First five pens

[Joe Aliperti]

Finished up three more this weekend, which brings me to a total of 5. Thanks for looking!

Pen #1: box elder burl, satin nickel European, CA/BLO finish

http://www.silverlakewoodworks.com/images/pens/box_elder_burl1.jpg

Pen #2: dyed buckeye burl, gold titanium European, CA/BLO finish

http://www.silverlakewoodworks.com/images/pens/buckeye.jpg

Pen #3: amboyna burl, rhodium European, CA finish

http://www.silverlakewoodworks.com/images/pens/amboyna_burl.jpg

Pen #4: curly maple, black titanium Sienna, CA finish

http://www.silverlakewoodworks.com/images/pens/curly_maple.jpg

Pen #5: cocobolo burl, rhodium Sienna, CA finish

http://www.silverlakewoodworks.com/images/pens/cocobolo_burl.jpg

[Billy Tallant]

Joe, your pens look really outstanding! Great job. That finish looks good using CA. I am curious how you are finishing your CA finish out. I've been using CA/BLO for a while, but I cannot seem to get that type of gloss finish.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Beautiful pens Joe! Love the various woods! Should all be fast sellers!

[Mike Minto]

Wow! Way to go, Joe! Those are some of the nicest pens I've seen! Puts MontBlanc to shame.;)

[Joe Aliperti]

Thanks for the nice comments.

Billy,

I finished the last three pens based on Russ Fairfield's methods:

I used homemade CA applicators by using a small piece of polyester quilter's batting backed with a piece of masking tape, and wrapped with a second piece of masking tape.

All sanding was done at slow speed (about 400 RPM) first across the grain, and then with the grain with the lathe stopped. Check with a bright incandescent light to be sure all of the scratches from the previous grit are removed.

I got best results by waiting about 5-10 minutes after each coat of CA. Trying to accelerate the process with a paper towel usually resulted in small fibers getting stuck in the CA.

Here are the basic steps I followed and I'm happy with the results, other than the long process.

1. turn pen barrels to shape with skew
2. sand with 150
3. apply coat of thin CA to stabilize wood and fill small cracks.
4. "wet sand" a coat of thick CA using 150 grit paper
5. hit with accelerator and sand back to smooth using 150 grit
6. sand with 180-240-320-400-600, 4000MM(micromesh), 6000MM, 8000MM, 12000MM
7. apply 10 coats of thin CA using homemade applicator with a bout 8 drops of CA. After each coat, wait about 5-10 minutes to dry, touch a paper towel gently to be sure the coat is cured, then sand lightly with 600 grit. If there are any ridges or bumps, sand with 400 to remove, then 600, then move onto the next coat.
8. after about 10 coats, hit lightly with accelerator
9. sand with 400-600-4000MM-6000MM-8000MM-12000MM
10. admire your deep, glossy finish.

I have also heard good things about gently shearing the finish with a skew before step 9, but I don't have the guts to do that yet. If you're a master of the skew, that will help achieve a deeper finish, and you can skip the 400 grit step.


Here are Russ Fairfield's videos that helped me with the process:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6I6lQM1yls

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxDbwBTi1jY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvL5N-3egGA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR47HH0JyMU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgg-pYNk34c

[Tom Henry]

They are really great looking pens! Welcome to the pen club! :D

[James Combs]

Joe although this is from an armature I agree with the other guys, those are some of the most beautiful pens I have seen. I had posted a few of mine earlier but yours put them to shame.

(Here's the excuse) :rolleyes: I should have added in my original post that the pens were not only my first pens but also my first turnings since high school shop.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Great looking pens Joe. Really nice finish on them.

[David E Keller]

Very nice looking pens. Beautiful wood and very nice finish.

[Mark Hix]

Great looking pens.