Turning Delrin on wood lathe

R

Richard Grantham

New member
Hi all, I know lots of open reed call makers use Delrin rod for sound board. I would welcome all/any input on turning and drilling Delrin on wood lathe. Just bought several pcs on ebay to play with. I only have regular wood lathe gouges and skews to work with.
Richard Grantham
 
Hi Richard; I turn Delrin ( black) and Acetal copolymer also black. The later is less porris and slicker which gives a nicer finish than Delrin. There is a common misconception that they are the same material. Trust me, they aren't. You can find them both on www.mcmastercarr.com. Go to plastics and you won't have any trouble finding both. I use the same hand tools I use for wood. The only thing I see as a problem is the chips don't want to break, and you get long strings of material. On the bright side, you don't have to polish and finish it. Keep your tools sharp and work it smooth and easy, and the results will be very nice. You may want to watch your spindle speed and tool preasure. Too much of either will heat and dull your tools. Go get em buddy and post a pic of the results,R.J.
 
I agree with RJ. I use my normal wood tool on delrin. In addition, I've noticed a difference in black delrin vs white. The are supposed to be the same, but they are different when tooling.

The biggest challenge I have with turning delrin is getting the headstock to bite in on the lathe. Since I don't have any chucks, I have to pencil and dremel channels for the headstock teeth.

Keep your tools sharp and you'll turn it just fine. Acrylic on the other hand.....is WHOLE different (and frustrating) story...

Tony
 
I agree. I believe what RJ was saying that it will shave smoothly and not need hardly any polishing, if your tools are sharp. The only polishing you may want to do is use a rouge and a cloth and it'll polish up like a piece of glass, as well as, smooth out the rounded edges.

Another thing to point out is that it has a unique sound quality, as well. Some of my loudest hand calls are from solid delrin.

Tony
 


Quote:
Another thing to point out is that it has a unique sound quality, as well. Some of my loudest hand calls are from solid delrin.





I would have to agree
 
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