Question about Padauk

[Warren White]

I have turned several pens with Padauk, but have had problems with the last two. They were both slimline (almost all of my pens are slimline), and both have experienced a small chip tear out (1/32" square) on one end when I separated the bushing from the blank. Both are from the same 'batch' of paddock purchased at a hardwood dealer.

My finish is always CA, and I am very careful about cleaning the bushing/blank margin with a jeweler's screwdriver, using the tool rest as a guide. I do that before I start the Micro Mesh wet sanding process. I have never had this problem except on the last two padauk pens.

I have been able to keep this from ruining my day by following the advice of Barry Gross who says "You know why we put clips on pens, don't you? It is to hide issues like this."

My thought is that padauk is less dense than the other woods I work with (like Walnut, quilted maple, sapele) and hence more susceptible to not liking any tension on such a thin end.

I welcome your thoughts!

 

[GaryMGg]

Padauk is very open grained so it's possible the CA wicked down the edge between the bushing and the end of the blank.
You might try to seal the end of the blank with CA after squaring it and then wax between the blank and bushing.

 

[KenV]

Warren -- I moved to a process of sealing the ends of the blanks with thin CA before turning. I have used a pen mill to touch end ends, but prefer to use a sanding mill to do that. I also wax my bushings from time to time when using them for finishing.

The CA end treatment keeps any moisture out when I find I need to wet (actually damp) sand.

I more commonly use deadcenter - live center to do the finish work rather than bushings. I then clean the end with the sanding mill to make sure I have a nice clean neat end to mate to the fittings.

Padauk tends to need some care as the dust colors most everything it touches. Sounds like you may have that challenge under management,

 

[plantman]

Warren: After I apply my CA finish a use a knife file to clear away any CA down to the bushing. Use the straight side of the file against the blank to keep it from rounding over. This seems to work for me. Jim S

 

[Warren White]

Gary, Ken and Jim

Thank you for the suggestions. I have in the past tried to seal the ends with thin CA, but ended up with a mess that was difficult to clean up. I would appreciate any suggestions on procedure you might give. I wonder if putting wax on the bushing might contaminate the blank so the CA wouldn't adhere. Your thoughts here would also be appreciated.

I am going to keep trying, as I really like the look of the Padauk. Just need to fix my procedures....

 

[BJohn]

What I have started to use when finishing with CA is the plastic universal bushing that Ca will not adhere to.

I have never had the problem you are having but it does keep my bushing clean of the Ca.

I have had the Ca wick down and get in between the bushing and tube. YUCK

 

[jttheclockman]

As far as sealing the ends of the blank, just put a dab on a towel and lightly wipe across the end. You can do it a couple times if it soaks in too fast. Sometimes I put a dab on a piece of wax paper and just plop the blank in. Then just wipe the edges off because it will seep up the sides.

As far as finishing goes I do not like to wax any bushings because I do not need to add another problem to finishing if contamination occurs. I just use some delrin bushings turned to look like cones. You could also just use your dead and live centers and place the blank between them. The cone shape allows for any CA to not build up. But what this does is allow CA to flow on the ends and build up. Thus you need to sand the ends and once again apply the thin CA spareingly. It really is not hard but probably harder to explain. Good luck.

 

[jsolie]

What I have started to use when finishing with CA is the plastic universal bushing that Ca will not adhere to.

I have never had the problem you are having but it does keep my bushing clean of the Ca.

I have had the Ca wick down and get in between the bushing and tube. YUCK

I second this! Since switching to Delrin finishing bushings, I don't have to separate the bushing from the pen.

Or you could ditch the bushings altogether and finish with a 60 degree dead center in the headstock, a 60 degree live center in the tail stock and just enough tailstock pressure to keep the pen spinning. The goal here being to not flare out the ends and crack the pen material.

Hope this helps.

 

[Edgar]

I like the delrin bushings also. I buy 1/2" delrin rod and make my own.

I switch from metal to delrin bushings when I finish turning the blanks and do all my sanding & finishing with delrin. That way there are no problems with accidentally wearing down the bushings by sanding or getting metal filings onto the blank as well as no CA sticking issues.

If I were a high volume pen maker, I would probably use 60˚ centers for all my turning, sanding & finishing rather than a mandrel; but the extra minute or so that it takes to switch from metal to delrin bushings is no big deal to me.