Flawed blanks- scrap, save, or redo?

[BigguyZ]

So, I'm trying to build up my "stock" of sale-worthy pens, and I'm running into one issue or another an about half my pens. Don't know why, as I use the same methods for each. Most of these issues concern the finish. I have 8 pens currently assembled that I'm not happy with.

Three are acrylics- two of which I forgot to paint the blanks and I don't like the brass showing through. One of them, the end chipped badly.

For the wood pens, the CA finish has cracked. Two of those are Ambonia burl, and I'm not sure why they cracked at all. Another two have ebony- either as the entire pen, or as a glue-up. I really liked the ebony, either alone or as an accent, but I think I'm done with it. I haven't had a single ebony pen that I have around that hasn't cracked (three others were sold/ given, and I haven't been in contact with the buyers, so I have no idea how they're holding up). Side note: I don't think I've seen any pure black acrylics- or am i just blind? What's the cheapest material that's all black, that would work well in a pen?



So now I'm wondering- do I spend time to disassemble each pen (hoping not to damage the kit), and then either try to redo the finish (for wood pens) or get a spare set of tubes and start over. OR, do I just write it off as a waste and use the pens for spare parts?

It seems like whenever I try to refinish a wood blank, I either hit brass, or I have to build up such a think finish to get back to final diameter that the finish continuously has issues- which is a viscious circle....

Thanks!

 

[THarvey]

If you want an all black material, talk to Dawn and Ed at Exotic Blanks.

I bought a block of black PR from them. Made three beautiful pens.

 

[Crashmph]

Hey Bigguy,

You should check Woodcraft...

Solid Black Acrylic Pen Blank #148570
(be careful with this one. It tends to be a touch on the brittle side)

As for the chipped out acrylic... disassemble it and fill with CA and re-finish. If you do not like the other wood pens... disassemble it and fill with CA and re-finish.

Just my $.02 worth on the subject.

Michael

 

[John Eberly]

Refinishing

I find that finish flaws do show up over time. You can take pens apart and refinish them - I do it fairly often and it's becoming easier for me.

I have a majestic in ebony right now that's in need of refinishing for the cap. I'll knock it apart with my trusty Harbor Freight transfer punch set and sand/refinish the wood and reassemble. Probably take about 15 minutes (until I jinxed myself right there).

Woodcraft does carry a black acrylic blank, and it is kind of brittle. Polishes up real nice though if you don't blow it apart.

 

[fernhills]

I took many of of my pens completely apart and have redone them. I either refinish them or turn the complete blank off of tubes and replaced it with another blank. If they are just sitting in stock why not just freshen them up with the latest material and style. Carl

 

[randyrls]

Three are acrylics- two of which I forgot to paint the blanks and I don't like the brass showing through. One of them, the end chipped badly

I always paint the inside of the drilled hole on ALL acrylics!

For the wood pens, the CA finish has cracked. Two of those are Ambonia burl, and I'm not sure why they cracked at all.

For any cracks in woods, fill the cracks with sanding dust and thin CA. Burls often have weak spots or voids inside the wood. Fill the entire void with CA.

Another two have ebony- either as the entire pen, or as a glue-up.

Ebony is prone to cracking. I often leave the pen disassembled for a few weeks to see if the ebony will crack. If it does crack, I fill the crack with CA and sand dust into the crack.

 

[BigguyZ]

I always paint the inside of the drilled hole on ALL acrylics!



For any cracks in woods, fill the cracks with sanding dust and thin CA. Burls often have weak spots or voids inside the wood. Fill the entire void with CA.


Ebony is prone to cracking. I often leave the pen disassembled for a few weeks to see if the ebony will crack. If it does crack, I fill the crack with CA and sand dust into the crack.

Just to clarify, I do paint my acrylics- I just forgot on these two, and didn't notice until it was too late..

Regarding the cracking- it's NOT the wood that's cracking. The wood's intact. It's the finish that's cracking. I'm wondering if a rigid film finish isn't the best option...

 

[broitblat]

Berea makes a pure black acrylic blank (I think it's AA-25). You can get it from Berea, Beartoothwoods, or Arizona Silhouette.

You can also get African Blackwood in pure black and it's less prone to crack than Ebony.

On the higher end, this is also Ebonite. It's fairly easy to work with, and a classic pen making material, but we're talking significantly more expensive.

-Barry

 

[BigguyZ]

Wow, I think I threw my own thread OT right away...

The main question is more about how each of you handle errors/ issues with thier pens. Do you prefer to try to save the entire thing (blank and kit), scrap the blank and save the kit, or just scrapt he whole thing?

Thanks!

 

[JimMc7]

Since I've made a bunch of mistakes, here's what I do:

Sierra: if I chip the end on a twist pen blank, I mill it down to make a short Sierra button click or pencil (even shorter) if it's a blank worth saving.

Jr Gent/Statesman: I always turn and finish the cap 1st -- if I have any problems, I re-drill the pen portion to make a Sierra short button click pen or pencil.

In general: if I have catch or large crack that can't be fixed, I use it for practice:

I learned to use a skew on an angle cut bloodwood blank I chunked with the gouge I used before. I decided to trim it off to save the tube and said, what the hey, I can surely knock the wood off no problem with a giant catch using a skew. I head read here on IAP to use the skew as a scraper -- tried that, the rest of the blank turned very well and I've used the skew from that point on. Also saved $$s in 80 & 120 g sandpaper that I had to use when I turned with a gouge.

I'm still tring to be at least competent in CA finishing so I experiment with yet another CA app technique when I blow up a wood blank now.

I'm also trying to master the Woodchuck to rough blanks so use that for practice, too.

If I do something stupid rather than just an everyday mistake -- I keep the blank in the box with the kits as a reminder not to do the stupid thing next time.

 

[HSTurning]

I personally don't take my pens apart if they get damaged/chipped. I will try and fill the chip but I would never sell the pen as a #1. Sell it cheap as a second, keep it laying around and us it myself or give it to someone who just needs a pen and dont care much about it (roach coach driver).
I make low end pens for the most part. If it is a 7mm/slimline just get a few keychain kits and refinish the barrels you have and make them into keychain and you will have new tubes to make a pen from.
I have a jr. gent poker pen I made that the fit is bad and I may take this one apart and try and clean it up when I get a chance. I also have to replace a threaded part that I damaged. I made the pen as a display to get orders so I have not shown the pen much.

 

[Texatdurango]

So, I'm trying to build up my "stock" of sale-worthy pens......!

This has absolutely nothing to do with answering your questions but as I read your post, I got an impression and I have a comment about it.

I got the feeling that you are RUSHING through just about every step you take in the shop in the hopes of making as many pens as you possibly can in a given time. I think if you slowed down to a casual pace as if you were retired just out in the shop having fun and making a pen for cousin Fred, you would stop making sloppy cuts, poor sanding jobs, rushed finishes and mis-fitting parts when pressing together, cocking and cracking parts.

Would you rather show up at a show with 20 NICE pens or 200 thrown together "stock" pens? It's all about quality isn't it?

I know I do much better work when the right music is on and I don't have a care in the world!

 

[BigguyZ]

This has absolutely nothing to do with answering your questions but as I read your post, I got an impression and I have a comment about it.

I got the feeling that you are RUSHING through just about every step you take in the shop in the hopes of making as many pens as you possibly can in a given time. I think if you slowed down to a casual pace as if you were retired just out in the shop having fun and making a pen for cousin Fred, you would stop making sloppy cuts, poor sanding jobs, rushed finishes and mis-fitting parts when pressing together, cocking and cracking parts.

Would you rather show up at a show with 20 NICE pens or 200 thrown together "stock" pens? It's all about quality isn't it?

I know I do much better work when the right music is on and I don't have a care in the world!

I would agree that I am eager to build up a decent number of pens to sell, perhaps doing my first show this spring. However, the reason why I'm asking this is because there are some slight issues on some pens (ok, more than slight on others), and I'm wondering if it's a more advantageous use of my time moving on from a blank than trying to save it. For instance, I have an ebony pen with a nice coke can accent that I made. The CA cracked well after I applied the finish. (not the blank). Then I sanded it down, built up another CA finish (of course, it had to be a thicker layer this time), and it's bad AGAIN. So, I guess I get frustrated working on the same individual pen, trying to save it, than working on something new...

Trust me- I take my time when turning, sanding, everything. I am an impatient SOB, but I enjoy the process. I hadn't turned a pen for about a year due to a project, but I'm back and I'm excited to try a bunch of new things. But first, I'm trying to go through the wood I have, and master making a perfect "plain" pen. Then I'll try kitless, and then closed ends, and then segmented pens.

I got on a rant, but to summarize, I'm not really rushing through things and doing sloppy work. On two of the acrylics, I did miss a step, and it'll be a learning experience/ reminder (don't forget to paint the blanks!). But in theory, should I just give that away , or should I try to take it apart and make a new one?

Thanks!

 

[Texatdurango]

....I got on a rant, but to summarize, I'm not really rushing through things and doing sloppy work. On two of the acrylics, I did miss a step, and it'll be a learning experience/ reminder (don't forget to paint the blanks!). But in theory, should I just give that away , or should I try to take it apart and make a new one?

Thanks!

Sorry, looks like I mis-read your post. As far as keep trying over and over on a pen as your ca finish above, I will rework a pen once, maybe twice if it's something I have a lot of time in but after that it's in the scrap box (I have a large scrap box! :biggrin

 

[BigguyZ]

Sorry, looks like I mis-read your post. As far as keep trying over and over on a pen as your ca finish above, I will rework a pen once, maybe twice if it's something I have a lot of time in but after that it's in the scrap box (I have a large scrap box! :biggrin

No problem. Sorry if I sounded defensive.

Good to know I'm not a hack if I give up on a blank. I mean, if vets like you do it, I can't feel TOO bad (though I'm sure my rate of "spoilage" is far more than yours! )

 

[ldb2000]

Some pens are just not meant to be , reworking them usually just makes things worse so I don't try unless the problems are minor .
Wood that cracks once will probably crack again somewhere down the road so I scrap them .
The Acrylics might be saved depending how you glued them up . If you used CA or Epoxy just take a soldering iron and heat the tubes a little , not too much though . The heat will soften the glue enough that you can push the tubes out and do your repair , paint the tubes or the inside of the blank . You should run a drill through the hole first to clean out the glue and resize the hole to the proper size first .

 

[Texatdurango]

No problem. Sorry if I sounded defensive.

Good to know I'm not a hack if I give up on a blank. I mean, if vets like you do it, I can't feel TOO bad (though I'm sure my rate of "spoilage" is far more than yours! )

And of course I haven't contributed to my scrap box in ages..........! :biggrin:

 

[BigguyZ]

And of course I haven't contributed to my scrap box in ages..........! :biggrin:

Oh! Well rub it in, why don't you?

 

[keithlong]

I make a lot of slimline pens, and i have used some blackwood, have tubes ready to turn now with blackwood. They are a good seller for me. After i am finished with sanding, i wash the blanks off with mineral spirits and then dry, then i put a coat of BLO on first, then i put one drop of BLO and 3 drops of medium CA on top of the BLO, put on 6 coats, then one coat of polish and i am done. The only problem i have with a blank splitting off the tube was a purple heart blank. After that, i just turn them one at a time on the mandrel.