Amboyna Burl Dragon Pen

[Yellow River Woodturning]

This pen was made by my brother for use in Dungeons and Dragons. It's only the fifth pen he's made, and quite an impressive one at that. I helped him with barrel trimming and the CA finish, but besides that it was all him. I didn't know quite what to expect with amboyna burl, but my main hope was that it was worth the $11 price tag. By the looks of things, it definitely was! One problem, which is visible in the first image, was a small amount of acrylic polish that got trapped in a small hole in the burl. Any advice on how to remove things like that if they occur? Also, this is my first go at pen photography, so any feedback would be great. The pictures were taken with an IPhone, and the backdrop is just a piece of brown mallee burl on printer paper, lit from the front.

 

[egnald]

Greetings from Nebraska. That is a very attractive pen indeed. There is a good reason that Amboyna is considered the "King of Burls". It pairs quite nicely with that kit.

Regarding your inquiry related to the white spot, this used to happen to me quite often. I was never able to successfully remove the little white dots. My solution was to stop using liquid polish on my pens. In my opinion after wet sanding with MicroMesh the finish is about as shiny as it is going to get. I do however, on occasion run the blank across a loose flannel buffing wheel just to give it a final touchup.

Regards,
Dave

 

[Rick_G]

I normally fill those small voids with CA, but I have used a toothbrush with good results.

 

[KMCloonan]

I have also seen the white dots - which are usually accumulated sanding dust - I have addressed this by filling in voids or deeper craters with medium or thick CA glue, and letting it cure completely and then sanding flush using micromesh with water, so I don't get sanding dust.

 

[Joebobber]

I use a toothbrush as well to get the CA dust out, then fill it in and sand it smooth.

 

[Yellow River Woodturning]

Thank you all for the feedback! I've tried using a toothbrush and water to take it out, but with little success. Sometimes it ends up complimenting the wood, so I'll just leave it in. Someday I'll buy a buffing wheel, but for now, I'm gonna keep using the old acrylic polish. Also, one problem I had with micromesh pads was that they would leave micro scratches in the CA finish. Even after 12,000 grit and some plastic polish, they still wouldn't come out. Any advice on how to remove those?