Another Acacia

[watch_art]

Very happy with this one.
This one is made form Acacia.
Closed 150mm, open 130mm, posted 190mm.
Has 14mm threads cap to barrel. #6 Jowo nib.

 

[Dustygoose]

Shawn, Beautiful. Just beautiful

 

[tkbarron]

Great job on the turn and great find on the wood. No finish??

Tom

 

[DestinTurnings]

Shawn, you know I love your pens...but two things for me is the finish or lack there of. Also looks like the cap is a little short ot threads not cut back enough to hide the section at the nib. Shape is, as always, spot on.

Just my 2¢.

 

[watch_art]

Thanks everybody.
Finish - yeah - I've gotta figure out something I can do after I make these things. Somebody suggested a wipe on clear something or other.
If I can get an actual product name I'll get some. Links?

Also - the black thing when the cap is on - that's actually sort of the stop. If you look closely at the barrel of the open pen you can see that part is wider than the threaded area.

 

[boxerman]

Beautifully done.

 

[robutacion]

Nice, very nice piece of wood and, while the finish, or should I say, lack of it has been mentioned by others, has been a couple of identical pens you made recently that, look absolutely stunning as they are.

There is not often that I like a matt finish on a pen, as I prefer a deep gloss on pretty woods but, those of yours have that "velvet(ish)" look and possibly, feel to it that I like.

The best material that comes to mind as a close match is the smooth sanded raw cork...!

I don't thing that is a finish that will preserve that, unless maybe something like the Fungishield that I get here in Australia, that is mainly a wood soaking preservant and fungi repellent. It would soak through and then after dried (48 hours) would need very fine sanding to remove any shiny residue and make if matt again.

This would be certainly a process/step that, would be better done just before the barrel(s) is/are sanded to its final size, obviously...!

I don't have a product name replacement of something identical that you could by locally but, if you look at the technical info from the product manufacturer (Feast Watson) you could look/ask into a possible identical product...!

Hope this helps...!

Cheers
George

 

[InvisibleMan]

Shawn,

I think the wipe-on stuff suggested was wipe-on poly (polyurethane) you can get just about anywhere you can get varnish, etc. At least my Home Depot has it.

Not sure it's the best option or not - never actually used it myself.

 

[watch_art]

YEah that's what I was told - wipe on poly. Would it be good in really thin layers?

 

[Drstrangefart]

I had to UNLIKE it so I could LIKE it a second time. Another home run, dude.

 

[DestinTurnings]

YEah that's what I was told - wipe on poly. Would it be good in really thin layers?

I use wipe on poly for all of my bowls and platters and such. If I was to do it on a pen regularly, I would try the hole in a rubber tube squeege technic. It does go on well and level out with just a quick wipe. Takes a good three coats for a well covered finish...steel wool or fine paper sanding between coats. I also like to use the cheap throw away sponge brushes to apply it.

I am one of those die hard CA guys. Just because you want a semigloss or matt finish doesn't mean you can't use CA. It just means you stop wet sanding at 1000 instead of polishing it out.

I have tried dozens of finishes... wipe on poly, deft gloss/satin, helmsman spray poly, bees wax, rennisance wax, tung oil, BLO, walnut oil, ad so on.

The main reason I keep with CA is durability. a well applied CA finish will look the same 5 years from now. Waxes last less than a month

 

[mikespenturningz]

I have become allergic to CA and needed to find something different so I ordered some of this Home . It hasn't come in yet but maybe it would be something that you would like for your beautiful creations?

Mike

 

[Ed McDonnell]

Wipe-on poly is mostly solvent (which is what makes it thin enough to wipe on) so it leaves a very thin layer of finish with each coat. I used it a lot on decorative bowls and vases at one time. It's a film finish that builds on top of your wood. It will not fill defects unless you apply many many coats and sand back. Wipe-on poly is softer than regular poly so you need more coats to get the same protection. If your wood surface is flawless and your technique is good you can build a very nice high gloss finish over the course of a couple of days. You lose the feel of the wood though. Most people will think a well applied poly finish is glass. If your wood surface has any defects or your application technique is not good, it will look like a really cheap plastic coating on the wood. I typically went with 20+ coats (most sanded off) to get a flawless high gloss finish.

All that said, I don't think wipe-on poly is a good choice for a functional item like a pen. I would recommend you look at Tru-Oil Gun Stock Finish. It's more of a penetrating finish so you won't lose the feel of the wood, but it will give the wood a beautiful look and feel. As the name implies it's used a lot on gun stocks and it is a durable enough finish to stand up to the use a pen will likely get.

Whatever you do, don't apply either of those finishes with the components on the pen. You'll be unhappy with tru-oil on the metal fittings and really unhappy with poly on them.

Both poly and tru-oil are oil based finishes and will darken the wood to some degree. It should also pop the grain in that acacia giving it some real depth.

Ed

 

[Robert111]

Beautiful work Shawn! You've blazed the trail with these wood pens. It'll be interesting to see your progress.

 

[watch_art]

All that said, I don't think wipe-on poly is a good choice for a functional item like a pen. I would recommend you look at Tru-Oil Gun Stock Finish. It's more of a penetrating finish so you won't lose the feel of the wood, but it will give the wood a beautiful look and feel. As the name implies it's used a lot on gun stocks and it is a durable enough finish to stand up to the use a pen will likely get.

Whatever you do, don't apply either of those finishes with the components on the pen. You'll be unhappy with tru-oil on the metal fittings and really unhappy with poly on them.


Ed

Will this hurt plastic sections?

 

[Ed McDonnell]

Will this hurt plastic sections?

They won't physically damage the parts if the parts can stand up to mineral spirits (which they probably can). But the poly will leave a yellow film on the plastic parts that may have adhesion issues if the plastic is highly polished. The tru-oil is meant to cure "in" the wood. On the plastic or metal tru-oil would be a soft tacky film. Not what you want.

Both poly and tru-oil would make a mess of your threads.

Apply the finishes to the wood before assembly.

There is nothing wrong with leaving the wood unfinished and allowing a natural patina to develop with use. Some people really like that look. Not every pen has to have a gallery quality gloss finish on it.

Ed