marcruby
Member
This was originally intended to be entered in the slimline contest, but reality intervened and I never got past ordering the kit. The starter for it was a request from a friend for "A ladies pen, made from cherry. And did I mention gold? Thin enough for my hands." I won't dwell on the fact that her hands are as large as mine, or that I I haven't made a thin pen in years.
The first draft was a different kit with cherry burl. and the reaction was "Wow, nice pen, when are you going to make me one out of cherry?" I am suddenly aware that what most people think cherry looks like and what I do are two different world. Note to myself - get some cherry dye.
I thought the hard part would be my first try at scalloping, but truth be told the segmenting when well for being my first set of scallops. What drove me to my knees was finishing the darned thing. What I had never considered was that normally I build CA finished on medium coat at a time sanding smooth between layers. Truth is that the first layer or so is more sealer than finish and the sanding will sometimes cut through the CA. Not a problem on a natural pen.
With the dye however it showed as a thin, pale spot. Not right away, mind you, but usually as I was running up the grits after the last coat. Leaving me with a perfectly finished pen pen with a spot. It was only on the third try that I realized I was going to have to dye between the first coats. And I also used multiple (8) thin coats instead of my normal 3 medium heavies to minimize the need for sanding.
What a pain...
The first draft was a different kit with cherry burl. and the reaction was "Wow, nice pen, when are you going to make me one out of cherry?" I am suddenly aware that what most people think cherry looks like and what I do are two different world. Note to myself - get some cherry dye.
I thought the hard part would be my first try at scalloping, but truth be told the segmenting when well for being my first set of scallops. What drove me to my knees was finishing the darned thing. What I had never considered was that normally I build CA finished on medium coat at a time sanding smooth between layers. Truth is that the first layer or so is more sealer than finish and the sanding will sometimes cut through the CA. Not a problem on a natural pen.
With the dye however it showed as a thin, pale spot. Not right away, mind you, but usually as I was running up the grits after the last coat. Leaving me with a perfectly finished pen pen with a spot. It was only on the third try that I realized I was going to have to dye between the first coats. And I also used multiple (8) thin coats instead of my normal 3 medium heavies to minimize the need for sanding.
What a pain...
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