Jay Sweeney
Member
I have notices that, on some of my projects, the wood near the tip of the pen, or sometimes the center bushings of clip end, see to get a slight ring/area of discoloration. It is lighter in color and increases as I progressively sand through higher grits, starting at 400 grit or so. I have countered this by using a tiny bit of mineral oil, but the color of the wood still has a slight difference once I apply my finish. I have tried putting masking tape over the bushings, thinking that metal shavings might be a cause, but it doesn't really help that much. My wife speculates that it might as a result of be hitting cross grain, but I find the same thing when the tips are relatively flat. I read about wood singing by using barrel trimmers at high speed, but I still get the rings sometime when trimming at 500 rpm. I do note that some wood species are more susceptible to it than others - the pen I am turning today with the discoloration is plum wood (btw, a beautiful each color). Any ideas/suggestions?