Beeswing Narra Cigar

[Bree]

I milled a big block of Beeswing Narra that I bought a few months ago. I liked the way it looked so I turned a pen. This is the same wood as Amboyna. It shares essentially the same properties. The figured Narra is not unlike the Amboyna Burl wood. There are large pores and the grain twists and turns a lot. Sharp tools are important. I never understood why they don't call the burl wood Narra Burl.

This piece was sanded to 600 and MM-12000. It was triple buffed but had to be resanded because the Tripoli scratches cut too deeply. By the time I was finished it was single buffed and a drop of tung oil was applied to pop that grain. Then 4 coats of CA/BLO were applied. MM-12,000 and single buff w/Ren Wax. Here she is.

:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

 

[kennspens]

very nice, and i always thought the same thing about narra and amboyna.

 

[TellicoTurning]

I gotta try that Ren Wax some time... every pen I see that's finished with the Ren is outstanding... your included.... beautiful wood.

 

[Karin Voorhis]

nice figure there.

 

[Dalecamino]

Great looking pen Bree . YOU are the one who's rockin' !

 

[broitblat]

Nice! The figure looks beautiful and you really brought it out with your finish.

As I understand it, the word "Amboyna" just means "burl". Narra Burl should be perfectly legitimate, Amboyna Burl is redundant, and technically, you should be able to talk about, say, Maple Amboyna

-Barry

 

[rsmith]

Most of the burls from the Narra tree are found just north of Ambon Island in Indonesia where the climate and water are a little harsh for the Narra tree, resulting in a large number of deformities, i.e. burls. Since this is where the highest concentration of burls are found, the locals (amboinas) started referring to them as "amboyna" burls...don't ask me why I know stuff like that, I still don't know...
Nice pen BTW, that has always been one of my favorite woods

 

[johnnycnc]

That's a beauty, Bree!
Nice photo work as well.

 

[maxman400]

Another Great Looking Pen Bree.

 

[fernhills]

Beautiful, fer surrrrrre. Carl

 

[jeffnreno]

Great pen - the figure sure pops out with that finish

 

[David Keller]

Wonderful stuff that narra. I love the smell and color. This is another really nice looking pen.

 

[Bree]

I gotta try that Ren Wax some time... every pen I see that's finished with the Ren is outstanding... your included.... beautiful wood.

The Ren Wax is used only to prevent fingerprints from sticking. It doesn't really add any shine or pizzazz to the finish. I think the key things to a good finish are first getting the pen UNDER the CA finish to look like you want it to look after the finish has been applied. The CA is transparent. it shows only what's underneath. So I MM-12000 the pens and buff them BEFORE finishing them.

The CA/BLO as I do it is applied thicker than other people because I am lazy and I like the way it looks. I also apply it one tube at a time making sure to have CA applied equally at both ends and the middle. The ends are the problem areas.

I use little 1" squares of towel and have my CA puddle spanning the towel so I can get from end to end without bumping into the mandrel taper or the live center. I also, in violation of the rules, use a good bit of friction to smooth the CA as it cures. I figure that if my finger can take it the wood can too. I haven't cracked a blank yet.

Using this method, I don't have to sand between coats and I really don't have to sand after the final coat though I do. That thing is smooth as a baby's butt after the last coat is applied. The final MM-12000 is very light as I am not looking to remove much material or do much smoothing. It is already smooth.

I am just leveling any rogue bumps that I can't really see. And the CA is on there thick. One of my CA-3's is like some other people's CA-9's in terms of actual thickness of the finish.

The thing that really kicks it up is the Beall Triple buffer. That thing rocks the town! I can't say enough about it. It really makes the pens shine! With a thick finish you have to be careful not to gouge it with the Tripoli. Very light charging and light pressure on the Tripoli wheel. Maybe a little more on the China White. I use no wax on the first run through the wax wheel but I do use Carnauba on the second run. So the Ren Wax is right on top of the Carnauba.

 

[jasontg99]

Bree,

As always, AWESOME.

 

[Bree]

Nice! The figure looks beautiful and you really brought it out with your finish.

As I understand it, the word "Amboyna" just means "burl". Narra Burl should be perfectly legitimate, Amboyna Burl is redundant, and technically, you should be able to talk about, say, Maple Amboyna

-Barry

So Narra Burl is like Shrimp Scampi. Scampi is the Italian word for shrimp so it's Burl Burl and Shrimp Shrimp! LOL!

I guess Rob's explanation is better but then I would have missed sharing my Shrimp Scampi line that I got from old John Ciardi on NPR.
:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

 

[workinforwood]

That's a real beauty Bree.

 

[Mrs Rojo22]

Beautiful!

Robin