Thuya Burl Emperor

[jasontg99]

Ever have one of those weekends where nothing seems to go in your favor? Well, this weekend was one of those weekends for me. This pen was my second attempt at finishing a thuya burl emperor. The first one shattered on the lathe (first time that happened with a wood blank). I had soaked it for two days in denatured alcohol in an attempt to remove the oils from the wood (I read about this somewhere). I was worried the CA would flake off over time since the box these blanks came in looked like the wrapper from a greasy cheeseburger (no exaggeration). So I started from scratch, no DNA this time. Turned the pen and finished with CA, and put it together. Well, upon closer inspection, I discovered the finish cracked. I assume it happened when I pressed the pen together. I will break it down and do the finish again. Anyway, hope you enjoy the pics. I am going to go bang my head against a wall. :at-wits-end:

 

[wdcav1952]

Jason, I learned some appropriate words while on the Saratoga many years ago to say when a finish cracks!!

Beautiful work, so the crack is a real shame!

 

[jasontg99]

Cav,

I sure hope you did not learn to scrape the plaque from teeth while you were a deck seaman!!! I can hear them screaming from here!

 

[jttheclockman]

Oh I think we all have been there done that. I have a jr gent that I am working on and I am using a piece of Zircote for the blank. Well the CA finish is driving me nuts. I get all the coats on and go to mm it and it clouds up. I have left it for 2 days to cure and still. I am now going to just polish it and see how that works. Yesterday I went to mill a cigar pen that I have with stainless stell blanks and using a carbide mill sometimes it is hard to tell when enough is enough because it cuts so fast so I proceded to mill abit too far on the lower barrel so that is a waste. Some days things go great and yet some days you should stay out of the shop and you don't know what kind of day it is untill you get started.

Anyway the burl looks great. I always loved that wood.

 

[louisbry]

Nice looking pen. Sorry about the finish. Did you let the CA cure overnilght before you assembled the pen?

 

[jasontg99]

Louis,

No, I did not let the CA cure overnight. I rarely do, but this was the first time the finish has cracked. I am not sure if the wood's oils had something to do with it.

 

[toolcrazy]

Beautitul pen, nice work.

 

[Rmartin]

That's tough. I've never had CA crack on me, but Thuya is my absolute favorite wood, so it's worth a do over. Good luck on the disassembly. The long plastic tube inside the Emperor can be difficult to get out without damaging it. DAMIKT!

 

[jasontg99]

That's tough. I've never had CA crack on me, but Thuya is my absolute favorite wood, so it's worth a do over. Good luck on the disassembly. The long plastic tube inside the Emperor can be difficult to get out without damaging it. DAMIKT!

That is probably the only thing I am happy about....the crack is not on the cap! :biggrin:

 

[jaeger]

Nice finish on your pen. Not to be negative but from your picture it looks like the wood is cracked.

 

[jasontg99]

Nice finish on your pen. Not to be negative but from your picture it looks like the wood is cracked.

Which pic and where? I don't see it.

Ahhhh. Gotcha. Thought you meant the wood looked cracked in addition to the CA cracking. As I told Jeff, let's hope that is not the case.

 

[Ligget]

Beautiful pen Jason, that is bad news about the crack in what looks like an otherwise perfect CA finish, these things happen to the best of us and you just need to grit your teeth and move on to the next one!

 

[workinforwood]

It's a real beautiful pen Jason. I think the wood looks cracked too. You know, I had this same problem a few weeks ago with an acrylic. I pushed the parts in straight, but the blank blew out, and I now can't get the part back out of the tube. I pounded on it and pounded on it and as I punch away, the tube is coming out of the blank instead of the part out of the tube. I've noticed that the inside diameter of the brass tubes from CSUSA is not always the same. Some of them are super tight and some are not. I have a CF blank from Gary and had to file inside the tube for 10 minutes just to get the bushing inside it. If the inside of the tube is too tight, the tube will expand too much. If it's too lose, then the parts won't press in. You can't win with these tubes.

 

[jasontg99]

I think the wood looks cracked too.

Jeff,

I sure hope that is not the case. Guess I will find out when I break it down.