My first acrylic barrel...Don't laugh too hard

[Aaron at Wingerts Woodworks]

I finally took the plunge and tried a piece of acylic.  I turned this barrel with it.  Certainly not perfect on the inside...There are some deep scratches from the brad point drill bit that I couldn't get sanded all the way out.  Actually had a hell of a time sanding the inside at all, as my pin lock mandrel goes a bit too deep in the call.  Might cut it shorter to make the next one a bit easier.  I found turning the acrylic easy enough.  I also figured out that wet sanding is really the trick to making the sanding easy, and am encouraged that I got the outside perfectly glass smooth without needing to flame polish. 

I think the brad point bit caused the scratches on the inside.  I used oil as lube when drilling.  Does a regular jobber bit work better with acrylic? 

I used thick CA to glue the band on.  Hope that wasn't a bad move.

The insert is an echo double reed and the volume the acrylic barrel gives is amazing compared to wood.  I need to find a source for acrylic so I can try turning some inserts from acrylic now.

[Braz]

That looks really nice.

[jcz]

Great start!!

[RookieCalls]

Man that call looks great!! Those drill marks aren't that bad, believe me!!
Looks real nice start!!

[cterese12]

love that ice blue!  ca and epoxy seem to be what most people are using for the bands.  there are bits out there specifically made for acrylic.  there was a post a while back showing the difference that it makes, side by side next to a jobber.  they have a much longer grind on the point than the standard stub on the jobber.  sanding that bore will make you want to   

[HaMeR]

Nice call. I like the color too. I would think that if the bit made the scratches they would spiral wouldn't they?? Those scratches apper almost evenly spaced & circular VS spiral.

I like to use the EEE paste from PennStateIndustries for sanding my acrylic pens. It has Tripoli & White Diamond in it. Then I buff it on the Beall System for the finish.

http://www.pennstateind.com/store/PKSWEEE.html

[BigB]

I use the Abbeon drill bit to drill my acrylic barrels.  I did a comparison between the jobber bit and the Abbeon drill bit in this post:
http://thogamecallsforums.com/index.php/topic,2542.0.html


Wet sanding is definately the trick for acrylic!



Brian

[VECtor Calls]

   I'd put it on my lanyard!

Parker

[Wingshooterz]

I think your first one came out good , hard to see the scratches your referring to .  After your wet sand you might want to try a plastic polish or Brasso on the lathe for your final polish . I've tried Meguiars but Brasso works a little better .  Where did you get your blue acrylic from ?

[Aaron at Wingerts Woodworks]

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions guys.

Wingshooterz, the blue acrylic was some extra that a friend hooked me up with.  I think the original source was Delvies Plastics.

I did wet sand the inside using a dowel rod and grits from 320 thru 800.  I then used Hut plastic polish.  I think if I spend a little more time wet sanding the inside through all the grits I may be able to get the scratches out....Which would make me tickled with this call! 

Anyone want to sell me some acrylic???  I kind of like this stuff!  I want to do some in clear and black especially!  I'm not feeling froggy enough to buy it 48" at a time from Delvies just yet though.

[Braz]

You may want to check Al's site. Don't do it right now as the Acrylic section leads you to the tutorials. He needs to fix that. He just upgraded the site and it is a whole lot easier to move around on and find what you are looking for. It looks great.

[BigB]

If you don't want to order 4 ft of acrylic at a time, Al's supply store will have the best price for acrylic in shorter lengths.  Like Braz said, wait a few days until he gets the store site finished up, and you should be good to go.


Brian

[Aaron at Wingerts Woodworks]

Cool, I'd rather order from Al anyhow!   

I sanded the inside of the call down again today and it really helped.  There are still 3 scratches in there that I just can't get out but you've got to really look for them now.  I did go a bit overboard and took a bit too much material out, causing the Echo insert to go in too far.     So I chucked the insert in my spigot jaws and cut an o-ring groove in it.  Worked great. and everything's ok again. 

Now I'm really proud of this one!  Wish I had some more acrylic to make an insert, but there's time for that later.

[stumpjumper]

  Fine work you did right there KC!!!!!!!!  Your first acrylic call is something to be proud of and it looks great brother.  Best of all.....there`s no finish to apply .  As far as I can tell your on your way to making beautiful music with some acrylic from now on

I finally broke down and ordered three sticks yesterday.  To many guys are wanting acrylic for me to simply not turn it.  I hope my first looks as good as yours did.  We shall see

STUMP

[jcz]

It looks to me that the lines are from the drilling process. It looks like the bit got too hot and melted instead of cutting. It came from when you stopped drilling and went to pull the bit out. That is why they are circular instead of spiral. You gotta be fast when taking the bit out or you get those lines. I use ATF to try to keep it cool and take a break so the bit can cool off good then get back to it.