Never turned acrylic, any advice?

[Boehm]

Looking to order some acrylic blanks and give it a go, I've made several wood calls. Any advice on any differences I'll run into?

[Jeff @ Mutt Calls]

Having never turned acrylic, you may want to purchase some cheaper(less expensive) clear acrylic.  Acrylic is not completely difficult to turn however it has it's intricacies.  There is not a good comparison that comes to mind to relate turning wood to turning acrylic.  You'll need good sharp tools, you'll need to monitor your lathe speed and find a happy medium that works for you, and you'll need a face shield! Once you "learn" to turn the acrylic, you'll then be faced with the sanding & polishing dilemma. There are various threads within that speak about turning and finishing acrylic.  Check them out as well.

Don't forget your face shield.

Best of luck.

Jeff

[Aaron Vice]

The first think I learned is that you arent going to just dig in like you do with wood. You can only take off little bits at a time. So be patient. If you push forward too fast, the piece is liable to explode on you (the reason for the face shield) That's always been my biggest hurdle with acrylic. I use carbide tools and actually hear that this can make it worse, but I'm too far invested in them to change at this point in time.

As far as finish goes..i wet sand up to 600 grit and then polish on a buffing wheel that i made for about $10.00.

 

[Ryan@roosagamecalls]

FACE SHILD , slow , dont hurry, sharp tools, and the only comparison to wood is a good sanding job makes for a easy polishing job . Good luck

[David @ Mad Duck Game Calls]

Acrylic is way different. As stated above, you can't take big bites. I try to take cuts that are about 1/8" deep. One tip (that I learned from an old post) Raise the tool rest up, not above the work piece but I would say a 1/4" above center, raise the handle of your tool up so you are cutting down on it. The handle should be closer to yout shoulder then normal. It will keep the tool from catching as easy....

[Jeff @ Mutt Calls]

Cut's of 1/8" seems a bit aggressive to me. I like to get a good "ribbon" coming off the material.

[Joe aka COLD @ J. A. Kolter Calls]

My basics for turning acrylic . . .
1.  Start with Cast acrylic only
2.  When boring use zero rake bits, lube well and go slow
3.  Turn at a speed of 2000 - 2500 rpms
4.  Use sharp HHS tools
5.  Take small bites into the acryilic
  Go slow removing material a little at a time, you will likely need to re-sharpen tools frequently.
  I actually use a 1/4" flat parting chisel and turn to finish my entire shapes, then wet sand.
  Sounds crazy, but that's what I am experienced at using, I make no mis-cuts this way or
  have any chipping.

[David @ Mad Duck Game Calls]

Cut's of 1/8" seems a bit aggressive to me. I like to get a good "ribbon" coming off the material.

Maybe not that deep, I haven't turned any in a while.... 

[Jon @ JRwoods]

Back to drilling for a sec,
Go slow
Take small bites
Back out drill and clear chips before they build up
Keep bit wet (I use transmission fluid)
Acrylic bits (negative rake) make life easier and make a cleaner hole

[Boehm]

Thanks for the info!