experimenting with lava bright silk

So I'm at the Woodsmith Store with my hubby the other day and I spot this really beautiful stick of acrylic (Lava Bright Stick). Hubby tells me it's for making pens. I think it would make cool jewelry, ask if I can cut, sand and and drill it, and when told yes, purchase it. Last night I pulled out my baby table saw and dremel attachments and started experimenting. The saw blade cut through it just fine but man oh man did it make a mess and stink beyond words. The saw blade left marks so I used the baby belt sander, which also made a mess and stunk up the whole house. The belt sander left scratches so I proceeded to use a series of dremel attachments to end up with a smooth and polished product. You can see the mess in the photo below (guess you can't actually see all the plastic shavings all over, but they're there). 

Doing some research online today, I read that wet sanding is recommended when turning the acrylic for pens. Doesn't matter. At this point, the majority of the product is in the trash. The house wreaked so bad that, even though the temp was in the teens, I had to open windows and turn on fans (in case you're wondering, yes, I wore goggles and a face mask when I was sawing, sanding, etc.). Long story short, I'm hoping to salvage the pieces I worked on and make a few pair of earrings (the acrylic really is absolutely beautiful stuff) but after that, I don't ever plan to work with the stuff again. 

The shop area of the studio is back in order (smile). 

So after that little exercise, I yearned to work with something I'm familiar with and enjoy not only the process but the results. If you guessed metal & Friendly Plastic, you're right! Here's a sneak peak of the current WIP: 

So, tell me, what new thing did you try or learn about this weekend? 

Believe, 
Di