CA finish and bushings

[Aurorafishingdoc]

Newbie here, but I've done about 10 CA finishes so far. I haven't yet tried the BLO step, but I will. Instead, I've used a spray accelerator.

My question, when removing the bushings from the completed blank (with the CA finish applied) it is necessary to "break" the bushings off of the blanks. At times this has chipped the finish and leaves a visible defect on the pen.

Is there a way to avoid that? Am I doing something else wrong as well?

Thanks in advance.

[wood-of-1kind]

"Wax" the bushings. You can also use "delrin" bushings when applying your CA finish. Will not mark the ends of your pens.

Welcome to the addiction.

[MDEdwards]

Try using a utility knife as a parting tool before taking it off the lathe. You will like the way BLO lubricates and smooths as you add coats.

[JimB]

You can also do your finish without bushings. You will need a dead center in the headstock and a live center in the tailstock.

[leehljp]

Originally Posted by Aurorafishingdoc

At times this has chipped the finish and leaves a visible defect on the pen.

Is there a way to avoid that? Am I doing something else wrong as well?

Thanks in advance.

This was the problem that drove me to the Between Centers (Mandrel-less). When you do this, you do NOT use bushings for finishing . . . which will eliminate the problem. I tried scoring with the fine point of a skew but I still had problems on occasion, particularly on oily blanks such as ebonies.

BLO will not help and has the potential of causing more of the problem. Waxing the bushings will keep the CA from sticking so hard to the bushings, but if there is a layer built up, the snapping will still cause chips, which you do not want. Again, the best way around this is Between Centers turning.

Between Center's turning - It is not nearly as difficult as not-yet-a-user can imagine, it is much more simple than using a mandrel and eliminate several problems caused by mandrels and bushings.

[Harris]

So when you turn between the centers, do you turn the full piece, sand / finish, cut into 2 pieces, drill, insert the tubes, mill the ends, then assemble?

Harris

[JimMc7]

As an alternative to the between centers finishing noted above, I use the cone center bushings (available from John @ penturnersproducts - member johnnycnc -- or you could make your own if you have a nylon or Delrin rod large enough) on a mandrel.

I'm sloppy with my CA finish and need a method to mill the CA off the ends of the blanks. I use a Jacob's chuck with small disc sanding mandrel in the headstock and a collet chuck with a mandrel shaft/milling sleeve in the tailstock. Other less expensive ways to do this - using what I already had. You could also use sandpaper on a block and twist the blank to sand off the CA if you have a steady hand (I don't!).

Eliminator cone bushings:
http://penturnersproducts.com/index....roducts_id=136


Milling setup to remove CA from blank ends (tube only shown):

[JimMc7]

Originally Posted by Harris

So when you turn between the centers, do you turn the full piece, sand / finish, cut into 2 pieces, drill, insert the tubes, mill the ends, then assemble?

Harris

No -- cut blank in 2 pieces and turn/finish each piece separately. I mark inside of each tube at the center band end with a sharpie to maintain any grain/acrylic swirl pattern orientation.

[leehljp]

Originally Posted by Harris

So when you turn between the centers, do you turn the full piece, sand / finish, cut into 2 pieces, drill, insert the tubes, mill the ends, then assemble?

Harris

No, you turn each section at a time. A few people don't like this and continue with a mandrel for this reason. You cut, the blank, drill, glue tube, just like normal. Only you turn each section separately. Mandrel and mandrel problems of OOR and not round blanks are eliminated.

Mandrels may sound simple but in fact have far more steps and possibilities of problems plus more time consuming for mounting and taking apart than TBC.

For TBC, Look at the simplicity in the 5th post in the link below and click on the picture in that post for a larger view.
http://www.penturners.org/forum/show...118#post932118

What that does not show, nor is it explained - is that it is easy to remove the bushings for finishing, or change blanks in 2 to 3 seconds without a problem. To remove a blank and check it for what ever reason on a mandrel - too much removing and replacing of spacers and bushings along with dropped spacers etc. At least a minute. That is not much, but when you get to really checking that special created pen that will be worth $$$ when finished, most people at this level will spend minuteS removing and replacing, while on the TBC it is almost instant.

[PaulSF]

When you turn between centers, during the turning phase do you still use bushings to get to the proper circumferences, or do you use calipers?