Hello from California

[sequoia]

Hi All,

I'm relatively new at turning. I have been turning on and off again (that's actually pretty funny) for a little over a year, but am looking to take my work to a higher level. I enjoy crafting pens, bottle stoppers and so far just one bowl. I mostly enjoy working with wood due to their natural grains but am open to new materials. I'd appreciate any thoughts on how to put a great finish on a pen that has minimal abrasion marks from what appears to be sand paper.

Thanks all

Matt

 

[scottsheapens]

Welcome from South Carolina.

 

[magpens]

I think you should progress through finer grades of sandpaper and even micromesh (if you're working with acrylic) to strive to get the sanding marks out *before* you go to the finishing stage. Just my $0.02 worth. There are good tutorials on finishing here on IAP. To learn to apply a good CA finish to pens requires patience and a fair bit of practice but it is well worth the effort. There are tips for that here on IAP but everybody has to develop their own technique.

Welcome to IAP and happy turning !

 

[Charlie_W]

Welcome from Virginia!

 

[wob50]

Hello and welcome from Louisiana

 

[SDB777]

Welcome aboard!!!!



Scott B

 

[Edgar]

Welcome from Texas, Matt.

As Mal noted, there are tons of information on finishing pens available here. Just use the Search function & check out the Library.

As a short answer to your question, I sand wood pens to 600 grit then take a pinch of shavings and press it against the spinning blank to burnish it prior to finishing. You should also stop the lathe after each grit and sand the blank lengthwise to remove that grit's circular sanding marks.

Have fun
Edgar

 

[JimB]

Welcome from upstate New York.

 

[Tom T]

Welcome from sunny Florida

 

[Jim15]

Welcome Matt.

 

[markgum]

welcome to the fun

 

[OZturner]

Welcome Matt , from Sydney Australia.
Brian.

 

[Ligget]

Welcome aboard Matt!

 

[rherrell]

Welcome!

 

[sequoia]

Thanks All - I appreciate the warm welcome and tips.

 

[jsolie]

Welcome from down the road a ways. One thing that helps with finishing is when you're done with one grit and ready to move to the next, stop your lathe and hand sand side to side (or left to right) to get the round scratches out that happened when the lathe was spinning. You don't need much pressure. This helped me out immensely, especially when turning black acrylic or ebony.