CA finish tube end cleanup ?'s

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bedangerous

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Nov 21, 2013
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Fayetteville, NY
Well I am on my 7th pen now and I am completely addicted. I know there is a big difference from pen making and craftmanship of a pen. I have done a few CA finishes and was wondering how people clean up the ends of the tubes after the CA finish has dried. My ends are irregular and I have tried sandpaper and lightly using a barrel trimmer by hand. Once the wood chipped off and another the finish chipped off.

What is the best most reliable method of making the ends look great?

Thanks,
Mitch
 
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Edward Cypher

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Feb 8, 2011
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Denver, Colorado
To stick it on use PSA sandpaper (pressure sensitive adhesive). If you do not want to buy PSA and use regular sandpaper there is removable adhesive spray that works good can be purchased at the big box stores HD, Lowes and most ace's and almost all the art shops carry it.
 

plano_harry

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Jan 12, 2012
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Plano, TX 75093
I use the 2" dia hook/loop pad from HF. The shaft fits my 7mm collet, so it is easy to pop it into the headstock for a quick touch-up.
 

longbeard

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Jan 26, 2012
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West Virginia
Mitch
Here's a my cheap way of sanding the ends of my blanks,
i attached a scrap piece of wood to my faceplate ( how much do we use a faceplate turning pens ) i attach square pieces of sticky back sand paper to the center of that piece of wood, then in the tail stock, i insert a drill chuck with the proper size transfer punch that will fit the tube, i run the lathe on slow speed. I will attach some pics in just a few minutes from my phone.

IMG_20131217_112924.jpg

IMG_20131217_113004.jpg

IMG_20131217_113036.jpg

http://www.harborfreight.com/28-piece-transfer-punch-set-3577.html


Harry
 
Last edited:

eranox

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Sep 12, 2012
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Location
Killeen, TX
+1 for Rick Herrel's sanding mill. I'm sure the other methods work well too, but I like the convenience of not having to reconfigure my lathe to get it done.

If you aren't doing so yet, I recommend applying a coat of thin CA to the ends of the blanks before you turn them. It can help avoid end chip-out, and some woods like cocobolo darken when exposed to oxygen. I have several early cocobolo pens that now appear burnt near the ends of the barrels.
 

Bean_Counter

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Feb 27, 2013
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Lubbock, TX
I'm one of those idiots Ed Street pointed out that goes overkill in such a simple task. Longbeard showed me how to do it his way and I've never looked back.
 
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