William's Finish

[StatProf]

Dear All,

I had a couple of pieces glued up and decided to try William's finishing technique that has generated a lot of talk in the last couple days.

http://www.penturners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=43539

I must say, this is the best finish I have ever done! Even though I am not a good photographer, you can still tell just how good the finish came out. I did one thing different, though. After I put on 6 coats like William suggested, I wet sanded to 12000 MM and didn't use plastic polish. It is hard to tell on pictures of the elk antler, but this is the first time that I was really able to get antler that shiny. Those of you who work with elk know just how hard it is to get this stuff to have other than a matte finish. The other pen is BOW.

One caution, though . . . I am used to cutting and sanding past the bushings and then building back up. As the pictures show, if you use this method, this is a huge mistake. I am just shy of the rim of the pen on both pens. Lesson learned. This method uses just a little CA, but I love the finish.

Thanks a ton William!!!

StatProf

 

[W.Y.]

Thanks a ton William!!!

StatProf

You are quite welcome and glad you liked the process.
Your finish looks great apart from the fact that the blanks are below the bushings. I had never heard of sanding below the bushings like that and filling up with CA. You must have been using a LOT of CA . Was it not sticking to your bushings when doing that or were you putting them between smaller centers and using a micrometer to bring back to the correct diameter ? Even then a lot would have to go out over the edges.
Perhaps you were using a method I have not yet heard of.

 

[StatProf]

I would do them on the bushings and then just part them off.

StatProf

 

[Mather323]

Great looking pens.

 

[bitshird]

Nice finish, I tried Williams finish and like it.

 

[splinter99]

After reading your post, I too tried the finish on some shell casing/wood pens and it works well. Thanks for sharing