Hello from Florida

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leehljp

Member Liaison
Joined
Feb 6, 2005
Messages
9,314
Location
Tunica, Mississippi,
Welcome Edd, to IAP.

Shortcuts? Here are a few suggestions, but for every suggestion there are dozens of other ways too!

1. Shortcut on Finish: Use CA (CyanoAcrylate-aka SuperGlue). It takes 20 minutes to turn a pen and some want similar finish time. If that is the case, CA is the one.
OR
Waxes and polishes (mostly wax) wears off and does to protect the pen in the long run unless it is cleaned regularly (daily)

2. Other finishes take roughly 24 hours to cure. Some use polyurethane (oil or water based) or lacquer based finishes. Even though quick to set, they still take about 24 hours or more to cure for handling.

3. I noticed that you have been turning for a while. Old timer bowl turners who turn to pen turning have often been surprised at the turning speed that pen turners use. Smaller diameters of pens require higher RPM. You probably already know that.

4. For me and some others, Turning Between Centers (TBC) is generally quicker than mandrels for turning and inspecting and turning again. And in general more accurate and less run out.

5. Use Calipers for measuring diameters to match nib ends, center bands and clip ends. Much more accurate, and the fact that bushings shrink with each touch of the skew/scraper or sandpaper. They lose probably .01 inch in size over 15 to 20 pens.

6. Bob (BSea above) gave a link to the Library. Great information there.
 
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