Edges of the finish

[rickmaria]

Some of my edges of my pen blanks will not take a shine for nothing. What can I do, or what am I doing wrong??? Thank you, Maria

 

[mrcook4570]

My first guess would be that you are not getting the edges as smooth as the rest of the barrel. What finish are you using? Do you have any pics to illustrate your problem?

 

[JimB]

I had the same problem when I first started. I believe it was caused by 3 things. First, I wasn't doing a very good job of sanding/MM near the ends becuase I was trying to not sand the bushings. Second, I was not doing a good job putting the finish on near the pens becuase I was trying to avoid coating the bushings. Third, once my fish was on the pens I was not doing a good job sanding/polishing near the ends. Yep trying to avoid those bushings again.

I now sand and finish between centers without any bushings. The problem went away instantly. BTW I had the problem with both Friction Polish and CA finishes.

 

[gketell]

Other possibility is that your fingertip is rolling "over the edge" as you sand so you are sanding the finish back off again. That is one of the reasons I use a backer board when I do my initial sanding so that the sandpaper is kept flat and can't hit any one area more than others. It also helps to make sure you only sand the high spots and not the valleys between the highs when I'm trying to level the surface.
GK

 

[hilltopper46]

Third, once my fish was on the pens I was not doing a good job sanding/polishing near the ends.

I agree - when I get fish on my pens they won't shine either:wink:

:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

 

[leehljp]

I too solved problems with bushings and finish by going the mandrel-less / turning between centers route. Use the bushings for turning, but take the bushings off for sanding/finishing.

One other thing that is often overlooked is that beginners will often look at videos of experienced people and say "I can do that" - but it doesn't work that way. The experienced people that make videos know exactly how much pressure to apply in sanding, how much CA or other finish is going on or staying on. The new person sees the video and interprets the applications very subjectively.

It comes down to "how much" CA or other finish is being applied and how much is remaining on the pen after sanding. How much sanding is actually being done? How much finish is being sanded off? These are questions that only you can answer and you will know by looking and observing.

Take time to "play" with a pen and sanding/finishing/sanding/shinning. Apply a couple of coats of finish and sand lightly until you sand through the finish in spots. From this, learn from the "finish thickness" that you applied and the sanding pressure used that sanded through to the wood. Shiny = finish still on. Dull spots = sanded through or - not enough finish applied.

 

[george]

I had a similar problem. It think it was caused by bad mandrell stick (not 100% straight), because when I changed it, this problem was gone. But to avoid this kind of problem, finishing between centers is the best idea.