Americana, first CA

[mwildes]

I've completed an Americana, in bocote, sanded through 400 with Abranet, then through 12K with MM. Applied two coats of BLO/thin CA, sanded 400 through 12K, then a layer of BLO/thick CA (that didn't work out too well), re-sanded to get out the big 'ol lumps, added 5 layers of BLO/thin CA, sanding to 12K between each layer, then finished with the 2-part plastic finishing kit from Penn State.

I have to adjust my blank size for sanding, as they ended up slightly smaller then the pen parts, and maybe with more patience I can add more layers to get that "deep" plastic coating that I have seen here by the pros.

Any input on the pen or the pic is appreciated as I am still quite green at all of this. Thanks again for the awesome information bank that all of the contributors have created for guys like me.

 

[akbar24601]

All in all, I have to say that that is a fine looking pen with a fine looking finish. Great job. That's a nice looking piece of Bocote.

 

[rgordon]

Nice fit and finish. Bocote is a beautiful wood
Ralph

 

[sah6139]

Looks like the fit is fine to me

steve

 

[JimB]

Looks great. I've only made one pen from bocote and liked it a lot. I need to buy more.

 

[toolcrazy]

Beautiful pen, nice work.

 

[george]

Nice work. Beatiful piece of wood.

 

[ldb2000]

Fantastic finish on a beautiful blank . Great job on your first CA finish .
Make adjustments as you improve your technique and try different approaches , thick CA didn't work the way you wanted try so try medium on the next one and see if that works better .
I sometimes use as many as 10 to 12 coats of thin sanding between every other coat on certain woods , or on other woods 3 coats of thin followed by 3 coats of medium and then 3 more coats of thin , sanding between the thin and medium and final coats .
Different techniques for different woods .

 

[joeatact]

Great Job

 

[SherryD]

Great execution, I'd say you have the CA finish down.

 

[talbot]

Its a very nice looking pen, nice finish and striking blank.
regards, Bill

 

[bitshird]

It looks good, but then again I hate that kit, The work and finish look OK, hard to tell where you undersised it, CA finishes are great until they bite back, but when they don't they are the best. IMHO