Olive and Iron

[GaryMGg]

I received blanks from Darick (Olivewood) and Reed (Desert ironwood); had to try them
tonight. Something I did with them I've never done before, CA finish.
The ironwood finished really nice, the olivewood pretty good but not much better than
had I simply oiled and waxed. I'll need to practice. Good thing I got a bunch of olivewood!

Olivewood turns really easy; I had to be careful with the Ironwood 'cause I drilled
too fast and started splitting the blank. A little CA, turn, a little CA, turn, repeat,
and we're good to go.

I need to work on my picture taking skills; these look much better in reality than
in photos.

Got a couple of cigar kits so hopefully this week, I can try something else new.

Gary

 

[Dawson]

Gary,
Good looking pens? My goal is to attempt a CA finish this weekend. I hope that I can do as good as you did. Where did you get your hardware?
Dawson

 

[GaryMGg]

Dawson,
Thanks.
These kits are PSI. Almost gone, gotta find some more.

Gary

 

[NavyDiver]

Nice job. I like the olive wood better. []

 

[GaryMGg]

Originally posted by NavyDiver
<br />Nice job. I like the olive wood better. []

I like looking at the DIW, it's much more orange in real life and
the grain is real interesting. The BLO/CA finish came out lively.
However, most people agree with your preference and after using them, me too!

I'm still working on my technique, learning what works well for me,
and what I think people will like.
Tonight, I made three more pens: 2 olivewood, 1 end-grain mesquite.
I left the mesquite too fat and it's uncomfortable to use, but the
grain is quite appealing. The three are finished with BLO/CA and this
time the olivewood pens finished good.

Here's the latest:

<br />

 

[NavyDiver]

The olive wood pens look great. The Mesquite is a little thick for my preference, and it looks a little proud at the center band [], but I agree that it has outstanding grain.

 

[BigRob777]

That mesquite reminds me a lot of x-cut jatoba, or South American monkey pod. The middle pen looks like it's a comfort grip, minus the grip. Nice work.
Rob

 

[GaryMGg]

Originally posted by NavyDiver
<br />The olive wood pens look great. The Mesquite is a little thick for my preference, and it looks a little proud at the center band [], but I agree that it has outstanding grain.

The bottom barrel was proud of the CB and nib and overly fat.
So, I removed the cartridge and remounted the 1/2-pen. I found that the tranmission
will stay on the end of the mandrel and the nib will just fit the tailstock center.
Being ever so careful, I turned the barrel to tight specs and refinished it.
Disaster salvaged [8D]