Heartwood and Sapwood Apple Clickers

[Culprit]

Here is a set of CSUSA Clickers in Black Ti from Apple wood from my brother's property. One is sapwood, the other heartwood.

These are pens number 5 and 6 for me, so I'm still working things out. I slipped with the chisel and gouged the sapwood pen near the nib end - if you call it that on a non-fountain pen. I went ahead and put the pen together anyway since it was my first clicker and I wanted a trial run at assembling it The heartwood pen is going to my brother. I'll carry the goofy-pen until I can make myself a better one - I'll just be too embarrassed to show it to anyone.

I told my brother that I'll give it to him when we go visit this weekend, but he has to take it to work and keep it a secret from the rest of the family since several of them are getting pens for Christmas. I'll use the time between now and then to learn some new techniques (burning rings, simple segments, etc). I also need to improve my sanding.

Speaking of which, how can I improve my sanding. You might not be able to see it in the picture, but there are trace lines on the pen. I can't figure out of they are from the edge of the sandpaper, or a rogue large grit on the paper. I am using approx 1 inch wide sand paper that comes on a roll with about 5 various grits in the dispenser box. I sand through them up to 600, then go through all the MM foam pads. I'm using one finger on the sandpaper so I don't catch the edge of the paper, and I'm using light pressure and letting the paper do the work, but I can't seem to get rid of that faint line.

Thanks for your comments and critiques. I'm having fun learning to turn pens, and being able to give a pen to my brother made from his property is pretty cool.

[maxman400]

Nice looking Long Clicks.

[lion6255]

Very nicely done...great picture also!

[Drstrangefart]

Cross-sand between every grit. Manually turn the lathe while sanding lengthwise. Spend more time on that than you did with the lathe running each grit. Do the same with the micromesh if your finish can handle being worked that hard. Finish the final polish with automotive wax or an ultra-fine buffing compound. I use Simoniz Vista liquid auto wax on all of mine. 3 or 4 coats usually does it.

[Drstrangefart]

Also, the clickers do look good. I like the darker colored of the two for the timber. They look a LOT better than my first 20 or so.

[OLDMAN5050]

nice...........

[SSobel]

Originally Posted by Drstrangefart

Cross-sand between every grit. Manually turn the lathe while sanding lengthwise. Spend more time on that than you did with the lathe running each grit. Do the same with the micromesh if your finish can handle being worked that hard. Finish the final polish with automotive wax or an ultra-fine buffing compound. I use Simoniz Vista liquid auto wax on all of mine. 3 or 4 coats usually does it.

This is absolutely Key!...Especially with lighter and softer woods. I do alot of pens in Cedar, which is a real soft wood. I buy individual sheets of 800 and 1000 grit, and cross sand with those as well before I get to the finish.

[Displaced Canadian]

Also be careful not to sand too much with the coarser sandpaper. It's possible you're just not completely sanding out the scratches from a coarser grit. I also find a buffing compound of some kind does help with the shine.

[JasonJ]

+1 for the cross sanding. I had a lot of what you are describing until I started following this practice. It seems like a waste of time, but take that time and you'll be pleased.

For what its worth, I don't dry sand anymore. I've gone to the automotive wet sanding sheets. I've found that the grain is much more uniform and doesn't have the buildup of conventional paper. You can also get more out of the paper because you can rinse the material out of the grit. I only use 320, 600, and 800, cross sanding between each, and then polish plastics with One-step. On darker pens I use the buffer to get rid of the slightest scratches.

Good luck and have fun.

[Culprit]

Thanks for the feedback. Cross-sanding it shall be!