low_48
Member
I have altered my technique a little on these pens. I have gotten even better responses from customers if they can feel a little texture. Maybe they like the idea that if it looks like texture, it should feel like texture? Anyway, I still glue the tube in with thick CA. If there are some gaps where the drill took out too much of the soft center, I add more thick CA after the tube is in. Saturate the ends of the cobs with thin CA and let it soak in, don't use an accelerator for a couple of minutes. Turn the cob down until it is 1/8" oversize in the diameter. I use an oval skew and only cut from the ends to the middle, never from the center out. Now take the blanks off the mandrel and slide them over an 1/8 dowel. Wear gloves and protect the floor, and saturate the cob with thin CA again. No accelerator, let it soak all the way to the brass. I let it sit at least 15 minutes. I hit it with a little accelerator after the 15 minutes for safety and turn it down the rest of the way. If you would have a large pocket or two open up, I fill that with thick CA and hit with accelerator. Now I sand and polish to 12000 and finish with an oil/poly mixture. Rub that dry and add a friction polish. I got 8 in a row this way, good luck.
Rich
Rich