Pen finishing

[plymouth pirate]

Made this pen today using the Linseed oil/CA glue/wax polish method of finish but I got it seriously wrong somewhere.
I applied the glue, as mentioned in another post a few days ago and used the activator to set it but ended up with a very uneven surface which required a lot of sanding back until it was reasonably smooth again.
Question is, do you have the pen turning when applying the glue/activator, (which I did) or is it applied with the blanks stationary?
Another problem I had were the knot holes in the wood, (Yew burr) How do you fill these to give a perfect finish at the end?
Sorry about the quality of the photo. Can't do any better for now, #1 son had disappeared with the pen.
Regards
John

 

[stevebuk]

hi john
the way i do mine is, sanding sealer, a touch of BLO just to show the grain better, 3 dabs of CA on a tissue and wipe across the barrels evenly but fairly quickly. Repeat these steps until you are satisfied with the result, sand up to a real gloss shine then finish with Ren wax.

The CA glue should fill all the voids on the burr too. :wink:

here is a link to view it being done
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54VkKcFRSWQ

 

[plymouth pirate]

Thanks, Steve.
Do you have the blanks turning while applying the CA or stationary?.
Also, do you sand between coats of the CA.
Regards
John

 

[Neil Dyball]

'My' method is as follows: tooling, followed by 'normal' abrasive then micromesh to 12000. Then a couple of drops of BLO wiped across the blank at medium lathe speed followed immediately by a drop or two of CA wiped back and forth a few times (lathe still turning). Check the finish (lathe stationary) and if necessary cut back to smooth (with practice this is rarely required). Repeat the BLO/CA a further 3 times (generally) then apply friction polish and finally Renaissance wax.

Stand back and admire!

Cheers,

Neil.

 

[shedhead]

John, You must always keep the lathe turning, i turn around 1500. The faster you are turning the better you can spread the CA. After you have applyed the B/linseed oil, place the CA on to your paper towel over the BLO. This helps the CA spread better. As for the voids, i keep applying the CA until the voids are filled. I have sometimes applyed 20 coats to get this right. I will rub down with micro mesh from around 6000 to 8000 grit up to the 12000. Then add another coat or two to give a gloss finish. Finish off with Ren wax.
It can some days go trouble free, and also some days it can be a real pain!!!! It's all about knowing when to stop.
Hope this works for you.

 

[plymouth pirate]

Many thanks for your help.
I'll follow your advice and hopefully will produce a better result with the two blanks remaining.
Regards
John

 

[miles_hot]

I know I should know but what is CA?

Miles

 

[Richard Findley]

CA is superglue (technical term :wink: ) I wouldn't have thought you'd need to use activator with it though for this? Must admit I haven't used this method (don't have the patience )

Richard

 

[stevebuk]

CA is superglue (technical term :wink: ) I wouldn't have thought you'd need to use activator with it though for this? Must admit I haven't used this method (don't have the patience )

Richard

it doesn't take that long actually richard, once you have done it a couple of times its quite quick.

 

[plymouth pirate]

Got to admit, I would prefer an easier route to a good finish on a pen.

 

[Richard Findley]

Had a very interesting discussion re: pen finishing on another forum, take a look here:

http://www.woodworkersinstitute.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=815

Had a similar discussion about time taken to finish pens, they thought my method was long winded :wink: :lol: !!

Richard