Cold Slow Down

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I finished and assembled three of these this morning. Top to bottom:
1. Platinum Americana Rollerball Pen w/ Am. Black Walnut Burl
2. 10K Gold Executive Rollerball w/York Gum Burl
3. Upgrade Gold Cigar w/Black Palm
4. Upgrade Gold Cigar w/Am. Black Walnut Burl

All the kits from Bill B. Finish, Enduro WB Poly, 2 coats over Enduro Sealer. Then TSW.

20041224202833_24Dec04-0141.jpg
 
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Old Griz

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Very nice Mac.... I love the look of palm, but it is a real PITA to turn... that york gum looks sweet... how does it turn..
 

PenWorks

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Good looking group of pens Mac, I like the black Palm too, glad I'm not the only one that thinks it's PITA to turn. I have the blanks allready cut & glue for a 3 piece set in black palm and have moved them blanks around my work bench for a month now. Happy Holidays to all, Anthony
 
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OK, lets answer in order of the questions, and happy to do that.

1. Griz says: "that york gum looks sweet... how does it turn"

It is a beautiful wood. I bought a burl cap from a guy on ebay that imports wood from Australia. Cut about 20 blanks from it. Have made 3-4 pens from it. Then it turned cold and the heat came on in the house. I found two of the three with tiny cracks. I have concluded that the burl was not dry enough and the heat has taken the humidity down in the house and dried out the burl. As far as turning, I had no problems with it at all. No explosions, no chip outs. Keep tools sharp and when you get from square to round just slow down and take it easy on it. It sands to a fine finish and the Enduro WB Poly goes right on.

2. Lou says: "how's the TSW on top of Enduro?"

On these four pens and two others that I didn't post here this is what I did. I use the Enduro sanding sealer on the lathe. I wipe a coat on in the long direction with a little tiny piece of folded paper towel. Wait about 1 min. and wipe another coat. Start the lathe and let it spin for a few seconds. I have a dust collector pulling air across the blank. I put my fingers lightly on the spinning blanks and apply just enough pressure to feel a tiny heat build up. Not enough to burn just warm it up a bit to help it set. I then take 400 grit paper and lightly hit it with that, just a kiss till the shine goes away. Stop the lathe and sand long way with the same paper. I then have some yellow foam 3M abrasive pads, don't know what grit. Got them at the local Rockler store. They are real fine, much more than 400 grit. Then I start the lathe and buff with a piece of brown paper bag, small strip held on both ends. After that I look the finish over real carefully for sanding marks or finish lines and sand back to bare wood and do the same thing if I find any.

I put two coats of Enduro Water Base Poly on the blanks. I dip, put on wires and helicopter for about 20-30 seconds and then hang on a rail. I go back about 5 min or less and helicopter again to get the little drips that form on the down side of the blanks. I then turn the blanks end for end and do the same thing for the second coat. I do this about 30 min. apart.

That sits overnight to cure. The next day I put the blanks back on the mandrel on the lathe. I take my bare finger and just wipe down the blanks with TSW. Start the lathe and take a small piece of folded paper towel and start moving back and fourth to heat up the finish just a little. Not hot, just warmed enough to dry out the TSW. Then take a clean piece of paper towel and run it back and fourth on the spinning blank to take the excess TSW off. That's all. Then to the bench and assemble the pen.

The Black Palm thing. I stabilized them, or thought I did, with the quart jar, food vacuum pump and Bondo wood hardener. Drilled the blanks first. I really don't think I got very much penetration of the hardener. I pumped and pumped until no more bubbles, let it sit and did it again three times. As I was just getting the lower blank round it blew. For some darn reason the dust collection system didn't pick up the piece. It was about 1/4 around the blank and the entire length. I took that blank and the ruptured piece and CA'ed them back together. Filled the few cracks from lost pieces with CA and black powder. Went right back to turning and had no problems at all. The black fill is lost in the pattern of the blank, if you know where to look you can see it, but it doesn't really show.
 
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Lou,
I forgot. The TSW really brings a shine out. The pens finished as above are far and above more shiny than ones I have made with Ren Wax or with rubbing TSW on by hand after assembly. For high end pens it is worth the extra time to go back to the lathe for application.
 

Gregory Huey

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The York gum gets my vote. Very nice looking. I got some from Australia and it was still wet. Had one heck of a time wih splitting.
I have a couple of pieces that have ben drying about a year, need to get a blank out and turn it.
 
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