JasonF
Member
I have been trying to get a CA finish down for several weeks without much luck. I watched Russ's video and read everything I could on this site about it. The problem I was having was that the glue would harden and leave ridges and not smooth out. I tried thin CA, Medium CA, no BLO, a little bit of BLO, some BLO and a lot of BLO. Bounty, Viva, store brand paper towels, even wax paper and plastic baggies didn't work. I ended up applying 5-7 coats and sanded most of it off just to even it out. Took more time than I wanted to spend on a "quick" finish.
Well I visited my family in Wichita Falls for Thanksgiving and got to spend a day with Don Ward. First question I asked him was about a CA finish. Don went through the steps he wrote about on his tutorial. I didn't tell him that I had already tried it and it hadn't worked for me. We went to the lathe and he talked me through the steps and it worked! (also worked on the 5 other pens I made while I was up there) I told Don the troubles I had been having and humidity seems to be the difference. Wichita Falls, Tx is hot with low humidity. Orange, Tx, where I live, Is on the Gulf and humidity stays around 90% most of the year. Don gave me some suggestions to try when I got back home.
At home I tried the same steps on the same wood I had success with in WF, and had basically the same results I had before my time with Don. I used some of Don's suggestions, played with it a bit and here is what works for me.
1. Finish one pen barrel at a time.
2. Start with 2 drops of BLO on a folded Bounty paper towel and apply with lathe running on slow.
3. Using the same spot on the paper towel hold it under the spinning blank and apply LIGHT pressure to the blank. At the same time apply drops of thin CA while moving from one end of the tube to the other. Total drops-about 3-4 on a thin Slimline, about 6-8 on the long barrel of a Cigar.
4. Once I get to the end of the barrel QUICKLY put the bottle down and at the same time move the paper towl back a forth rapidly.
WARNING-THIN CA WILL SOAK THROUGH THE PAPER TOWEL TO YOUR FINGERS AND NOT ONLY STICK, BUT ALSO BURN!!!
As soon as the bottle is down I grab one end of the paper towel allowing the other hand (the one with the finger that is about to be stuck and blistered) to let go and grab farther down the paper towel.
5. Keep moving back and forth. The paper towel will feel like it is starting to stick to the blank and after a few more moments it starts to get smooth again. Keep going back and forth for about 15-30 seconds after this point.
6. Repeat steps 2-5 until 5-7 coats are finished.
7. The finish on first couple of pens I got to this point was not completely smooth so I started at 4000 MM and went up. The last few I did were smoother so I started at 8000 MM.
8. The finish I got was a nice satin. I added a couple of Hut PPP and got a gloss finish.
I am carrying one of the pens that I used the PPP on to see how long it lasts.
The Bloodwood set and African Blackwood Cigar that I posted earlier was finished this way as well as these 2 Polaris pens. 1st is Spalted Oak with TN hardware. 2nd is Mesquite root from my Wichita Falls trip.
Thank you Don!
I would be interested to hear if anyone else in a high humidity area has adapted the CA finish to work for them.
Well I visited my family in Wichita Falls for Thanksgiving and got to spend a day with Don Ward. First question I asked him was about a CA finish. Don went through the steps he wrote about on his tutorial. I didn't tell him that I had already tried it and it hadn't worked for me. We went to the lathe and he talked me through the steps and it worked! (also worked on the 5 other pens I made while I was up there) I told Don the troubles I had been having and humidity seems to be the difference. Wichita Falls, Tx is hot with low humidity. Orange, Tx, where I live, Is on the Gulf and humidity stays around 90% most of the year. Don gave me some suggestions to try when I got back home.
At home I tried the same steps on the same wood I had success with in WF, and had basically the same results I had before my time with Don. I used some of Don's suggestions, played with it a bit and here is what works for me.
1. Finish one pen barrel at a time.
2. Start with 2 drops of BLO on a folded Bounty paper towel and apply with lathe running on slow.
3. Using the same spot on the paper towel hold it under the spinning blank and apply LIGHT pressure to the blank. At the same time apply drops of thin CA while moving from one end of the tube to the other. Total drops-about 3-4 on a thin Slimline, about 6-8 on the long barrel of a Cigar.
4. Once I get to the end of the barrel QUICKLY put the bottle down and at the same time move the paper towl back a forth rapidly.
WARNING-THIN CA WILL SOAK THROUGH THE PAPER TOWEL TO YOUR FINGERS AND NOT ONLY STICK, BUT ALSO BURN!!!
As soon as the bottle is down I grab one end of the paper towel allowing the other hand (the one with the finger that is about to be stuck and blistered) to let go and grab farther down the paper towel.
5. Keep moving back and forth. The paper towel will feel like it is starting to stick to the blank and after a few more moments it starts to get smooth again. Keep going back and forth for about 15-30 seconds after this point.
6. Repeat steps 2-5 until 5-7 coats are finished.
7. The finish on first couple of pens I got to this point was not completely smooth so I started at 4000 MM and went up. The last few I did were smoother so I started at 8000 MM.
8. The finish I got was a nice satin. I added a couple of Hut PPP and got a gloss finish.
I am carrying one of the pens that I used the PPP on to see how long it lasts.
The Bloodwood set and African Blackwood Cigar that I posted earlier was finished this way as well as these 2 Polaris pens. 1st is Spalted Oak with TN hardware. 2nd is Mesquite root from my Wichita Falls trip.
Thank you Don!
I would be interested to hear if anyone else in a high humidity area has adapted the CA finish to work for them.