Don't laugh me off the face of the earth.....

[Bonnie Campbell]

I'm not up much on the CA glue stuff. I will be doing up 10 pens for an order, and figured I better put a CA/BLO finish so they look better than hubbys pen. So far when I've needed to fill cracks or such I just use a drug store bought tube of CA. I've noticed they sell 'gel' CA tubes also. Would that work for putting a finish on pens? Or should I really invest in the thick variety they sell at the woodworking stores?

Thanks :)

[Dick Strauss]

Bonnie,
I think the thick woodworking CA will save you money in the long run. The bottles of woodworking CA glue cost $6-10 for a two ounce portion.

Many of the store bought tubes of gel type get clogged after one use in my experience.

Dick

[Rich Souchek]

Bonnie,
I initially tried the drugstore CA glue and found it was old, didn't work nearly as goog, and very expensive for the amount we use.
Really recomend a fresh 2oz. bottle of thin and med CA from a good source. The better pen kit suppliers and this guy (http://woodenwonderstx.com/WWBlue/NewGlueWS.html) have served me well. Not affillated.
Rich S.

[Joyce Baldauf]

Bonnie, what's to laugh about???? If nobody tells you, how ya gonna know?

Good luck with those pens.

Joyce

[Gary DeWitt]

I got 2 oz bottles of medium and thin CA at a local hobby store that caters to model airplane builders. Price was comparable to online sources, only faster.

[Paul Heely]

Bonnie, I ordered some from either CSUSA or Packard, don't remember which. I use the medium CA when I do my finishes.

One thing that I found made a difference was the type of paper towel I used. I read on the pen turning forum that different towels have different amounts of cellulose which can affect how fast the glue starts to cure. I have settled on Viva as my towel of choice, drives LOML nuts because we would never buy that expensive a paper towel for normal use around the house :) . I also think I get a smoother finish with the smoother paper towel compared to those with a lot of surface texture. But, that could also be that my technique has improved.

My final 2 cents is if the finish is not coming out well use less CA and more BLO. I had fits when I first stared using CA/BLO and think that I was using way too much CA. Once I cut back on the amount I used and increased the BLO the problems went away.

[Bonnie Campbell]

Paper towel brand was going to be my next question ;) Thanks Paul. I guess I'll try finding some Viva towels. Don't recall seeing any in the grocery store here....

[Paul Heely]

I think Bounty is the other brand I remember people liking but I never tried them.

[Bonnie Campbell]

Bounty I know I can find. So basically I'm looking for a heavy duty towel without much 'quilting' to it, and plain white....

The video I watched on doing CA/BLO finish didn't say what speeds to run the lathe. Any suggestions? I'll be using the Palmgren, so I'll have dial control if it need varying.

Get a big lathe and what do I use it for.... turning pens LOL

[Paul Heely]

I sand, apply the CA/BLO and buff off the excess BLO at about 500 RPM. I'll increase the speed to about 2000 RPM to burnish the pen if I use the grocery bag paper. I have a set of buffing wheels and have been using white diamond and then carnuba on the blanks to add the final finish.

Remember your big lathe can turn small stuff. I wish the reverse was true and my little lathe could turn big stuff :( .

[Bonnie Campbell]

That raises another question.... My husband has some carnuba 'powder'. Can that be mixed with something to make a buffing compound? Not like I'll be able to 'borrow' much of the carnuba. But if it doesn't take to much mixed with something........

[Greg Savage]

Head down to your local model/hobby store and you'll find lots of CA there. You can get an 8oz bottle for @$16. You can store the excess in the capped bottle in your freezer almost indefinitely. As for application, I use a Q-Tip that I have pulled the cotton away from the shaft, but not off. Use a slower rpm so you aren't wearing the stuff as it flies off of your workpiece. I don't bother with the BLO. After about 6 coats, lightly sand down to 600gr and buff....You should end up with a glass-like nearly bulletproof finish.

BTW...Bob Smith Industries sells CA wholesale to the hobby shops. Minimum purchase is 48 units....or at least it used to be. It might be worth looking into a group purchase through Sawmill Creek.....An 8oz bottle of thin CA cost $8 a unit....just a thought.

[Bonnie Campbell]

That group buy sounds like it might be a good idea.

Just checked and there IS a model hobby shop in town, will wonders never cease! I'll call later to see if it's still operating. Businesses close here like flies dropping, if they ever make it out of the larva stage :(

Is there ever a problem with the bushings getting CA'd to the blank? If so, how is that taken care of?

Sorry for all the questions, just trying to cover my bases before I run into trouble.

[TYLER WOOD]

Yup you can glue your bushings not only to your pen, but also to your madrel. If it is stuck to the mandrel I just twist really hard till it releases from the madrel. After removing if the bushings are stuck, be careful you can tear a chunk out of your pen. DAMHIKT

[Paul Heely]

I've never had much of a problem with gluing the bushings to anything. My problem is usually gluing my thumb to the back of the sandpaper strip if I'm filling and wet sanding using CA. I find the CA solvent works pretty good, just make sure you don't have any cuts when you squirt it on :eek: .

[Bonnie Campbell]

Okay, so I'd heard nail polish remover could be used for a CA solvent, true? The few times I've realized I got CA on my fingers I plunged them into saw dust and just kept working, so far so good. But if I'm going to try a CA finish I guess I better be having something to break me loose....

[Lee DeRaud]

Couple of comments:
1. Thick is for filling voids/dings, thin is for finish...I have absolutely no idea what medium is for. (IMHO)
2. It's "glue on the paper towel, then apply to the spinning piece", not "glue on the spinning piece, then apply the paper towel". DAMHIKT
3. Keep a extra cheap face shield around just for doing this. (See #2)
4. Blue nitrile gloves are your best friends when using this stuff.

(Caveat: I don't do pens. But I routinely use CA as a finish on bowls up to 8" diameter.)

[Gary Herrmann]

Ugh. I glued a bushing to what would have been a very nice cherry pen awhile back. Got it off with acetone, but of course that ruined the finish on the end. It was cross grain and I had a little chip out. Tried to fill it with sawdust and CA and overdid it...

[Tom Sherman]

Bonnie I have a friend that uses CA a lot and when he does pens he waxes his mandrel and bushings. If he forgets and gets one stuck he just uses his skew to seperate bushing from blank.

[Bonnie Campbell]

Getting leery about using the CA :eek: Is there any other comparable finish, long lasting and smudge proof?

I'll probably buy CA anyway, but would like a back up too. Most of my experience has just been brushing on spar poly.

[Paul Heely]

There's Enduro which is a water based poly I believe. Have heard of it but never used it. Bear Tooth Woods sells small amounts of it, not sure where else to get it.

There's also the bare wood finish. You can actually get the wood pretty shiny using the micro mesh stuff. One of the pens I have at work is just polished wood with some wax on it that I'm using as my guinea pig to see how well it holds up. I think some woods are better suited to this method than others.

There's lacquer but I've never tried that either.

Don't be afraid of the CA though. What I did was glue up and turn a couple of sets of practice blanks. I made them using spare sets of tubes. I turned them but left them thicker than you normally would for a real pen. Then I would practice my CA finishing and then sand it back down and do it again and again and again.....

[Bernie Weishapl]

Bonnie I use lacquer most times. When I do use CA and it sticks to the blank I use a exacto knife to separate the bushing from the blank. It does a nice job and make a clean break. I have ordered some Enduro from Ernie at Bear Tooth Woods. I just did one pen and like it a lot so far. I bought the small bottles of sealer and top coat.

[Bonnie Campbell]

I read on another site to 'wax the mandrel and bushings' so CA doesn't adhere as well. Does anybody know what kind of wax to use?

[Rich Souchek]

Bonnie,
One of the penturning rules is to always keep some CA remover around close. Another rule is to never glue yourself to something heavier than you can pick up.
rich S.