First Turning! Feedback welcome!

[Aaron Buys]

Well after many months of tinkering, a few months of stalling and one bent mandrel shaft later I've finally turned my first pen. I believe the wood is oak and I used a CA/BLO finish which went on easier than I expected. I think I could have brought the diameter down a little closer to the center ring but there is always next time. Please let me know what you think!

[Mike A. Smith]

Nice first pen Aaron! The wood may be English Walnut, but given all the different oaks you could be right.

[Patrick Taylor]

Great Job Aaron! Looking forward to many more great posts. Doing CA/BLO right out of the gate takes guts! Good for you.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Great first Pen Aaron. Keep'em coming.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Great first pen Aaron! Keep at it .....it gets easier and faster!

[Bonnie Campbell]

Lookin' good!

[Don Eddard]

Fine job, and congrats on your first pen.

[Paul Heely]

Nice job on your first pen. Make sure you hang on to this one so you can compare it to what you make in the future.

[Christopher K. Hartley]

I like it Aaron. Looks very nice. Keep up the good work.

[Steve Ott]

Nice looking pen Aaron!

[Aaron Buys]

Thanks guys. I did also want to share that I had a strange thing happen while I was sanding with micromesh. I was following the directions as stated on the packaging and used water to cool the surface as I sanded. However when my bushings got wet the water actually took the black coating off of them (clean metal underneath) and got onto the pen barrels changing them to a deep purple color. Knowing I didn't want a purple pen I repeated the sanding process starting with the 150 and worked down again through the micromesh. This took all the stained wood off but left dark black in some of the deeper larger grain sections. Came out with a different look than I expected but live and learn. Has anybody else ever had this happen to them?

[Ernie Nyvall]

Nice job on your first pen Aaron. More practice will get that wood down to the center ring.

I've never used the water, but I can imagine what happened. Even without the water you have to watch running the sandpaper over the collars. Even dry you can transfer metal dust into the pores of the wood. I of course wouldn't know from experience... must have seen someone else do it.

[Grant Wilkinson]

Great first work, Aaron.

In reply to your questions, many things will take the finish off the bushings. EEE is famous for doing that. You can avoid getting it on your blank by moving from the center outward rather than from side to side.
In terms of your MM, I would suggest that you not go wet with wood blanks. The instructions that you read may have been for acrylic blanks. Adding water to wood will raise the grain, and you will be in a never ending cycle of trying to sand it down. Also, since the wood will absorb the water, you need to be very careful about putting any finish over it that traps the water under the finish. The water will eventually find a way out, and it may well ruin your finish when it does.