My son was at it again this morning

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egnald

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Greetings from Nebraska! My oldest son, Alex, was at it again this morning. After making a pen for a friend yesterday he decided he needed to make one for himself as well. Although he had most of the steps down, I still walked him through part of it since this one used a wood blank instead of plastic. He used a gunmetal Cigar kit and a Bois de rose blank. It's too bad the Bois de rose darkens up from the finish because it is a truly beautiful rosewood. It has a deep Bing Cherry color that just doesn't come through in the pictures.

Regards,
Dave (egnald)

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jjjaworski

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Nice pen. I am amazed at how much that darkened up after finishing. It almost looks black.
What finish did you use on this to make it get so dark? Curious to find out.

Looks like your son might be hooked *G*
 

egnald

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Nice pen. I am amazed at how much that darkened up after finishing. It almost looks black.
What finish did you use on this to make it get so dark? Curious to find out.

Looks like your son might be hooked *G*

We used 5 coats of thin and about 8 coats of medium CA. The color change was pretty dramatic on the first coat of thin as you can see between the magenta color it was on the lathe and the color under the finish. It looks nearly black on the pictures, but up close it is kind of a dark (very dark) ripe Bing Cherry color. It's about $9 per blank from Griffin Exotic Wood - not to bad of a price I think - I've spent more than that on some made out of Alumilite.

I certainly hope my son continues to be hooked so all of my shop tools and pen turning stuff get passed down and used rather than sold off someday when I wind up on the other side of the grass.

Dave
 

Lucky2

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Dave, I like the pen, your son did a great job. Thankfully, his long hair didn't interfere with him seeing well enough to turn it. Just kidding, I'm sitting here envious of his head of hair, of course I'm bald.

Len
 

MPVic

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Dec 23, 2011
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Hamilton, ON, Canada
Greetings from Nebraska! My oldest son, Alex, was at it again this morning. After making a pen for a friend yesterday he decided he needed to make one for himself as well. Although he had most of the steps down, I still walked him through part of it since this one used a wood blank instead of plastic. He used a gunmetal Cigar kit and a Bois de rose blank. It's too bad the Bois de rose darkens up from the finish because it is a truly beautiful rosewood. It has a deep Bing Cherry color that just doesn't come through in the pictures.

Regards,
Dave (egnald)

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Hi Dave: So glad for you to involve your son - I tried with my grandsons but they didn't catch the 'fever'. Did want to ask about the dust collection gear and the shield on a flexible 'goose-neck' & your source.
 

egnald

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Columbus, Nebraska, USA
Hi Dave: So glad for you to involve your son - I tried with my grandsons but they didn't catch the 'fever'. Did want to ask about the dust collection gear and the shield on a flexible 'goose-neck' & your source.

I usually use a full face shield, but I couldn't get my son to comply, so I at least have the little plastic shield. It is a "Dust Right Lathe Chip Deflector", $30 from Rockler. I wipe it with "All" dryer sheets - they seem to work pretty good with helping reduce static cling and dust buildup on it. The dust collector is also from Rockler, "Dust Right Lathe Dust Collection System", $60 by itself. Both are available as a combo for $80. I just used some spray paint (Rust-oleum Canvas White) to replace the standard Rockler blue. The color is a pretty good match for my Jet lathe. I've been very happy with both. - Dave
 

egnald

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Is he a lefty? If so, he might find more control over the tool by moving his right hand under the tool rather than fingertips on top of the tool.

Yes, he is dominantly left handed, but he seems to do a lot of things right handed, like catch, etc. Thanks for the tip about how to hold tools, I will pass it on the next time he comes home. The most difficult thing for him is turning the handwheel on the spindle when lateral sanding between grits as he sands with his left hand. I've thought about making some kind of thin knob that I could slip on the mandrel as a bushing between the pen and the live center so he would have something he could grab with his right hand to turn the spindle manually when sanding. - Dave.
 

MPVic

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I usually use a full face shield, but I couldn't get my son to comply, so I at least have the little plastic shield. It is a "Dust Right Lathe Chip Deflector", $30 from Rockler. I wipe it with "All" dryer sheets - they seem to work pretty good with helping reduce static cling and dust buildup on it. The dust collector is also from Rockler, "Dust Right Lathe Dust Collection System", $60 by itself. Both are available as a combo for $80. I just used some spray paint (Rust-oleum Canvas White) to replace the standard Rockler blue. The color is a pretty good match for my Jet lathe. I've been very happy with both. - Dave
Dave - thanks for sharing the equipment info. The tip on using dryer sheets is new to me - as always it is so great for all of us to share little tips & tricks like these.
 
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