{"id":935,"date":"2015-06-07T17:11:06","date_gmt":"2015-06-07T21:11:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.woodturningpens.com\/?p=935"},"modified":"2015-06-07T17:11:06","modified_gmt":"2015-06-07T21:11:06","slug":"cutting-the-blanks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.woodturningpens.com\/cutting-the-blanks\/","title":{"rendered":"Cutting Corian Blanks – Step 1"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
In a previous post<\/a>, I wrote about many of the general characteristics of working with Corian as a pen making material. That post came about as a result of a project in which I decided to make a batch of 36 pens using Corian blanks and Slimline pen kits from two vendors: Woodcraft <\/a>and Craft Supply USA<\/a>. The kits were essentially identical, although there was an extremely slight difference in the length of the brass tubes. This difference had no effect in the assembly of the pens however as the blanks were mixed by accident although I had kept the blanks for each manufacturer separate initially. So goes one of the risks of a shared shop space. My motive in making this batch of pens was simply to use the kits. I had purchased them years before and as I had the kits and I had the Corian I went with it. I don’t have any more Slimline pen kits but I still have a great deal of Corian, so mission partially accomplished. In what will be a series of 9 consecutive posts, I intend to discuss in detail each discrete step in the process of making this batch of Corian pens. I hope you enjoy this in-depth look at the pen making process in general, and the use of Corian as a material in specific.<\/p>\n The very first thing a pen maker must do, provided of course that you have selected a kit you wish to use and have selected the material you wish to use, is to cut the blank, or blanks, to the required size. The size and number of the blanks required will vary depending on the pen kit you are using, but in general, most pens require either one blank or two blanks cut from the same starting material, or you could mix and match I suppose if you wanted to be quite creative. Sometimes the instructions provided with the pen kits will specify the length of the blanks required, which might be the same or might be different, again depending on the design of the kit you are using, but more often you simply use the brass tube inserts provided with the kit to determine the required length. In the case of the Slimline pen kits, there are two brass tubes, of equal length, so two blanks will be required. Most standard dimension commercial pen blanks will contain more than enough material to cut both blanks from one starting piece. Sometimes I use pen blanks that I have salvaged from other processes, such as rounding out bowl blanks, and those pieces are often not long enough to cut more than one blank, but in the case of the Corian blanks, one full size blank, as purchased, was more than enough to cut two Slimline sized turning blanks.<\/p>\n The full sized Corian blank, as purchased, measures 5 3\/16<\/sup> inches long. The required size of the two turning blanks to be cut from this blank each measure 2 1\/16 <\/sup>inches long. Upon cutting both turning blanks to size, you should be left with a discard piece about 1 1\/16<\/sup> inches in length. Sadly, these pieces are not readily useful, although in the previous post I talked about some remote possibilities. In reality, these discard pieces are unlikely to be exactly the stated length, because it is necessary to cut the turning blanks pieces slightly longer than required to account for the milling procedure later in the process. I use the brass tubes laid on top or, or alongside, the blank to measure the cut points on one blank, then I set the fence on my bandsaw and use that standard setting to make all the cuts. I allow for about 1<\/sup>\/16<\/sub> to 1<\/sup>\/8<\/sub> inch of extra material on each end, in general.<\/p>\nMeasuring the Size of Blank Required<\/h2>\n