Club meeting: 18 September 2024
Report by Roger Pye

As usual Dick had done his homework on producing various cruets from recycled plastic. So, his demo was a story in three parts.  

Part One – Selection of recycled plastic.

The plastic to be reused for turning must be HDPE. For recycled plastic, the ID is 2. It is most commonly used in the production of milk bottles. Other sources are available, white pill-bottles from your chemist is worth a try.    

Having obtained your collection of HDPE scrap it must then be broken down into small pieces. A good pair of secateurs will do the job.

Part Two – Rework the scrap plastic into a suitable “turning” size.  

The shape and size of your blank is determined by the dimensions of the end product you wish to make. This involves using dense and strong wood to construct a mould which will be capable of withstanding high pressure. Normally the mould will be made in two equal halves and be held together in two opposite directions with coach bolts. (ie Eight bolts). Using a Forstner drill bit, drill a centre hole to the depth required. A close fitting “ram-rod” is needed to apply pressure when your scrap plastic is inserted.

Your item to be made will require a predetermined weight of plastic, (ie Prior to turning) Weigh-out this weight in scrap and proceed to soften as follows. Use an oven or other form of controlled heating. Maximum temperature 180º. A couple of Teflon sheets (obtainable from the Warehouse or Briscoes) help to avoid your softened plastic from sticking in the wrong places. When softened at 180º and using gloves, start kneading your soft plastic and eliminate air bubbles. While still soft, or if necessary reheated, insert into your compression mould and apply the best pressure you decide is necessary to achieve a solid blank of plastic.

A typical wood-vice will suffice, or other like cramping tool.
Remove from mould by unbolting the two halves of your wooden mould.

Part Three – Making a plastic cruet set

These items are really a matter of choice. Bear in mind that a mould can be made to match any simple shape. The outer section of a mustard cruet and an inner bowl for it can be formed in premade moulds and cleaned up for use with sharp tools. Typically, this is likely to be a repetitive production line set-up.

Run your turning speed as low as 500 RPM. With sharp tools a good finish is possible. When sanding, choose a slow speed as any friction gets hot and will melt rather than sand. Perhaps wet and dry sanding could achieve a better result.

Using the same mix of recycled plastic, a matching set of salt and pepper grinders can easily be added to this collection. Because the plastic “Crush Grind” elements are inclined to slide around inside the actual cruet set of holders, some effort should be made to dig out notches for the grinder components to “lock-in” within the newly turned holders.

Conclusion

SAWG are fortunate to have a Dick Veitch who is clearly committed to exploring every nook and cranny of woodturning and then demonstrating to members how to use plausible and worthwhile methods. This is just another example.