Wooden pens - sanding to the bushings edge

[ThinkBlot]

For those of you who use CA finishes on wooden blanks, what is your method for sanding the blank slightly recessed to the bushing? I turned a pen today (pictures to come later) that I wanted a CA finish on, and had a difficult time getting the diameter of the blank slightly smaller than the bushings while retaining an constant diameter. I tried using the edge of some sandpaper, tried micromesh sheets, tried either folded in half, and tried either wrapped around a piece of square stock... no matter what method I try, I have a difficult time getting all the way into the shoulder at the edge of the blank and the bushing. The blank continually wants to flare out toward the bushing edge here. Today I ended up taking the blanks back off, and sanding the flare down by hand, then remounting to clean it up and apply the CA finish. Surely there is an easier way?! How do you folks do it?

 

[plano_harry]

Why not sand or turn your bushings down as well? The purpose of the bushings is to guide the diameter you want. I measure the parts and don't worry about the bushings. They may not be the size I need.

 

[fisher]

How many coats of ca do you use ?1 coat or 2 won't effect the diameter.Now 10 coat's will thicken the OD a bit but not much ,Do you use a mic to check diameter with?

 

[ThinkBlot]

Why not sand or turn your bushings down as well? The purpose of the bushings is to guide the diameter you want. I measure the parts and don't worry about the bushings. They may not be the size I need.

Harry, to me it makes more sense to keep the bushings the final size, because that IS the size I want. The ease of being able to simply sand my finish to the FINAL diameter seems more important to me, because that's the more critical size in terms of the final product and how the pieces align. In my mind, if I size them down so I can more easily undersize the blank a little bit, that leaves more room for error and slop when building up the coats of finish, the final sanding, and having any exposed edges once the pen is assembled. Does that make sense? Or am I thinking about this wrong?

How many coats of ca do you use ?1 coat or 2 won't effect the diameter.Now 10 coat's will thicken the OD a bit but not much ,Do you use a mic to check diameter with?

Paleo, today was my first CA finish. There were 2 or 3 times that I had to sand a little off the coat from an errant drip or bump... but when all is said and done, I probably have 7-8 coats on. This may be a little more than I would use in the future, but I may have undersize my blank a touch bit more than necessary (again... this was sort of a trial and error run). I was not periodically checking the diameter with a calipers, as I was sizing off the full sized bushings. For my next one, I am going to keep the blank a bit larger than today, but still plan on turning it down to 1/64 or so below the bushing so I can get a few coats of CA for a resilient finish on it. Still trying to figure out the best way to get a clean shoulder at that junction though.

Thanks guys!

 

[1080Wayne]

Your problem is one reason why some of us turn between centers and use a caliper to establish the correct size , rather than with bushings on a mandrel . I would suggest you not go more than 10 thou under on the diameter , before building up with CA . I target on 5 thou .

 

[DaddyO]

I find the bushings are rarely the correct size anyways.

 

[navycop]

I was thinking along the lines as 1080wayne. Turn between centers and there is nothing to get in the way of the ends of the blank. Keep checking dia with calibers.

 

[mikebpeters]

I run a combination. I turn between bushings, but then mount up each blank between centres for a final touch of sanding and the application of CA. It has worked remarkably well for me.

 

[ThinkBlot]

Thanks for the additional comments and suggestions everyone.

I have been "turning between centers" (or at least my understanding of TBC), as I was using the bushings to mount the blank, and driving the bushings with a dead center in the headstock, and a live center in the tailstock (no mandrel). Am to understand you guys correctly in that I can mount up the blank without any bushings?

Perhaps I might try this just to take the slight curve off the wood at the ends, and then remount it on the bushings for the CA finish. I imagine that there's probably a very high potential to flare the brass tube if mounting it on the lathe without any bushings.

 

[CrimsonKeel]

I turn to bushing then take them off and put a set of cone bushings on and sand the last little bit. this allows me to sand the actual edge part without the bushing to push back against.

 

[1080Wayne]

Thanks for the additional comments and suggestions everyone.

I have been "turning between centers" (or at least my understanding of TBC), as I was using the bushings to mount the blank, and driving the bushings with a dead center in the headstock, and a live center in the tailstock (no mandrel). Am to understand you guys correctly in that I can mount up the blank without any bushings?

Perhaps I might try this just to take the slight curve off the wood at the ends, and then remount it on the bushings for the CA finish. I imagine that there's probably a very high potential to flare the brass tube if mounting it on the lathe without any bushings.

Yes , you can mount up the blank and turn it without any bushings . The flaring should be minimal . Only tighten the tailstock in enough to allow the drive center to turn the blank without squealing when you are applying the tool to the blank .

 

[Bill in Buena Park]

I turn to bushing then take them off and put a set of cone bushings on and sand the last little bit. this allows me to sand the actual edge part without the bushing to push back against.

I do this also and works well for me. Also if you want to try TBC and don't have a dead center yet you can use the cones on your mandrel but be careful not to cut them.

 

[panamag8or]

Also, if you're sanding a wood pen with metal bushings, you run the (almost certain) risk of getting metal sanding dust all over the blank, and that doesn't come out.

 

[ThinkBlot]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone!

I made 2 more pens yesterday; one of them with a CA finish. Based on the responses from yesterday, I tried removing the bushings to sand slightly under final diameter (measuring with calipers), then remounted on the bushings to apply the CA finish. Based on the responses I am seeing to the thread today, in conjunction withe the results of that pen... I am really glad I did. The method worked great, and the pen came out BEAUTIFULLY!

Thanks again for the help!