Thuya Burl Victorian Rollerball

[Providentialpens]

Hello, everyone,
I bought some Thuya burl from Seth (RolandRanch) and I turned it into a Victorian Rollerball. I'm pretty happy with the burl. It took me about 5 hours to make. I know it shouldn't take that long, but I had to put the CA finish on twice. The first time, I put 15 coats on but I sanded through on the edges of the blank. The second time, I put about 30 - 40 coats of CA and it turned out well. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[magpens]

That is a very classy pen !!!! . And a great photograph !!

The time it took you is pretty normal for me. . I count on 5 to 6 hours for a pen and even longer for a double barrel pen like this one and I have been making pens for 7 years. . I know that others can do it faster.

 

[Rolandranch]

Thanks for posting this Matthew. It turned out really nice! Don't worry, you'll get the hang of CA finish as long as you keep doing it. Your photo also looks great!

 

[Dehn0045]

Beautiful pen Matthew! I am finding that the more experience I get, the longer it takes me to make my pens. It took you 5 hours to do something that most people won't do in a life-time, so I'd say you're doing pretty good! Regardless of time spent, you have a great pen there -- and some photography skills that make me jealous. Keep it up!

 

[Providentialpens]

That is a very classy pen !!!! . And a great photograph !!

The time it took you is pretty normal for me. . I count on 5 to 6 hours for a pen and even longer for a double barrel pen like this one and I have been making pens for 7 years. . I know that others can do it faster.

Thanks!
I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only slow one out there. :biggrin:

 

[Providentialpens]

Thanks for posting this Matthew. It turned out really nice! Don't worry, you'll get the hang of CA finish as long as you keep doing it. Your photo also looks great!

Thanks! Don't worry, I won't give up! :wink:

 

[firewhatfire]

Nice pen.

What thickness of CA did you use? I do 3 coats of thin followed by 7 coats of medium then finish with 3 more thin coats.

 

[Providentialpens]

Beautiful pen Matthew! I am finding that the more experience I get, the longer it takes me to make my pens. It took you 5 hours to do something that most people won't do in a life-time, so I'd say you're doing pretty good! Regardless of time spent, you have a great pen there -- and some photography skills that make me jealous. Keep it up!

Thank you very much! I actually think spending more time on a pen gives it more value - whether the customer sees it that way or not.

 

[Providentialpens]

Nice pen.

What thickness of CA did you use? I do 3 coats of thin followed by 7 coats of medium then finish with 3 more thin coats.

Thanks! I use all thin. I don't have any medium at the moment. If I did, I would probably use it.

 

[Dehn0045]

Thank you very much! I actually think spending more time on a pen gives it more value - whether the customer sees it that way or not.

I keep my prices low, aka "free", so my customers are on board. Yours might take a little more convincing, but I think you can make it happen

 

[Jim15]

Awesome pen.

 

[OZturner]

Magnificent Pen Matthew.
Superb Thuya Burl Blank,
Beautifully Turned, Fitted and Finished, albeit that you did put on a lot of CA.
Great Matching with the Gold Victorian Hardware.
Created a Fantastic Result,
Congratulations,
Brian.

 

[TattooedTurner]

That's a great looking pen, and you used one of my favorite woods. I usually plan on 5-6 hours for a pen, but my time is in getting the diameters just right. Doing a CA finish will get faster with experience, the only piece of advice I can give is to sand very lightly. The sandpaper/mm pads just have to touch the surface, nothing more really.

 

[Providentialpens]

Awesome pen.

Thank you!

Magnificent Pen Matthew.
Superb Thuya Burl Blank,
Beautifully Turned, Fitted and Finished, albeit that you did put on a lot of CA.
Great Matching with the Gold Victorian Hardware.
Created a Fantastic Result,
Congratulations,
Brian.

Thank you so much for the encouragement!

That's a great looking pen, and you used one of my favorite woods. I usually plan on 5-6 hours for a pen, but my time is in getting the diameters just right. Doing a CA finish will get faster with experience, the only piece of advice I can give is to sand very lightly. The sandpaper/mm pads just have to touch the surface, nothing more really.

Thanks! I really like Thuya burl too. About the CA finish, I understand that I'm not supposed to sand a whole bunch. But for some reason, I get these really low spots that I try to sand out. Once I get those low spots sanded out, I sometimes go too far. Do you know what I could be doing wrong? Maybe something with my CA application?

 

[Dehn0045]

But for some reason, I get these really low spots that I try to sand out. Once I get those low spots sanded out, I sometimes go too far. Do you know what I could be doing wrong? Maybe something with my CA application?

I have found that the little pits can be very persistent. Building CA and then removing, then repeating until smooth, is the only way that I have been able to get around this issue. Thin CA seems to fill the little pits, but medium is better on the bug stuff, so I tend to alternate between thin and medium at times. Open grain woods are the worst for me. I'm not sure if these are the same kind of "low spots" that you are talking about. I am thinking that stabilizing with cactus juice would eliminate this problem, but I haven't got my stabilizing setup yet.

Here Gregory Wilson recommends using a skew to do the bulk of the work after applying a layer of CA. I'm not that comfortable with the skew yet, so I use the 320 grit version...

 

[Providentialpens]

But for some reason, I get these really low spots that I try to sand out. Once I get those low spots sanded out, I sometimes go too far. Do you know what I could be doing wrong? Maybe something with my CA application?

I have found that the little pits can be very persistent. Building CA and then removing, then repeating until smooth, is the only way that I have been able to get around this issue. Thin CA seems to fill the little pits, but medium is better on the bug stuff, so I tend to alternate between thin and medium at times. Open grain woods are the worst for me. I'm not sure if these are the same kind of "low spots" that you are talking about. I am thinking that stabilizing with cactus juice would eliminate this problem, but I haven't got my stabilizing setup yet.

Here Gregory Wilson recommends using a skew to do the bulk of the work after applying a layer of CA. I'm not that comfortable with the skew yet, so I use the 320 grit version...

Thanks for the advice! I think I've figured out why my CA finishes weren't turning out correct. I've been applying my CA finishes with the lathe running at full speed. Seth (Roland Ranch), after years of teaching me the ways of pen turning, finally told me that I'm supposed to put the CA on with the lathe running at the lowest speed.

 

[OZturner]

But for some reason, I get these really low spots that I try to sand out. Once I get those low spots sanded out, I sometimes go too far. Do you know what I could be doing wrong? Maybe something with my CA application?

I have found that the little pits can be very persistent. Building CA and then removing, then repeating until smooth, is the only way that I have been able to get around this issue. Thin CA seems to fill the little pits, but medium is better on the bug stuff, so I tend to alternate between thin and medium at times. Open grain woods are the worst for me. I'm not sure if these are the same kind of "low spots" that you are talking about. I am thinking that stabilizing with cactus juice would eliminate this problem, but I haven't got my stabilizing setup yet.

Here Gregory Wilson recommends using a skew to do the bulk of the work after applying a layer of CA. I'm not that comfortable with the skew yet, so I use the 320 grit version...

Thanks for the advice! I think I've figured out why my CA finishes weren't turning out correct. I've been applying my CA finishes with the lathe running at full speed. Seth (Roland Ranch), after years of teaching me the ways of pen turning, finally told me that I'm supposed to put the CA on with the lathe running at the lowest speed.

That will make the World of Difference.
Instead of sending all that the CA off in all directions, due to the Centrifugal Force, you might just have a chance of leaving some on the Blank. LOL
Great Diagnostic Work Seth.
Me Thinks that is one lesson that will be retained.
A lot of my learning has been done exactly like that, so I can't talk.
Regards, and Laugh along with us.
Brian.