3 New Pens - Woodworking Talk

jdixon · 08-25-2009, 11:09 PM

Haven't really shown any new work lately so here are three pens I turned recently. I finally feel like I have taken 2 major steps forward in my pen turning. First I attribute to better sanding. I started sanding with the lathe much much slower. Around 200-250 rpm. I sand forward, then reverse, then stop the lathe and sand with the grain. Move through all the grits through 600 with this method. Then micro mesh.

Second I have gotten to where I feel comfortable with the ca and blo finish method. I am getting pretty repeatable finishes. I think one of my major faults was using way to much of the blo. I backed way off with it and also moved to medium ca glue rather than thick.

These 3 are all Rockler cigar pen kits. First one is Maple burl, second is Purpleheart and third is Bocote. As always comments and critiques welcome.

John

slatron25 · 08-26-2009, 01:19 PM

Very nice. Good work John.

Chad · 08-26-2009, 05:49 PM

Nice looking pens.

Mitch Cholewinski · 08-26-2009, 05:54 PM

JDixon
Congratulations John the pens are beautiful. You did real good work. Keep working at it and your on the right track with the sanding. Mitch

Kenbo · 08-26-2009, 06:56 PM

Those are really awesome John. I have to say, that my favourite is the maple burl. Great job on all of them. I've heard of people using CA glue for the finish. Is that hard to do?
Ken

firehawkmph · 08-26-2009, 08:45 PM

John,
your pens look great. Nice finish, nice shine. I like the shape also. I like the maple burl too. I really like the piece of wood you have them sitting on.
Mike Hawkins

The woodsman · 08-26-2009, 08:50 PM

AWESOME work,down right beautifull

jdixon · 08-27-2009, 01:11 AM

Guys, thanks very much for the positive comments.

Ken, the ca finish isn't really hard to do per se but it can be tricky to get it right. It took me awhile to not get cloudy spots under the finish. I think my problem was using too much boiled linseed oil with each application. There are a couple of good videos on you tube regarding ca finish. One by Russ Fairfield and another by William Young I beleive. It really makes a nice finish because of it's durability over the friction polishes.

Mike, that piece of wood was on the end of a piece of birdseye maple that I had. I cut it off and just kept looking at it thinking it looked cool so I took it to the band saw and curved two of the corners and sprayed it with about 4 coats of laquer and thought I would use it to set my pens on to take pictures.

Thanks again everyone. Mitch always good to hear from you.

John

jdixon · 08-27-2009, 01:17 AM

Ken here are links to the ca finish videos.

YouTube - WoodTurning BLO and CA Pen Finish

YouTube - Russ Fairfield's CA/BLO Finish

PTownSubbie · 08-28-2009, 05:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jdixon

It took me awhile to not get cloudy spots under the finish. I think my problem was using too much boiled linseed oil with each application.

John,
I have been doing a lot of reading on this and normally cloudy spots are caused by moisture. It could be that you had some moisture in the wood with some of the cleaning process and it didn't have time to dry fully.
I have been working on the CA/BLO for some time now and can get a good shine if I don't try to do too many coats. It is a lot like making that last cut..... Just one more coat. That's the one that looks like crap so I have to start over again.....

Great looking pens though. I really like the Cigar size and feel. I carry one on me all the time!

jdixon · 08-28-2009, 07:31 PM

Fred it's funny you mention the moisture issue because I had been reading about that as well. I'm not sure if the wood had some moisture or even humidity may have caused some issues. I will definitely be watching it closely on future pens. The linseed oil may not have fully been dry and clouded up under a layer as well.

Have you noticed any time frame with how much time it may take before it could potentially cloud? I had one with padauk that just looked awesome and it seemed like it was a day maybe two later and it had clouded up on me. I just want to make sure I don't give away or sell a pen that could potentially cloud up on someone. Thanks for your comments.

John

Kenbo · 08-28-2009, 08:35 PM

Thanks for posting the videos John. I'm going to try that on my next pen turning.
Ken

toolman Steve · 08-28-2009, 09:18 PM

Good job , they are really shinny . I made some pens out of purplehart for some guys in my sons unit , they were wounded in action protecting our freedom.

PTownSubbie · 08-28-2009, 11:05 PM

John,

I haven't had any cloud up but from what I have seen, it usually shows itself within a day or so. Most people that post about it mention that they look at the pen the following morning and it is cloudy.

When using the BLO, try taking a clean rag and wipe the blank after the application of the BLO. That will remove any remaining BLO in excess of what is required to cure the CA. I don't usually have any problem with that because I have a tendency to create quite a bit of heat which causes curing completely. But I always wipe down the blank between coats with a clean rag. Just in case.

Everyones method of CA/BLO is different. The key is like you initially mentioned, get comfortable with how you can make consistent results each time.

Dvoigt · 09-08-2009, 01:19 PM

They look very nice!

I too, have been mastering the BLO/CA finsh thanks to these online videos. I had almost had it with CA until I got these tips.

I just turned a maple burl the other week for the first time on a majestic pen. I have some Bocote, but never had a chance to turn it yet, how is it? I assuming it was similar to cocobolo.

jdixon · 09-08-2009, 11:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dvoigt

I have some Bocote, but never had a chance to turn it yet, how is it? I assuming it was similar to cocobolo.

Believe it or not I haven't turned any cocobolo yet so I can't compare it . I just picked up a little piece this weekend to make some pen blanks with. The bocote was very nice to turn though. Nice smooth wood and sanded nicely which in turn made for a good finish.

John