Ipe...

[Jonathon Spafford]

I need to make a pen out of ipe for a friend... had a couple questions about this! First, I know ipe is a somewhat oily wood, so has anybody had trouble with it not gluing to the tubes and with the finish not curing? Second, if I degreased the outside with acetone to cut the oil down would this keep the finish from curing properly and is this even necessary? Third, is 600 grit high enough grit for a CA finish? I know most people go with micro mesh, but I don't have any! Because the finish is pretty high shine I want to make sure all the scratches are gone! Anyway... suggestions would be appreciated!

[Bob Hallowell]

I used cocobolo which is just as oily. I whip it down with mineral spirits first the ca. If you don't have any MM then 600 should be fine.

Bob

[Bernie Weishapl]

I agree with Bob. 600 grit should be fine. Most times I don't go past 400. Wipe it down with mineral spirits and then put on your finish. I use BLO/CA finish.

[Kurt Whitley]

Jonathon,
I hope you don't mind if I "extend" your thread.
I have a couple of Ipe and Cocobolo pens which I took to a high polish using micro-mesh. I may have put a coat of wax on them or not, but they have no "real" finish and are certainly looking good 2 years later (my wife keeps one loose in her pocket book!).
My thinking when I "finished" them was that between the density of the wood and the natural oils they would hold up as good as or better than most finishes.

HOWEVER, I'm just "hacking" around with pens (not selling, or anything).
Has anyone else taken this approach and, if so, what were your results?

[Jonathon Spafford]

Thanks for all the replies... if anybody has anything more to add I would love to hear it (don't mean to end the thread).

Kurt, like Russ Fairfield says, all finishes are going to wear off in time! If you sand them high and just buff them you can get a nice finish like that. Cocobolo finishes naturally really nicely! I am going to use CA/BLO because it will stay on a long time and it feels really nice! I'll post a picture when it is done!

[Bob Hallowell]

Jonathon,
One thing I notice about my ca finish is in the winter I have a hard time I have to use the ca/blo method and sometimes sand it off trying to get a great finish I think it is because of the low humidity here. but in the spring/summer time like right now I just use thin ca. put one coat on with a rolled up paper towel let it dry for a minute then do it again. wait a minute and buff. Ca finishes are so much easier for me when it's warm and humid perfect almost everytime!

Bob

[Chris Barton]

I've use Ipe on many pens and do nothing special. Normally, I glue the barrels in with urethane glue but, CA wil work fine. Ipe finishes well but tends to have some open pores. Most of the time I just wax and buff my Ipe pieces because they finish very nicely that way. I've also used lac and poly with good results.

[Jim King]

Jonathan:

Here is an Ipe going down and an Ipe bowl with laquer sealer and floor grade polyurethane. Nothing different than any other wood but I do dry the rough turned blanks very well after boiling them.