slimline pen was made in the shape done by David in this video. After using the pen for a year or so, the pocket clip bent enough that it no longer griped my pocket. The piece near the nib was fine, but I needed to take the pen apart and turn the clip end down like a normal Slimline to keep the pocket clip tight in my pocket. A Comfort pen works much better for the larger diameter.

[@dwightl5863]

Agree with your experience with the clip. For a ladies pen you could probably get away with it because the clip isn't used very often if ever. For a guy putting it in a shirt pocket it would be difficult to insert with all that tension on the clip.

[@oujdaTV1Ville]

Hello, I am fond of making artistic things, sometimes from used materials, and currently I would like to make a fountain pen in the manual way that you do, but I find it difficult to obtain the internal components of the pen. Please where can I get it?

[@joshualloyd2915]

Nice work!

[@rottiwoodturning6184]

Great job!

[@nztayls]

Hi there - I have never turned before, and don’t (yet) own a lathe. However, I am going to buy one soon and want to be able to turn acrylic blanks to use as inserts for fly fishing rods that I build. Can you tell me exactly what tool you are using - as what you are producing there is pretty much exactly what I am wanting to be able to do. So is it an Easy Wood Tools rougher or finisher? And what type of carbide tip? I had a quick look at EWT website - and see they are doing a negative rake tip specifically for turning materials like Acrylic. Is this what you are using there? Sorry - whole lot of newbie questions - but you seem to be very good at this - so best to ask an expert!

[@davidtroutman625]

Hey boss, you can ask me questions all day long. Doesn't bother me a bit. Happy to help. And better yet, you can just message me on FB messenger and we can chat about it. David Troutman is the name. I should pop up in the search. And yes, it's the medium size EWT round carbide cutting tool. IMHO i wouldn't get the negative rake cutters to learn on, because you can't sharpen them. I use the standard insert, because you can remove them and sharpen them on a diamond card instead of buying another $20 insert. Hit me up on FB and i can get you all the details for what you need! Thanks man.

[@michaeldequatro1012]

Great video David. Do you have a link to your video for beginners? Thanks

[@davidtroutman625]

Here you go 😊 This is the full rundown. 2 hours of every lesson I could think of to give from start to finish. kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZqK8kKpvhZqnoNE

[@michaeldequatro1012]

@@davidtroutman625 Thank you :)

[@coachingangels]

Great video

[@kerrysaunders9996]

Would you recommend a round nose scraper?

[@tracychriss5645]

Good finish but if I want a chunky pen I turn a cigar pen or some other style. making a slimline look like barbells is not my cup of tea. I see a lot of people do this and I can't understand why.

[@davidtroutman625]

I do that because they sell like hot cakes. The hottest of cakes. The only people that don't like shapely slimlines are pen turners. Which is weird because you'd think people would want to make pens that sell as well as they could. To each his own though. 🙋‍♂️🙋‍♂️

[@vickipotter4535]

We can go get some stuff and

[@aprildegele1510]

My Aluminite blew out, both while drilling and while turning. Not a big fan. How doe the others compare, like Rhino?

[@paulcotesr5623]

did you say grit 12000 sound like you did ?

[@andressalamanca5114]

Hi, frecuently mi blank broken wen i turning. I am to agresive? what is the good speed for turning acrylic?

[@kirkboswell2575]

Breaking blanks is usually caused by two things - too aggressive removal of material and dull tools. For how much to remove at a time, think shaving. For how sharp to keep your tools, think razor sharp - and don't be afraid to sharpen in the middle of a project if you feel any "drag" while turning. Sharpening can be easier if you paint the edge with a marker. You can see when the angle is correct right away. That's why a lot of turners use carbide. It holds a sharp edge much longer, but high speed steel is just fine as long as it is used carefully and kept sharp. The only other cause of blowouts is with segmented blanks "catching" on transition edges, but light cuts and sharp tools will generally counter that.

[@nikolayvalkanov4319]

@@kirkboswell2575 I used a new drill, ... and the first block broke, and the drill bit stuck in the second one and I couldn't get it out. If you know ... give speed advice!

[@kirkboswell2575]

@@nikolayvalkanov4319 - For that it's best to remove the bit and clear the shavings frequently - say every 1/4 inch of depth. An old toothbrush works fine. The shavings from acrylics trap heat and expand easily when drilling. That expansion can cause increased pressure. Thus blowouts. They make drill bits specifically for acrylics that helps a little. They have a longer taper on the point, but a regular bit will work fine with frequent clearing of the shavings. Good luck.

[@genehubbard2171]

trying to find the soft blue foam backed sanding pad.. No luck

[@davidtroutman625]

Hey Gene. It's called Festool Granat paper. They sell it at Woodcraft by the 4"x5" sheet. I've not seen it online where you didn't have to buy a full roll of each grit. And the full roll is like $68.

[@nztayls]

Thanks David - awesome. Tried looking you up on messenger - but there are about 6 David Troutmans! Can you drop me a message - either at Damon Taylor, or Dry Rise Custom Fly Rods. I live in New Zealand, but I am coming to the US in a week or so for work - so am keen to order a few basic supplies and bring them back with me. Better selection and a lot cheaper in the US!

[@SuccuberryVTASMR]

Hi, your tool rest looks SUPER FAR away from your work piece. How far away would you say that you are from your work??

[@davidtroutman625]

Hi there, yes it is fairly far from the work by traditional standards. This is because on this piece I'm using the medium size EWT carbide cutter. The 1/2" bar and the 1/2" cutter make it so that the flat part of the bar is a good ways behind the tip of the cutter. If I had the tool rest much closer, I would be resting the end of the tool on the tool rest which doesn't provide good stability. So I have to keep the rest far back enough for the flat stable part to be sitting on the rest. That said, when I switched over to the skew, it would have technically been safer to bring the tool rest forward. But I've made an awful lot of these, and know where my personal limit is for tool rest distance. The technical appropriate distance is as close as you can get the rest to your work while keeping your tool flat on the rest, meaning before you get to the bevel of the tool. That will give you the most stability, and least risk of blow out, or catching.

[@SuccuberryVTASMR]

@@davidtroutman625 I halfway understand what you are saying. I'd love a visual of an explanation sometime when you have a chance. I'm out in my shop right now doing some work on a pen. I have three to finish for clients. Lol

[@samuelmitgang1963]

Are you using negative rake tips?

[@ThePowerfulMach5]

"Fat bottom pens, you make the rocking world go 'round"

[@Mike-vi9jg]

First turn?

[@richarddonkin3279]

Sorry mate finish is great but the shape I don’t like

[@Mr_Chuckles]

Biggest problem I have with these swirled acrylics is that you can see the brass tube through the lighter areas. Sometimes it looks good but other times it looks pretty crap. That's why I stick with dark ones these days.

[@Mr_Chuckles]

Update: I saw on another turner's YT Channel that he paints the inside of the blank with white or colour matched paint before putting the tube in - pretty cool.

[@dwightl5863]

@@Mr_Chuckles I've been successful painting the tubes as well.

[@alansmith9099]

The fatest slimline pen I have seen.