Bethlehem olive wood

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Chuck B

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I have to make 4 pens out of this wood I have never used it, is there anything special i should know about it. I ordered 2 more then I need in case of any.:(

Chuck
 
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It's an oily wood, like Cocobolo, so it can be a bit tempermental if you do a CA finish. Also, in part due to the oils, it polishes to a beautiful shine all on its own, without any finish (especially if you use MicroMesh on it). It smells nice when you turn it, too!
 
<b>It turns nicely, smells nice too. It will crack if not properly finished, be sure it is dry, some of the sources are a bit "eager" to ship it before it is actually dry.</b>
 
I was planning on doing a CA/BLO finish I just did my 2nd pen that way & came out great. Should I put in the microwave for a few seconds first before turning? What type of finish should I use on this wood? shouls I wet sand with water with MM?
 
I've finished them with CA before, no ill effects. I had one go 'spotty' but I think it's something the pen reacted to. The others are fine. It did seem to somewhat absorb the CA over time. It was a long time ago, so I may not have done a good job to begin with.

Wet sanding will be fine as long as the CA is dry like always.

I dunno about putting it in the MW. May be a good reason to buy a moisture tester [|)]
 
Originally posted by recon
<br />I was planning on doing a CA/BLO finish I just did my 2nd pen that way & came out great. Should I put in the microwave for a few seconds first before turning? What type of finish should I use on this wood? shouls I wet sand with water with MM?
Click to expand...

I love turning this wood. turns real easy and love the smell.
that said, i have found out do not use MM wet on the bare wood. the wet MM caused the wood to darken up, looked terrible.
I will get the MM wet right before i start turning this wood, and let em air dry. after i get through the 1000 grit sandpaper the MM is dry enough for me to use on this wood. this way the wood does not darken due to the water being soaked up from the MM.
 
There is absolutley no need to wet sand any wooden pen blank.None whatsoever.
Why introduce the one thing that is the bain of what we are working with?
As for color transfer from MM I suspect transfer dfrom bushings or dirty mm, I have been using the stuff for 2 years and have never had any color transfer other than the one I melted when I first started using it.
As for a finish on the BOW have you considered nothing more than TSW or a wax?
 
Eagle,
I have only done about 7 pens total. & these 4 BOW pens are for a Priet, Nun & 2 Medical Interns for X Mas gifts. I have never wet sanded pens or used MM before. My local Woodcrafters ran out last weekend so I couldn't get any.[:(]

I am looking for any advice about finishing this type of wood. Since they are X Mas gifts I want them to look nice.

Thank you everybody for yor help

Chuck
 
Originally posted by recon
<br />Eagle,
I have only done about 7 pens total. & these 4 BOW pens are for a Priet, Nun & 2 Medical Interns for X Mas gifts. I have never wet sanded pens or used MM before. My local Woodcrafters ran out last weekend so I couldn't get any.[:(]

I am looking for any advice about finishing this type of wood. Since they are X Mas gifts I want them to look nice.

Thank you everybody for yor help

Chuck
Click to expand...

My suggestion is to set this wood aside for now and get some more pens under your belt before turning these. There is still time to get more expierence and still get these finished before Christmas.
 
I have a bunch of scrap pen blanks of all different woods that I use to practice on. I usually have enough free time to make about 4-5 pens. Mon-Sat. Sun is the only day I get to use my toy for any length of time.

Squirrel,
I don't plan on making them right now. I just wanted some advice from all of the expert professional turners here on the best way to finish them from sanding to completion.

Tank yu for all of your responses.

Chuck
 
I have made a number of pens using BoW. I love the smell of it and how it finishes. I have done straight CA (no BLO) finish on them all. Only had one pen finish I didnt like and that was due to me rushing to finish. I sand them out to anywhere from 1500 to about 3600. I do not wet sand them. Then I do the CA finish let it cure some between coats and then let it sit 24 hours before I sand it.
 
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