CA finishing Burl

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rblakemore

rblakemore

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This is similar to a question on penturning today, but:
I just tried a piece of orange dyed maple burl; basically the fist burl that I have worked. Practice because I want to do more soon. As I was turning down the blank and near final size, I noticed several voids and a long crack in the burl. Hearing that there is such a thing as a CA finish, I coated both blanks (two piece pen) in CA (loved the look, brought out the burl). When I smoothed the CA some of it seemed to come off and leave a film on the burl. What do I do? Does this mean that I make a number of passes with CA (not just one?) and not work the glue finish as hard? What is the difference between CA glue and CA finish? I am about to purchase amboyna and afzelia and want a little more practice first.

Excuse my duplicity please, looking for ideas and I am really confused and lost.
 
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I'm not sure exactly but consider the CA a wood filler at this point. It will penetrate the wood but then you have to get back down to wood again to smooth it. You continue this process until the void is filled. This will be hard for you since the blanks is already down to final shape. The film you see may just be surfase CA that either needs removal or more added to be complete.

The other option is to take some of the sawdust from your sanding, fill the void, then put a little CA on it and let it kick and harden. Give it 5 minutes or so to make sure it is all cured then turn it round and sand as normal. This works really well, acting like a local wood filler.

Good luck and make sure to wear your mask when using CA!
 
A little more info Ron. As the other Jim and I have been talking about...CA makes a great filler or adhesive to solidify a fill agent. So lets say you are turning away, happy as a clam in warm mud and POW!! A void shows up, or a crack...what have you. SO you grab the jar of espresso powder (or whatever you like to fill with) rub some into the void/crack and run a little thin CA over it. Two thinks are going to happen...the espresso powder is going to get hard as a rock (good thing) and the surrounding area is going to be darker...bad thing. So here is a trick. Cover the blank with CA so the wood now is equal in coating...add the fill agent and add the thin CA. Sand and re-fill as needed and apply however many coats of CA for a finish you'd like. Tada!!! The wood is equal color, void/crack filled and you sell your pan for $5,287.00!!!
 
No Bill...what you are doing is giving the blank the same appearance everywhere. Thin CA works best here and nothing is filled...just a light coating. As an example...take a piece of wood and drop some thin CA in one spot. That spot is darker than the rest of the blank. If you know you will need a filler, just put a thin coat of thin CA on the blank and then do the filler material, add CA and now it all looks the same! The same effect can be achieved by using WOP, AO whatever finish you like...just put a bit on the blank before you fill.
 
Also don't try and fill the void in 1 shot. Add your CA it will cover the whole blank, sand lightly with 600 or 1000 grit. Shiny spots indicate the void is not full yet. Add another coat of thin CA and sand lightly again. Continue this until there are no more shiny spots after a light sanding. If you used a filler such as coffee grounds or brass filings to fill the hole you may have to bring the filler down to the level of the wood with a very sharp skew or scraper.
When I put on my CA finish I usually have the blank a couple thou. undersize and then add 2 layers of thin CA This is just to soak into the wood and harden it. After that I add 6 - 8 layers of medium CA to build up a finish. I don't sand between coats and let each coat harden for 15 minutes or so before adding the next. When I am finished adding CA I will wet sand with 1000 grit, 2000, grit and 12000 grit sandpaper then polish with a plastic polish.

I generally put my CA finish on in the evening when watching TV, the shop is in the basement next to the rec room so when a commercial comes on I go add a layer of CA and let it harden till the next commercial.
 
Rick has a great point. I use a lot of pearl-ex for filler. It is very light and powdery. Once you rub it in and add the CA, it will compact. Wait a minute and add more fill and thin CA until the total fill area is just proud of the surface. Turn off or sand a bit and refill as needed.
 
rblakemore said:
OK, thanks for the advice, but how big of a void are you talking about?? I have seen a lot of ideas for void, cracks, etc. !!
Click to expand...

A crack I will generally try and fill with sanding dust and then add thin CA, A pit or crack large enough you can see the brass tube - here is where is you imagination comes in. You can try filling it with coffee grounds, sanding dust, brass filings or crushed stone, just about anything you think will look good with the wood you are using for the pen. If it's anything bigger than about 1/8 inch I generally just turn the wood off the brass tube and start over. If a piece has chipped out and you can find it you can often just glue it back for a seamless fit.
 
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