Euro Cocobolo

[Gilrock]

This was my 2nd pen I made after joining IAP and learning about using a CA finish. So far I don't think I'm doing it right....I feel like I end up sanding off as much as I put on cause it doesn't end up smooth. Anyways I was happy with the final result but it took many retries. I'm pretty sure the sticker on the wooden blank I selected said Cocobolo although I've seen several others mentioning this same wood and I've never seen the lighter shade of wood along with it. Not sure what it's called.

Still working on a lightbox setup...I got the box built yesterday but I'm not really happy with the lights I tried and I had no way to mount them where I wanted them placed so the lighting isn't even.

 

[Steve Busey]

Some cocobolo can be problematic to finish if it has high oil content - that might be part of your finish problem. What grits are you sanding with?

 

[RogerH]

Nice job. Pen looks beautiful.

I apply a lot of pressure on the paper towel, and I use smooth blue shop towels when I apply the CA. When I use plain paper towels, I have problems with bumps and ridges too.

Good luck.

 

[Gilrock]

Some cocobolo can be problematic to finish if it has high oil content - that might be part of your finish problem. What grits are you sanding with?

I've always started my sanding using the Woodcraft sanding pack which I think goes 150, 240, 320, 400, 600 and then I MM 1500-12000. Before I joined IAP all would do is apply a finishing polishing wax so it always seems like I was at the mercy of the quality of the wood for how nice it turned out. I had a piece of clear stabilized buckeye burl that turned out really nice using that method but other woods would appear too grainy afterwards.

I'm learning the more I read this forum...there were a lot of things I didn't know to do before and I'm slowly collecting the materials I need. When I did that pen I think I only had thick CA, I had no acetone or DNA, and I had no accelerant so I was probably not waiting long enough before attempting my next steps. I did so much to that pen it's amazing it looks halfway decent...I think it had CA, polishing wax, and wet sanding with MM all in a 30 minute period...lol.

 

[Gilrock]

Nice job. Pen looks beautiful.

I apply a lot of pressure on the paper towel, and I use smooth blue shop towels when I apply the CA. When I use plain paper towels, I have problems with bumps and ridges too.

Good luck.

Yeah blue shop towels is all I had lying around so that's what I've used also. I watched a video yesterday so I have some new ideas to try next time.

 

[ve3bax]

I've always started my sanding using the Woodcraft sanding pack which I think goes 150, 240, 320, 400, 600 and then I MM 1500-12000.

if you are sanding CA with 150 to start thats really aggressive! if i have an uneven finish i usually use some #0000 steel wool to smooth it out a bit then start at 1500MM... just a few seconds each grit, all wet sanding... if its pretty smooth i would probably jump up to around 3600...

the thing with CA is the actual buildup of material is quite thin and if you hit it too aggressively you will sand right through in no time!

 

[Bree]

Oil can cloud CA. Cocobolo is very oily wood so it has a definite potential to cloud CA. You use the acetone to remove some of the surface oil so the CA can both adhere and not cloud. Oil tends to migrate up over time anyhoo so you may get adhesion and clouding issues on woods like Cocobolo. One possibility is to acetone it, then shellac it to basically seal it and then put CA over the shellac which is very sticky stuff and pretty much adheres to anything. I don't like mixing finish types but I have tried this and it worked pretty well for whatever it is worth.

:wink::wink::wink:

 

[Gilrock]

I've always started my sanding using the Woodcraft sanding pack which I think goes 150, 240, 320, 400, 600 and then I MM 1500-12000.

if you are sanding CA with 150 to start thats really aggressive! if i have an uneven finish i usually use some #0000 steel wool to smooth it out a bit then start at 1500MM... just a few seconds each grit, all wet sanding... if its pretty smooth i would probably jump up to around 3600...

the thing with CA is the actual buildup of material is quite thin and if you hit it too aggressively you will sand right through in no time!

Yeah I was trying to describe too much in one post...I was describing my sanding steps before applying the CA. After the CA is applied I pick a grit based on what the surface feels like to my fingers which is normally 400 or 600.

 

[ghostrider]

The different coloring in the wood you see is the difference between the sapwood, and the heartwood.

If you get ridges, your using too much CA. Use thinner CA, or less of it. I normally use mainly thin, and build up. If I need to make up for lost wood, then I'll use thick/medium. Thin goes on smoother, and requires less final sanding.

 

[dmott]

(I myself) Dont sand past 600 before you apply your CA. I believe m(have bene told) sanding too high will naturally seal some woods with their own oils.

I sand to 600, a few coats of thin CA, about 6 of medium, then a few more of thin.

Start sanding at 400 then go thru your micromesh. I go 400, 600, (I then go 1000 sometimes) then polishing compunds.