A few newb questions about finishing (CA/BLO and MM)

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Wolfeman46

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I've had a lot of luck with the CA/BLO finish, but I may start looking into different things to just try different methods since I'm new to all this.

My first question deals with something that looks like 0000000000s down the pen after finishing. It doesn't do it on every pen, but it's been quite a few. Am I doing something wrong?


Next question is... I sometimes have something when sanding that looks like metal from the bushings on the ends of the tubes. Is there something I can put on the bushings to stop that?

And last question...what can I do for the ENDS of the pens after I finish them? I keep reading about putting CA on them. How would I do that?


Thanks for any help!
 
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bloodhound

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well im not anywhere need the expert you will get on here. but here is my noob advice.

im not sure i understand the first question involving the "00000000s" Do you mean swirls in the finish? If so. keep sanding or buffing they should go away.

The metal from the bushings. There are several ways to get away from that. If you are going to use bushings while sanding, I you should sand from the center out to the ends. So as to not drag the metal into the blank. A lot of people will turn a tad undersized to make room for the CA build up. So you can use the nylon/dirlon bushings for final sanding. Just dont get too carried away.

And the CA on the ends. If you read the post above yours they get into that.

Anyway. I am sure someone with more knowledge will pipe in here.
 

magpens

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My approach to your last question would be ....

.... treat the ends *before* you finish the barrel. I would treat the ends with CA in this way: put a drop of thin CA on a piece of waxed paper or the thin poly bag that the kit comes in; let the drop spread out to about the diameter of the end of the barrel; hold the barrel vertical and lower it so the end touches the puddle of CA; you can move the barrel end around in the small puddle of CA to get the end completely coated but you don't want the CA to "roll" up onto the side of the barrel; raise the barrel up off the CA puddle but continue to hold it vertical - don't turn it over; continue holding the barrel vertical until the CA on the end cures - a light shot of accelerator aerosol will greatly speed this up; repeat the process for the other end of the barrel.

Now, lightly sand the barrel ends by holding the barrel vertical on a sheet of 320 grit wet and dry sandpaper; move the barrel end around in a circular pattern about 10 - 15 times; inspect the end; you should repeat this until the end of the barrel is close to being flat. Yes, you are removing most of the CA, but some will have been absorbed into the end-grain of the wood. Use your judgement as to what looks right ... this is an art, not a science.

As for your other 2 questions:- I don't understand the first one, just like bloodhound; the second question is a matter of finding a way to not pick up metal dust and carry it onto the blank. I machine my bushings (I have a metal-working lathe) down in diameter by about 0.025" for about 0.200" from the narrowest portion. With this alteration to the bushings and with careful sanding, the sandpaper doesn't even touch the metal. I hestitate to suggest this procedure because you will come back at me and say that you have just lost your reference point for turning the blank down to the bushings. Yes you have, but I have learned to work around this and still get the results I want. Another method to get around the problem is to do away with the bushings after you have turned the blank to size, and then do the sanding with the blank held between centers (ie. between a dead center held in your lathe chuck and a live center held in your tailstock). Yet another method is, at the sanding stage, replace your metal bushings with plastic-like bushings ... usually made from Delrin.

Hope this helps in some way. Life doesn't usually have simple solutions !
 

Wolfeman46

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Thanks for the responses! I'll try the technique you recommended about using the poly bags and putting CA on them. That makes a lot of sense!

Here is a link to a picture. I'm mobile so I had to use imgur so I hope that's okay. If not I can upload it later. Here's the link: Imgur

My description wasn't the best, but you can see it between the lines on both pens. They were cut from the same piece of bubinga.
 

magpens

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Picture not too clear .... can't see 000000000000000's.
My first reaction is that you may need more sanding in the direction of the grain ........... ie. longitudinally.
My second reaction is that what I see in the picture is just a feature of the wood.
 

Wolfeman46

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Picture not too clear .... can't see 000000000000000's.
My first reaction is that you may need more sanding in the direction of the grain ........... ie. longitudinally.
My second reaction is that what I see in the picture is just a feature of the wood.

See, I was thinking your second reaction also. It doesn't do it on all of the pens, but just a few (and especially bubinga for me). I do the longitudinal sands after each grit so I may just try a bit more and see what happens.

Thanks for the response!
 

bloodhound

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Yes. If we are looking at the same thing. That is just the grain. You dont want to fix that. haha. But a few woods have that. Maple being one i can think of right off hand. But all in all. Its a fine pen. Keep it up and keep reading around in this site. I learn something every time i log on.
 
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