Turned my first decent pen today!!!!!!!

[Cliff Newton]

I'm just tickled with myself. It is a combo of black maple and spalted tamarind. I used Ultra EEE polish and Shellawax to finish it off. Who makes a really good, really shiny finish I can use on top of the Shellawax?

[Jim Ketron]

Great job Cliff !!looks like fun hope my stuff comes soon so I can throw some shavings myself I havent used a lathe since 8th grade agg shop.

Did you buy your blank or did you make it?
Jim

[Cliff Newton]

Great job Cliff !!looks like fun hope my stuff comes soon so I can throw some shavings myself I havent used a lathe since 8th grade agg shop.

Did you buy your blank or did you make it?
JimI made it. I was easy to make.

When you start turning pens, take my advice and use gorilla glue to glue the tubes inside the blanks. It seems much more forgiving than CA glue. I used CA glue on my first try and the wood shattered and the whole pen blew apart on me while I was turning it. I had no problems with the gorilla glue. Watch it while it is drying though because the foaming action will cause the tube to scoot outside of the balnk. Just scoot it back in and wipe off the excess foam.

Also, keep your tools sharp. It does make a difference.

One last thing, don't be shy about using sandpaper to shape the pen once you get it close to it's final size. I'm not real proficient yet with lathe tools, so I use lots of sanding strips.

[Kurt Aebi]

Cliff,
Great Job! Womderful Contrast!
Have you tried the CA finish method yet? It seems to really work quite well and not as messy as you'd think.


I just finished my first (5) pens and you are absolutely right. Do not be afraid to use sandpaper to finilize the shape. Experience and getting used to the chisels will come, but you can still get great results (as you have shown us) by using sandpaper. Also like you said, keep the chisels sharp and take small bite passes and you will do good, for sure.

Jim - It has been 18 years since my last small turnings and it was just like getting back on a bicycle - no problem after a few minutes. I just bought a new mini lathe and have been using my large lathe for a few years now turning porch railing spindles and support posts and other large things like that, so I am not a newbie with the chisels, just the fine detail turning for the pens.
(3) things to remember:
1.) Turn the pen blank at a fast rate on your lathe (next to fastest on my little PSI one)
2.) Keep Chisels Sharp and take small passes.
3.) Whatever you do - HAVE FUN!!!!!! That's what it's all about!

[Harry Pye]

I usually wrap a rubber band around the ends of the blank after gluing the tubes. I also use Poly glue.

Try this for a finish:

Sand the bare wood to about 320 grit and then apply a thin coat of CA.

Sand again with 320 and put on another thin coat of CA. I do this as many times as required to fill all the voids.

Sand from 320 to 2000 using wet-n-dry paper. Stop the lathe between each grit change and sand the length of the blanks. NOTE: At this point we aren't sanding wood, we are sanding the CA surface and just want to remove the scratches from the previous grit.

I also like to wipe the blanks down with alchohol between grits. It removes any particles that might scratch the finish and gets rid of the black smears that you often get from the bushings.

At this point you have a really smooth surface. I usually go to 4000 Micro Mesh and sand out to 12,000. This may be overkill but at this point the blanks have a really nice, soft sheen.

I put on two or three coats of Myland's Friction polish using a paper towel. Coat the blanks and rub until the finish sets up and then squeeze to blanks between the towel. It will get really hot and the finish will smooth out to a brilliant shine. Keep the towel moving briskly during this step. I finish the blanks with a coat of Renesaince <SP?> wax.

[Scott Greaves]

Hey Cliff!

This is a great looking pen! Nice contrast between the two woods!

One thing you might try on your finish is to do three or four applications of the Shellawax. That might increase the shine. You might also consider uning some kind of sanding sealer earlier on in the sanding process fo fill the pores. I use CA glue as a sealer, applying it with sandpaper so it creates a slurry and fills the pores. To get much better with your finish you'll probably have to go to using CA as a finish. Or Lacquer. But Shellawax is a good finish!

Scott.

[Cliff Newton]

Hey Cliff!

This is a great looking pen! Nice contrast between the two woods!

One thing you might try on your finish is to do three or four applications of the Shellawax. That might increase the shine. You might also consider uning some kind of sanding sealer earlier on in the sanding process fo fill the pores. I use CA glue as a sealer, applying it with sandpaper so it creates a slurry and fills the pores. To get much better with your finish you'll probably have to go to using CA as a finish. Or Lacquer. But Shellawax is a good finish!

Scott.
Do I put the CA on the pen while it is spinning on the lathe and sand it wet or do I put it on and let it dry before sanding it?

[Jim Becker]

Very nice design. The contrast between the two species is great!

[Pete Fox]

How do you guys keep from gluing the bushings to the blanks when you apply your CA Glue as either a sanding sealer coat or as a finish coat?? :confused:

[Rick Prevett]

A quick, thin coat of paste wax on the bushings will repel the ca glue.

rick

[Stanley Campbell]

Cliff

Do NOT put CA Glue on while turning the lathe it will cover you and everything else with Glue. I use a small piece of paper towell folded several times so I don't glue the paper towell to my finger. let the CA glue setup before turning on the lathe.

Stan

[Wayne Swindlehurst]

I use the lowest speed on my jet mini when putting on the CA and it works fine with no splatter. I use a plastic bag, one of the many that comes with each pen kit, to apply the glue. After it dries I then sand smooth, you may have to do this a few times depending on how large the pores are. Once the pores are filled and the wood smooth, I either use more CA for the finish, sanding to 12,000 with micro mesh or most of the time I use Mylands friction polish. Personaly, I think that I like the friction polish better than the CA for a finish. To me, it looks more natural and as long as you sand or polish to a glass like finish with micro mesh all the way to 12,000, then if it wears off the natural oils from a persons fingers keep it shinning nicely. I have a couple of pens that I use daily that after three months or so shine like the day that I finished them. I made my wife a rosewood pen that she uses daily at work and after two months it looks like new.

There are as many ways to finish pens as there are woods to make them with,
Wayne Swindlehurst

[Cliff Newton]

Thanks for the CA tips. I made 2 pens today with the CA method and they are both smooth as glass and as shiny as I was expecting. That was a great tip. I don't have any micromesh yet, but I polished up to 600 grit and then used Ultra EEE. I ordered some micromesh from BB and should be getting it next week.