Pen Turning

[rcflyer23]

Okay so I am totally addicted to this now. I am on my third pen from the other night. I did a second Atlas in Acrylic and am not real happy with it. I was playing with dimensions and got it to thick in one point and it looks like I burnt the acrylic with the tool.. Oh well I guess you live and learn. Tonight I turned my first euro. and did okay with the tenon. I will be more careful next time. I cut it a smidge to wide. Oh well it still looks okay.. It's usable. My biggest thing is learning to finish them all nice and glossy.. I have gotten the satin look down pretty good and have tried to different finishing methods and don't really like either of them. So I am planning on trying the CA method. I just have to go get some BLO and some medium CA I only have thin at the moment..

I think I have my dad interested now. He is coming down this week to give it a whirl. I see a lathe in his future. He is getting close to retirement and I think he would have fun doing this.

I will try and grab some pics tomorrow of the second and 3rd pen.

 

[TracyP]

I tried my first euro tonight also, finally got the ca down good and shiny, but did something wrong with the euro bushings:BangHead:.

 

[rcflyer23]

Yeah I think I read the directions 3 times before I mounted it up on the lathe.. It's a lot different turning a multi-barrel pen the just a single. I like it. I just gotta get the tenon figured out and the start playing with the CA finish. I think I might just get a scrap piece and throw a tube in it and figure it out. What steps did you take with the finish?

 

[TracyP]

This is the method posted by woodwrangler and the method I used tonight except I used wet sandpaper instead of micromesh for the final sanding. The finish came out nice.

Here's the tips I can provide from Chris' instruction:

- Use Medium thickness CA glue
- (OPTIONAL) Make your own bushings for use when applying the CA finish. The bushings are made of phoelinic (??) plastic (available at WC). This keeps the blanks from sticking too to the bushings, as the glue doesn't adhere well to the plastic)
- Tear the finger tip off a rubber glove (or use one of the plastic baggies that came in the pen kit to protect the metal pieces) and place it on your finger tip to apply the finish.
- A little goes a far way. Don't put too much CA on each coat!
- Get your finger under the blank, squirt on some CA and move your finger quickly back and forth length-wise to thin and smooth out the glue. Do this for about 10 seconds on each side, give or take, then get your hand off that blank.
- No need to sand yet, apply a second coat the same way.
- A quick squirt of accelerator wouldn't hurt between coats.
- Now start at the lowest MicroMesh pad and work all the way up. Use the first pad to smooth (maybe 10 seconds on each side), then polish with rest (maybe 5 seconds on each side). Use the sandpaper with water!
- (OPTIONAL) A dab of automotive Plastic Polish (don't buy the stuff at the woodworking store, just go to Pep Boys or Advance Auto Parts and pick up some for a quarter the price). Dab that on and polish the final mile.
- If you fear the blanks are stuck to the bushings, tap it lightly with the skew nose-first or parting tool to break the bond.
- Take the glossy blanks off the mandrel. Rub the ends gently on some 150 grit sandpaper to remove any CA buildup on the ends.

One note I forgot to mention above, use the sandpaper WET! Once you have the CA coats on, treat it like plastic. NO MORE DRY SANDING. Keep a bowl of clean water close and keep that sandpaper WET!

Now .... you have a perfectly finish with superglue!


Before I learned this method, I tried everything ... BLO/CA, thin CA, ...anything. This is the only method I've had success with. Good luck!

 

[rcflyer23]

This is the method posted by woodwrangler and the method I used tonight except I used wet sandpaper instead of micromesh for the final sanding. The finish came out nice.

Here's the tips I can provide from Chris' instruction:

- Use Medium thickness CA glue
- (OPTIONAL) Make your own bushings for use when applying the CA finish. The bushings are made of phoelinic (??) plastic (available at WC). This keeps the blanks from sticking too to the bushings, as the glue doesn't adhere well to the plastic)
- Tear the finger tip off a rubber glove (or use one of the plastic baggies that came in the pen kit to protect the metal pieces) and place it on your finger tip to apply the finish.
- A little goes a far way. Don't put too much CA on each coat!
- Get your finger under the blank, squirt on some CA and move your finger quickly back and forth length-wise to thin and smooth out the glue. Do this for about 10 seconds on each side, give or take, then get your hand off that blank.
- No need to sand yet, apply a second coat the same way.
- A quick squirt of accelerator wouldn't hurt between coats.
- Now start at the lowest MicroMesh pad and work all the way up. Use the first pad to smooth (maybe 10 seconds on each side), then polish with rest (maybe 5 seconds on each side). Use the sandpaper with water!
- (OPTIONAL) A dab of automotive Plastic Polish (don't buy the stuff at the woodworking store, just go to Pep Boys or Advance Auto Parts and pick up some for a quarter the price). Dab that on and polish the final mile.
- If you fear the blanks are stuck to the bushings, tap it lightly with the skew nose-first or parting tool to break the bond.
- Take the glossy blanks off the mandrel. Rub the ends gently on some 150 grit sandpaper to remove any CA buildup on the ends.

One note I forgot to mention above, use the sandpaper WET! Once you have the CA coats on, treat it like plastic. NO MORE DRY SANDING. Keep a bowl of clean water close and keep that sandpaper WET!

Now .... you have a perfectly finish with superglue!


Before I learned this method, I tried everything ... BLO/CA, thin CA, ...anything. This is the only method I've had success with. Good luck!

Cool. I will have to go some medium CA just need to figure out where the closest Hobby Lobby is to me and go by there. Thanks for the info.. I will also try and find Chris' instructions.

 

[TracyP]

That was part of the post from Woodwrangler. I did not mean to include that part.

 

[DaveO]

When you create a perfect pen please let us all know. It is an elusive beast, I don't think that the late Eagle ever achieved it in his eyes. That is what I find so enjoyable and frustrating about pen crafting, trying to reach perfection....maybe someday:nah:

Dave

 

[Robert Arrowood]

When you create a perfect pen please let us all know. It is an elusive beast, I don't think that the late Eagle ever achieved it in his eyes. That is what I find so enjoyable and frustrating about pen crafting, trying to reach perfection....maybe someday:nah:

Dave

You got that right Dave! A true craftsman will always see his flaws.And I know that Eagle is soaring the Big sky rooting us all on.

 

[rcflyer23]

Yeah I hope I never get a perfect pen to be honest with you because that would be the day that I stopped turning. The way I look at it there is something about everything you do that is redeemable no matter how bad you screwed up in your own eyes.