Cedar Big Ben

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rtyler8140

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Mar 26, 2014
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Lynchburg, Virginia
My brother sent me a text the other day asking if I had any cedar pens. He has a PSI Executive in cedar and one of his clients saw it the other day and really liked it. I didn't have anything made from cedar, but had some kits and wood in stock. I ended up making a Rhodium Big Ben using cedar that came from a dead tree on my parents property. Cedar is fun to turn....very soft and smells delightful. Thanks for looking.




 
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magpens

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Feb 2, 2011
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That looks gorgeous !!! I'll have to try some Cedar. Please tell us how you finished it.
 

rtyler8140

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Lynchburg, Virginia
That looks gorgeous !!! I'll have to try some Cedar. Please tell us how you finished it.

The finish is just BLO and CA glue. Sanded from 220-600 (I found 120 to be way too abrasive for cedar). I leave the blanks a little big before sanding because cedar is so soft and easy to sand too much away. After sanding, I cleaned it up with Acetone and then did a coat of thin CA and BLO followed by 2 coats of medium CA and BLO. Finished it of with 2 more coats of thin CA and BLO. I leave the blank a little big before sanding because cedar is so soft and easy to sand too much away.
 

OZturner

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Aug 5, 2013
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Sydney. NSW. Australia
Nice Pen Ryan,
I am not familiar with the Big Ben, but are the diameters at the Centre Band correct? as they look slightly oversized to the Centre Band.
Glorious Colour in the Cedar Blank.
Congratulations,
Brian.
 

INSierra

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Feb 14, 2015
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NW Indiana
I've never turned cedar. Is there any concern about the durability of the wood with it being so soft? Looks great!
 

rtyler8140

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Mar 26, 2014
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Location
Lynchburg, Virginia
Nice Pen Ryan,
I am not familiar with the Big Ben, but are the diameters at the Centre Band correct? as they look slightly oversized to the Centre Band.
Glorious Colour in the Cedar Blank.
Congratulations,
Brian.

The Big Ben is a PSI pen kit. The bands do taper a little bit giving it an optical illusion in the picture. The cedar is actually flush with the bands. Thanks for the kind words.
 

rtyler8140

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Mar 26, 2014
Messages
98
Location
Lynchburg, Virginia
I've never turned cedar. Is there any concern about the durability of the wood with it being so soft? Looks great!

With it being a soft wood, it is prone to being damaged much easier. I tried to build it up a bit more with CA than I generally do hoping that it would help with the durability.
 
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