When I finish wood pens, I have been using the "SuperGlue" finish. Coat the wood with a few coats of super glue, polish when dry, you have a beautiful hard finish that will last forever. HOWEVER, on the Burls I always seem to have a problem about 1/3 of the time of breaking the wood when separating the bushings. I was successful finishing the body by removing the barrels and applying polish between centers. But...I was thinking of an alternative finish. Maybe even just sanding the wood to the finest grain I can and leaving it natural. Any opinions on other finishes that would look good, not dull over time, and not rub off eventually?
Opinions on finishing burls.
- Thread starter rodtod11
- Start date
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jttheclockman
Member
Are you selling your pens??? You have to ask yourself what finish you want or what your buyers want. Finishing burls with CA is no different than finishing any other wood. You say you are breaking the wood. Maybe your blanks need to be stabalized before turning. Some people use some sort of juice for stabalizing but you can do the same with CA. Coat both the inside of the blank when drilled and use light coats outside as you turn. As far as other finishes I will leave that to others because I use nothing but CA for wood pens. Gives a more stable finish in my opinion. And a nice shine makes the wood stand out.
jsolie
Member
Have you tried using those HDPE "finishing" bushings? I use them with CA finishes and have had really good luck with them. Sometimes there's a bit of a buildup on ends of the blanks to where there would be issues seating the pen components. Since I trim using a sanding jig on my lathe, dealing with this is super easy. I've been experimenting with the flexible CA that ClassicNib has lately, and have been liking the results.
Marmotjr
Member
I'm a new turner, but I had similar issues with my CA finishes adhering to the metal bushings. Caused the finish to crack when taking it off, not even an Exacto worked right, and I quickly noticed my bushing were no longer the right size, they had grown.
As mentioned, I got an HDPE rod from amazon, 3/4" x 24" I believe. I cut off 3/4" segments, center drilled them to 1/4" to accept the mandrel. I then turned them into a tapered bushing by leaving one side large, and tapering the "spindle" down to flush with the mandrel. Next time, I'm going to mount them on a 1/4" wooden dowel rod to turn them, as I left gouges in my pen mandrel.
When you have the blanks turned and sanded to the desired shape, remove the blanks and metal bushings from the mandrel, and remount the blanks using the HDPE bushings on each end of the blanks. These flush bushings will leave a noticeable ledge/gap at the end of your pen blanks, perfect for the CA to wrap around. As they are tapered, they will automatically fit into and center any size pen tube.
The CA then will slide right off the bushings (usually, sometimes I get 2 adjacent bushings stuck together through a physical, not chemical, bond, they crack apart easily enough), leaving some scrub CA finish near the tube, but not on the edge of the finished blank.
I have also started to take the blanks back to the barrel trimmers to get rid of the excess CA finish, then remount the blanks on the HDPE for the micro mesh sanding and polishing step. This allows the lower grit mesh to rub off any CA burrs left on the ends. It turns out to be a bit more work, but the finishes are much better than before, and the fit of the pens is near perfect every time, as the blanks are flush with the tube again.
Guru's, please feel free comment on that, as I'm brand new, and it's what I've found to work for me, but insight is always appreciated.
HDPE Rod: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0013HO2XK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It's about the same price as 2 sets of commercially available bushings, but you get a few dozens sets out of it. And heck, we're turners here, this type of project should be our bread and butter.
As mentioned, I got an HDPE rod from amazon, 3/4" x 24" I believe. I cut off 3/4" segments, center drilled them to 1/4" to accept the mandrel. I then turned them into a tapered bushing by leaving one side large, and tapering the "spindle" down to flush with the mandrel. Next time, I'm going to mount them on a 1/4" wooden dowel rod to turn them, as I left gouges in my pen mandrel.
When you have the blanks turned and sanded to the desired shape, remove the blanks and metal bushings from the mandrel, and remount the blanks using the HDPE bushings on each end of the blanks. These flush bushings will leave a noticeable ledge/gap at the end of your pen blanks, perfect for the CA to wrap around. As they are tapered, they will automatically fit into and center any size pen tube.
The CA then will slide right off the bushings (usually, sometimes I get 2 adjacent bushings stuck together through a physical, not chemical, bond, they crack apart easily enough), leaving some scrub CA finish near the tube, but not on the edge of the finished blank.
I have also started to take the blanks back to the barrel trimmers to get rid of the excess CA finish, then remount the blanks on the HDPE for the micro mesh sanding and polishing step. This allows the lower grit mesh to rub off any CA burrs left on the ends. It turns out to be a bit more work, but the finishes are much better than before, and the fit of the pens is near perfect every time, as the blanks are flush with the tube again.
Guru's, please feel free comment on that, as I'm brand new, and it's what I've found to work for me, but insight is always appreciated.
HDPE Rod: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0013HO2XK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It's about the same price as 2 sets of commercially available bushings, but you get a few dozens sets out of it. And heck, we're turners here, this type of project should be our bread and butter.
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That's basically what I do, Thad. I use Delrin rod to make my bushings, but HDPE is fine too.
I remove the metal bushings after turning & use the Delrin bushings for both sanding & finishing. That prevents wearing down the metal bushings by accidental sanding & also prevents any metal dust to blank contamination.
I remove the metal bushings after turning & use the Delrin bushings for both sanding & finishing. That prevents wearing down the metal bushings by accidental sanding & also prevents any metal dust to blank contamination.
My 3/4" HDPE rod is on order. I had a pen with olivewood chip when removing the bushing after CA finishing this weekend. I luckily found the piece and re-glued it without issue. HDPE finishing bushings from now on. Thanks for the great tip.
KenV
Member
When using bushings, a little wax on the mandrel and bushings avoids a lot of sticking. The elegant application uses a worn tooth brush to gently apply a finishing wax. The less elegant is to use my clumsy fingers. Key is the complete coverage of the outside. Wax on the mandrel takes care of the inside.
A Rick Herrel sanding jig with the d shaft and sleeves dresses the ends.
I have the tapered bushings too, but seldom use them.
A Rick Herrel sanding jig with the d shaft and sleeves dresses the ends.
I have the tapered bushings too, but seldom use them.
Rick_G
Member
I don't use the bushings for sanding or finishing. I turn close using the bushings then take them off and put the blank between centers. Sand that last little bit using 220 grit until I am 2 - 3 thou. oversize. I use calipers to measure set to the actual component size. I then sand using 320, 400 and 600 grit which leaves me slightly undersized and then apply my CA finish which builds the blank up to match the component size. A little wax on the centers prevents the CA from sticking and then I just lightly sand the ends back to the brass tube with a piece of 600 grit sandpaper.
fumanchu314159265
Member
Newbie question here: is there any magic to the 3/4" diameter. Would something smaller like 1/2" cause trouble?
--Rob
p.s. Working on pen #6! I think I'm in danger of thinking that I'm getting the hang of this...
1/2" will probably work ok if you can drill your 1/4" hole dead center. A 3/4" rod doesn't cost much more and gives you more margin for error.
After cutting off some of the rod to make bushings, take about a 6" piece and turn a taper on it between centers to use as a tube insertion tool.
I have many pens that have bushings over 1/2" but none over 3/4" . I can always turn them smaller but I haven't figured out how to get them bigger. ;-)
BSea
Member
Just throw your bushing into some acetone overnight.
Be sure you mark them if you're doing more than 1 set.
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Marmotjr
Member
Acetone Wash, Check. Good idea. Thanks!
As mentioned the 3/4" isn't that much more, and you can do more with it. There's plenty of rod to last you a looong time. I cut some spacers off of the rod to put on the clamp faces when I'm gluing up segmented pens with CA. Keeps the glue from sticking to the clamps.
The tube insertion tool is a great idea. I just have to wait for the one that came in my kit to wear out.
As mentioned the 3/4" isn't that much more, and you can do more with it. There's plenty of rod to last you a looong time. I cut some spacers off of the rod to put on the clamp faces when I'm gluing up segmented pens with CA. Keeps the glue from sticking to the clamps.
The tube insertion tool is a great idea. I just have to wait for the one that came in my kit to wear out.
fumanchu314159265
Member
Thanks to you both! 3/4" it is.
I like the tube insertion tool and clamp facing ideas, too. I better get a longer piece of material for all of these possibilities.
--Rob
Marmotjr
Member
The 24" one is plenty, I have 8 bushings turned, another 4 cut but not turned, a handful of spacers, and a good sized portion of unused rod leftover.
I was excited when I got home from work and my package from Amazon was waiting with my HDPE rod. Ready to turn some bushings!!! NOT!!!
The box was empty with a 3/4" hole in one corner. Amazon quickly refunded my money and I've another on order.
The box was empty with a 3/4" hole in one corner. Amazon quickly refunded my money and I've another on order.
Marmotjr
Member
Gotta love Amazon for that. They usually don't give you any grief for asking for help. I just filed a claim on dust mask filters that got lost in the mail apparently, they immediately refunded my money and I found a set for less that was also Prime eligible.
fumanchu314159265
Member
Mine is supposed to arrive on Monday...hopefully **with** the contents.
Hope yours gets straightened out soon!
--Rob