A few of my early pens.

[MrBubblehead]

I started turning pens about two months ago using someone elses lathe. Wanted to make sure I enjoyed it before buying my own lathe.

The first few were just finished with Hutts PPP, went on well but I was worried about the longevity. So I recently started trying a CA finish which I must say I enjoy but am still working out the kinks. My shop hasn't been warmer than 5 degrees and I think thats causing some haze.

One of my very first pens. A slimline with purple heart. Had a few chips and the wax built up in the coarse grain not my favorite but not bad

One of my favorite pieces of wood. Gold Slimline made with a piece of plum. Has a bit of everything, colour, curl, and a little flame. A gift for my grandmother.

Current favorite pen. Chrome Slimline made with zebrano.

Girlfriends new pen. Copper Slimline made with ebony, CA finish with some hazing. Also the pen I'm currently working on Lacewood but I sanded through the CA finish so it's drying again.

Thanks for looking. Thoughts and advise welcome.


Cheers, Alex.

 

[bobjackson]

Great job Alex.

 

[Special Ed]

I hope that 5 degrees C and not 5 degrees F.
I have found CA is a labor of love with a huge learning curve. I've watched the vids and talked with lots of people, but it comes down to simply, "what works best for you". I've changed my process several times now and am currently applying three lights coats of medium before starting any sanding allowing it to dry without accelerator. I follow this with 2-10 additional coats depending on my OCD at the moment. I always start with 600 wet then run thru all the mm wet as well. I'm not sayin I'm right, but it seems to work for me. Keep working at it until you find something that works for you. BTW, I almost gave up on CA until it just clicked for me. You'll know it when it happens. Anything you're happy with is progress. Enjoy the addiction!

 

[Dehn0045]

I have heard that the oils in ebony wood can cause problems with finishing. I personally have not worked with it. Two of my biggest improvements in my CA finishing process were: cleaning with denatured alcohol prior to applying CA and using non-stick bushings while finishing. I think the alcohol cleaning step might help with hazing on ebony finish -- but I will let the more experienced guys chime in. BTW -- the pens look great!

 

[Ambidex]

I have heard that the oils in ebony wood can cause problems with finishing. I personally have not worked with it. Two of my biggest improvements in my CA finishing process were: cleaning with denatured alcohol prior to applying CA and using non-stick bushings while finishing. I think the alcohol cleaning step might help with hazing on ebony finish -- but I will let the more experienced guys chime in. BTW -- the pens look great!

What Sam said...that looks more like uneven absorption than a sandthrough. I may be wrong, often am but still my guess. And by the way, pens look good!

 

[MrBubblehead]

Thanks for the advice. In those pictures the lacewood hadn't been finished yet just wiped with a tack cloth, it was pretty obvious when I sanded through the CA.

I also noticed that I like to touch the wood a lot and probably run my fingers over it before applying CA. So I'm going to make a mental note to not do that as it certainly won't help.

I will also pick up some denatured alcohol as I've seen that mentioned a few times in other threads.