Oily wood

[PenMakerWillie]

I received a box of blanks and was going to turn some of the wood. Some blanks are marked and some aren't, the particular blank I'm asking the question about isn't marked. I was drilling the blank and noticed it was very oily, it even spitted some oil out during the drilling process. What effect would this have on glueing the tubes/finishing with CA?

 

[nativewooder]

Clean out the inside of the blank with acetone before you glue the tube in place.

 

[PenMakerWillie]

Thanks native, would that work the same for the finish? Or is there a need in applying a finish with such an oily pen?

If I apply a CA finish won't it "cloud" up eventually? I really like the wood, the color contrast and grain are phenominal, but don't want to have my efforts wasted for lack of research.

 

[jedgerton]

I use a CA finish on my olive wood pens without any issue. I do wipe the wood with CA accelerator before application of CA. I believe acetone is the solvent the accelerator is in so that may be the trick.

John

 

[Jgrden]

I rub an oily pen blank down with alcohol just before applying the first coat of blo/ca. This helps even the not-so-oily blanks.

 

[PenMan1]

CA accelerator works better on oily woods such as cocobolo, olive wood, purpleheart, etc, than anything else I have used. IMHO, DNA and Acetone should be avoided because they are loaded with water.

If you don't have CA accelerator, 90% isopropyl alcohol would be the next best solution as it is only 10 percent water.

Additionally, I always omit BLO in the CA finish with oily woods. Using BLO on these woods almost guarantees ghosts in my finish.

Respectfully submitted.

 

[ldb2000]

Actually isopropyl alcohol has more water in it then DNA . The problem with any alcohol is that it is hygroscopic (it absorbs water , even from the air) which is why you use it in your gas tank (dry gas) , it absorbs the water in your tank and allows the engine to burn it .
CA accelerator is the best thing to use but it is expensive . CA accelerator is made of Acetone and other chemicals . Acetone works as both an accelerator or a solvent depending on how it's used . From a cost point of view , Acetone is the best chemical to use to clean oily woods before doing a CA finish , but be sure to let it evaporate fully before applying your CA finish .

 

[Jgrden]

Nope, nope, nope, alcohol for me. Drink the Daniels and apply the Isopropyl. Everything else is too expensive.

 

[ctubbs]

Nope, nope, nope, alcohol for me. Drink the Daniels and apply the Isopropyl. Everything else is too expensive.

Don't get your hands crossed and wipe with Jack:wink::biggrin:
Charles

 

[PenMan1]

Nope, nope, nope, alcohol for me. Drink the Daniels and apply the Isopropyl. Everything else is too expensive.

I prefer the Isopropyl to DNA or Acetone, too. But the Beam "turning fluid" works better in my shop