Failure! Abject Complete and Total Failure!

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jskeen

jskeen

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Gemsbok horn and Leopardwood on a copper cigar.

2008110182334_leopardwood3.jpg


2008110182351_leopardwood1.jpg



Tried for about a week to get a good CA finish on this pen before I finally gave up and reverted to my old sand, buff, wax routine. I ruined 3 leopardwood blanks before this one, one I misdrilled, one I sanded and refinished so much it didn't fit anymore, and one I glued to the bushings so thoroughly that I killed it trying to get them off.

I tried 3 or 4 times to get a good ca finish on this one, and sanded almost all the shape out of it (but stayed away from the ends this time) before despair overtook me and I quit trying.

I think I'll practice my CA finish on some plain cherry or mesquite for a while. :-)
 
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James,

You have a PEN!!! That's not a FAILURE!!!

Now, the CA finish - I been there, buddy!!

Nice-lookin' finished product (IMO)!!!!
 
Looks good to me. Everyone who's tried CA knows how you feel. Just when I think I got it, I end up staring at a pile of goo on a blank while I'm picking paper towel off my fingers before it sets. Happened just last night! CA can be finicky.

Can't learn without trying to learn!
 
Reminds me of part of an interview I once read from a successful executive. "What is the secret of your success?" "Making good decisions." "How are you able to make good decisions?" "Experience." "How did you get the exprience?" "Made bad decisions." Live & learn. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. BTW I still think that gensbok is nice looking stuff. Glad you shared it.
 
The picture is kind of dark so it's hard to tell a lot. For the CA finish, just get a piece of dowel, put it between centers and practice on it. Don't practice on a pen. Be sure to read some or all of the tutorials on how to do it, especially Don Ward's.
 
CA can be testy. Some woods I have tried it on just do not work. Especially some burled woods. The wood absorbs the CA differently. Thicker in some spots, or so it seems. When I tried to sand it, I sanded right through some spots and not the rest. Some I gave up and used my old stand by finish. Poly.
Experiment on some simple wood and get good at it and then go back to the tough stuff.
Good luck.
 
Every once in a while I have a pen that just seems to be cursed as far as a finish is concerned. I can work with the CA finish for an hour or two or three before it does right, then the next one does beautiful in 15 to 20 minutes.

The one that goes bad, I find a scratch underneath; re-finish and find a white spot; refinish and find a spot that sanded through; re-finish and see a sanding spot missed. Refinish and realize that I didn't mike it to size. Finally get it done.

You stuck with it and did great!
 
The CA finish is a bugger! 99% of the time it's good
1% of the time it'll drive you crazy. Don't give up.
That pen looks good.
 
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