tagua nut turning...spelling?

Perhaps the nuts you obtained were old? I haven't had either problem working with them.

-Keith

======================= Rich, Try soakinking the nuts overnight in water. That will soften them some and help with the chipping. Can't help with the cracking, since I haven't had that problem.

Ken Moon Webberville, TX

how thin are these bands? I have turned Tagua jars so thin light shines thru them, but if he is using narrow, thin pieces, I suppose the tiniest mistake could catch and any drying could cause cracking. (Taguas are subject to distortion, like any vegetable product, and I never tried using them in that way.)

of nut the same as the pen band....drill the proper sized hole in the nut slice so that it fits over band and use an adhesive to keep it on. then turn the nut band on the lathe. this way we can use a slimline pen kit to make a "fatter" style of pen with an ivory look to it. we have been using CA glue. the fellow that has been doing the turning is a beginner, old, and doesn't have the best eyesight. that is why i thought that he might be causing the chisel to chatter or put too much pressure on the chisel or might not have it sharp enough.

Another use for the nut is when a blow out occurrs in the pen while turning. we have been turning the wood down to the tube and gluing on a nut band to bring it back to the proper length....with the same problems.

i have also been making checkerboard patterned pen blanks...sometimes in a spiral pattern. I would like to use tagua nut for the white color occasionally, horn for its colors, antler, ivory, and possibly eventually turquoise chips in epoxy. all just experiments that are fun to try out. And then I will try personalizing pens by sawing bronze or silver sheet into letters and forming them around the proper diameter cylinder before epoxy holds them on and sanding smooth.

pushing the limits in experiments is more fun for me than making the same pen all the time...no matter how good the pen style looks, how good the wood looks, or how much practice/skill i acquire turning the same style over and over until i can do it in my sleep. rich

My guess is heat checking. Don't sand so aggressively.

Sharper tools and a less aggresive cut. You should approach them more like Corian than wood. Being a hard substance, they will chip of you try to cut them too aggressively.

they sand just fine. we tried normal

You could try chatterwork, but I would use a light touch on a piece that thin. Better just to leave it be, smooth.

All of the places I've ever bought these from say explicitly that you should definitely >not< soak them. They are made of a starch/sugar, rather like a cross between a really hard potato and an acorn.