Azek Pvc Decking On A Lathe?

[dgallant 10]

Has anyone tried turning AZTEK PVC on a lathe? I was thinking about trying to turn some old school cheek chub lures and I was wondering if the PVC simulated wood would work or not?

[mark poulson 1,827]

I haven't turned it on a lathe yet, but it machines like wood in every other respect, so I'd expect it to turn just fine.

Be sure to use sharp tools.

[SlowFISH 82]

I ordered a few samples of the Azek products based on the recommendations on this site and was very happy with the way the "trimboard" product cut and shaped. From what I can tell the trimboard seems more uniform thru the whole piece than the decking. The decking seemed to have some very small pits/air pockets towards the center... the trim board seemed not to have these little pockets. My guess it the decking is ment to be cut to length and put in place... so you'd never notice any small pockets of air towards the center of the part. The trimboard can be routed/cut/shaped for moldings... so my guess is it's more critical to not have pockets as it will effect surface finish once a piece has been shaped... so it's made a bit more uniform in my opinion. The test cuts I made were done on a small CNC mill... and they look great.

I also like the trimboard could be easily shaped with sharp tools (x acto knife/utlility knife/etc.) and seems to sand very nicely. It's not 100% smooth like you could get on something like acrylic, but definilty smoother than wood... with a little sanding, one coat of paint and another light sand I'm sure it will get pretty close to a real smooth finish if that's important to you.

As for turning on the lathe.... i haven't yet... but I'd agree with Mark that it should work just fine...

J.

[ravenlures 96]

I turned one on a lathe. Tool must be sharp, #2 I noticed that if you take too much off it will take out little chunks. Towards the center I also noticed a more porous finish, just need more time to work with than with wood. Plus must wear a mask. Hope this helps since I only did it on one piece.

[diemai 228]

I turned one on a lathe. Tool must be sharp, #2 I noticed that if you take too much off it will take out little chunks. Towards the center I also noticed a more porous finish, just need more time to work with than with wood. Plus must wear a mask. Hope this helps since I only did it on one piece.

I can only second to that , .......have turned down some lures recently , using similar material to Azek boards , .....so called PUR hardfoam .

Generally it is not quite as porous as Azek trim board(I've seen samples sent to me from the USA) , but occassionally has bigger airbubbles enclosed .

It turns down easier than the usual timbers , maybe a bit like balsa , .........one really has to take care of not applying too much pressure with chisels and afterwards sandpaper , ...one might easily take off too much material as intended , ......also not to forget the possibility of easier breakage due to increased porousity(though not as much with my PUR stuff) .

good luck , diemai