Bodark (Osage Orange/Hedge) Pens
- Thread starter rossvh
- Start date
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wood-of-1kind
Member
Nice work. Very nice 'lumber'.
keithlong
Member
it is one of my better choices of wood to turn, and crosscut is even better, but requires a sharp tool and patience. nice pens by the way.
Jim15
Member
Good looking pens.
Ross,
Can you tell me how you did the finish? My son just turned his first osage orange pen today. I am trying to get my kids more interested in woodworking. But where I'm failing is with the finishing. We cant get anywhere close to that shine. And orange is his favorite color, so he was really excited to find a wood in his favorite color. I showed him this picture, and he was very impressed! Thanks for any help you can offer.
Mark
Can you tell me how you did the finish? My son just turned his first osage orange pen today. I am trying to get my kids more interested in woodworking. But where I'm failing is with the finishing. We cant get anywhere close to that shine. And orange is his favorite color, so he was really excited to find a wood in his favorite color. I showed him this picture, and he was very impressed! Thanks for any help you can offer.
Mark
rossvh
Member
I use 5 to 6 coats of medium CA and then wet sand them with micro-mesh from 1500 to 12,000. Then I use HUT Ultra Gloss Plastic Polish to cover any small scratches.
I apply the CA in thin even coats and lightly spray NCF Quick accelerator after each coat. Do not get in a hurry here. Let the CA set between coats (several minutes).
I've done over 500 pens this way and if you use fresh CA you should have no problems.
Good Luck. Let me know how it runs out.
RossVH
mark james
IAP Collection, Curator
Beautiful pens. !!
Finishing is... tough! And it changes for every different blank, and every different season (humidity in your shop...). Find your comfort zone, then tweak pretty much all the time.
I prefer to "wet sand" with Walnut Oil and abranet 180 - 600. Then go to Pens Plus; or Danish Oil ( MM - 12,000); depending if I want a shiny finish or a matte finish. I rarely do a CA finish. And to complicate matters... At times I use a thin CA finish x2, then sand and finish with PP or DO.
Good luck!
Finishing is... tough! And it changes for every different blank, and every different season (humidity in your shop...). Find your comfort zone, then tweak pretty much all the time.
I prefer to "wet sand" with Walnut Oil and abranet 180 - 600. Then go to Pens Plus; or Danish Oil ( MM - 12,000); depending if I want a shiny finish or a matte finish. I rarely do a CA finish. And to complicate matters... At times I use a thin CA finish x2, then sand and finish with PP or DO.
Good luck!
rossvh
Member
Interesting Mark! I totally agree with the change in temp and product, but now you got me thinking about other finishes. Thanks!Beautiful pens. !!
Finishing is... tough! And it changes for every different blank, and every different season (humidity in your shop...). Find your comfort zone, then tweak pretty much all the time.
I prefer to "wet sand" with Walnut Oil and abranet 180 - 600. Then go to Pens Plus; or Danish Oil ( MM - 12,000); depending if I want a shiny finish or a matte finish. I rarely do a CA finish. And to complicate matters... At times I use a thin CA finish x2, then sand and finish with PP or DO.
Good luck!
RossVH
SteveG
Member
Nice choice in the wood for your pens. Osage Orange is one of those timbers that just look great, without any fancy figure or burl. It is in a small group of timbers that one can make that claim for, such as lignum vitae, and some iron woods. Nice work!
Jgrden
Member
Shoot A Mile, it is beautiful. Makes me want some butterscotch candy.
Awesome. Thanks very much. Do you sand in between the coats of medium CA?
rossvh
Member
No I don't - unless I messed up when applying the CA.
RossVH
RossVH
Kenny Durrant
Member
Great looking pen. I like the wood and make pens and calls for friends that like the outdoors. It's a pretty nasty tree with lots of thorns that people hate to have around but it makes for nice wood work. It will also turn a bronze color as it ages.
Thanks, Ross. I tried your technique last night and it worked out great. When I showed my son the results, he got excited to make his next osage orange pen. Really appreciate the suggestion.
-Mark
rossvh
Member
You're welcome! Having 2 pen turners in the family sounds like a ball!
RossVH
RossVH
My boys are twins, so there are three of us! One of them just really took to the osage orange wood for some reason... The other one is a fan of maple.
Thanks again.
-Mark
rossvh
Member
Unlimited possibilities!! You're a lucky man!!
TurtleTom
Member
Osage Orange was planted here in Oklahoma after the dust bowl by the many thousands. They are one of the best trees for a wind break.
The wood is very sensitive to UV and will turn darker over time, almost impossible to stop. Get ready for it.
I sit mine in the window to just go ahead and do it.
It is also the US champion for weight at 58 lbs ft3. Ok, the desert ironwood is heavier, just pretty rare and very expensive.
The wood is very sensitive to UV and will turn darker over time, almost impossible to stop. Get ready for it.
I sit mine in the window to just go ahead and do it.
It is also the US champion for weight at 58 lbs ft3. Ok, the desert ironwood is heavier, just pretty rare and very expensive.