I just can't let it go

[egnald]

For some reason I have a compulsion to fix the little blemishes and oops and stuff whenever I am turning. Sometimes I wish I could just "let it go" and start over fresh, but I just can't seem to make it happen.

Yesterday I received a box with some new (new to me) pen kits from Dawn at Exotic Blanks. The kits are a Magnetic Graduate Rollerball. I started on one to see just how they would work out. (I've become a big fan of the magnetic cap rollerball style and have been carrying a Zen with a magnetic cap for quite some time now).

I picked out a piece of Cocobolo that looked like it might have some kind of knot-like figure in it in one spot. As I started turning it a crack-like void was exposed around the knot-like figure. I first filled it with my standard Timbermate wood filler, but as it turned away, the void just didn't quite look right - the color was a little off and the filler didn't blend in nice and smooth with the void -- it looked kind of grainy. So, I used a pick to clean it out and applied black CA to fill the void. I will go back to turning it shortly, but in the meantime I thought, why don't I just start over with a different blank? I have plenty of Cocobolo. But here I am waiting for the CA to cure so I can give it another go.

It seems like I have to face a catastrophic and unrecoverable problem before I can give up on a blank. Am I alone?

Dave

 

[Kenny Durrant]

I'm in the same boat you are. I figure since I've gone through the work to get it to that point I want to finish it. If I'm not happy when done I'll give it away or start over before pressing it together.

 

[RDHals]

Yes Dave, you're alone. Utterly alone.....Sorry couldn't resist. It depends on how much I have invested time, effort, materials. The more you have in the game the harder it is to let go. On the other hand I've made my share of pens that when complete I think I should have tossed a long time ago.

 

[egnald]

Well, the GluBoost just went on. I will be MicroMeshing soon. Unless it is an utter disaster I will post the finished pen in the "Show Off Your Pens" forum later today. - Dave
PS Glad I'm not Alone!

 

[Darios]

It seems like I have to face a catastrophic and unrecoverable problem before I can give up on a blank. Am I alone?

Dave

Welcome to the CDO club sir. It's called CDO because that is OCD spelled correctly.

 

[d_bondi]

I too feel your pain Dave.

I use Starbond CA to fill cracks, checks, voids, eyes, small knots, etc. Depending on the wood and the effect I want and think I will get I use the clear, brown (which is translucent) or the black.

I have a piece of Lignum Vitae that I bought specifically because it had a cool (challenging) knot running at an angle through it (that and it was like 50% off) at Woodcraft. I made a Hobby knife out of part of it and it was a considerable amount of work because of the voids and ibark inclusions around the branch/knot. I actually soaked the whole knot area with the Starbond super fast thin CA before drilling it on the lathe, I didn't want that branch/knot popping out or exploding out on me. I think it was worth the extra effort.

 

[egnald]

I too feel your pain Dave.

I use Starbond CA to fill cracks, checks, voids, eyes, small knots, etc. Depending on the wood and the effect I want and think I will get I use the clear, brown (which is translucent) or the black.

I have a piece of Lignum Vitae that I bought specifically because it had a cool (challenging) knot running at an angle through it (that and it was like 50% off) at Woodcraft. I made a Hobby knife out of part of it and it was a considerable amount of work because of the voids and ibark inclusions around the branch/knot. I actually soaked the whole knot area with the Starbond super fast thin CA before drilling it on the lathe, I didn't want that branch/knot popping out or exploding out on me. I think it was worth the extra effort.

Very cool! I really like Lignum Vitae. I made some of the PSI DuraClick EDC pens and pencils with the burnt bronze plating with it a while back. The greenish hue of the Lignum really looked nice with the greenish plating on the kits. - Dave

 

[Woodchipper]

Well, the GluBoost just went on. I will be MicroMeshing soon. Unless it is an utter disaster I will post the finished pen in the "Show Off Your Pens" forum later today. - Dave
PS Glad I'm not Alone!

I am of the opinion that I would fix something and then move on. Your approach will, more than likely, be useful in the future for you again and the forum members.

 

[RunnerVince]

I'm in the same boat. I have tempered myself a little by answering the following two questions:

• Is it still possible to achieve a result I'm happy with? This is not the same as the result I was originally going for, but I frequently find that unexpected flaws in the blank or mistakes in the process end up being some of Bob Ross's famous "happy little accidents." So a willingness to pivot is helpful as long as there's a reasonable expectation that I'll end up with something I like.
• Is there a good opportunity for practice and/or learning, even if it's not likely to end up with a satisfactory finished product? I've already found the flaw or made the mistake, so I might as well learn something or try something new so I don't have to learn later on an unblemished/unruined blank. This might turn into an opportunity to try a new finish, finishing technique, inlay material, etc.

If the answer to both questions is "no," then I can chuck the thing and move on without troubling my OCD tendencies.

 

[NeonWoodShop]

Welcome to the CDO club sir. It's called CDO because that is OCD spelled correctly.

Yes, put the letters in the correct order!

 

[NeonWoodShop]

I'm in the same boat. I have tempered myself a little by answering the following two questions:

• Is it still possible to achieve a result I'm happy with? This is not the same as the result I was originally going for, but I frequently find that unexpected flaws in the blank or mistakes in the process end up being some of Bob Ross's famous "happy little accidents." So a willingness to pivot is helpful as long as there's a reasonable expectation that I'll end up with something I like.
• Is there a good opportunity for practice and/or learning, even if it's not likely to end up with a satisfactory finished product? I've already found the flaw or made the mistake, so I might as well learn something or try something new so I don't have to learn later on an unblemished/unruined blank. This might turn into an opportunity to try a new finish, finishing technique, inlay material, etc.

If the answer to both questions is "no," then I can chuck the thing and move on without troubling my OCD tendencies.

I like your philosophy, especially point two.

 

[KMCloonan]

I'm with you. Once I have drilled and glued in a tube, I'm committed to seeing it through. My simple brain thinks that fixing blemishes is still easier than either stripping the wood off the tube to start over, or cutting a new replacement tube, and starting over. I'm guessing this logic holds true about half the time.

 

[Ray-CA]

Welcome to the CDO club sir. It's called CDO because that is OCD spelled correctly.

It thought the CDO was OCD, just alphabetical as it should be.

 

[jrista]

For some reason I have a compulsion to fix the little blemishes and oops and stuff whenever I am turning. Sometimes I wish I could just "let it go" and start over fresh, but I just can't seem to make it happen.

Yesterday I received a box with some new (new to me) pen kits from Dawn at Exotic Blanks. The kits are a Magnetic Graduate Rollerball. I started on one to see just how they would work out. (I've become a big fan of the magnetic cap rollerball style and have been carrying a Zen with a magnetic cap for quite some time now).

I picked out a piece of Cocobolo that looked like it might have some kind of knot-like figure in it in one spot. As I started turning it a crack-like void was exposed around the knot-like figure. I first filled it with my standard Timbermate wood filler, but as it turned away, the void just didn't quite look right - the color was a little off and the filler didn't blend in nice and smooth with the void -- it looked kind of grainy. So, I used a pick to clean it out and applied black CA to fill the void. I will go back to turning it shortly, but in the meantime I thought, why don't I just start over with a different blank? I have plenty of Cocobolo. But here I am waiting for the CA to cure so I can give it another go.

It seems like I have to face a catastrophic and unrecoverable problem before I can give up on a blank. Am I alone?

Dave

Nope! Definitely not alone! I can't give up on any blank. I'll work and rework and rework to the point where I've overturned it so much, there simply is no recovery.

Cracks like this are the hardest. Even with the black CA, the hard part is getting it to seep deeply into the crack (and every hidden part of it underneath the surface). That seems all but impossible. What I've taken to doing, is just turning down to a few thousandths or so above final diameter, before I try messing with filling voids. Any earlier than that, and you run the (apparently very high, most of the time) risk of finding new aspects of said void once you get a little deeper. Especially with those little knots, they can be very complex, and I think what it is is that the first crack you see on the surface, may not go all that deep necessarily, and might be adjacent to another crack you only see once you get deeper. So you fill the first one, only to turn it away and reveal the next one....etc. etc., ad. infi. If you turn close to your final diameter first, then work on filling the voids, it tends to go better (but I won't say it always works out!! Sometimes it still doesn't!) I also find that NOT using accelerator, if filling with CA of any kind (including tinted) is better. The CA needs time to really seep down into the cracks or deeper parts of a void, and accelerator will halt that process, or at least gum up the works. Sometimes it can help to try and vibrate the blank. I haven't really found a good way to do that, but with vibration that should help the CA penetrate as deeply as possible, and maybe even seep through thin walls separating one crack or void from another.

I have some wood fillers as well. I actually am not entirely a fan of using CA (tinted) to fill cracks, as sometimes the pigment that tints it will get stuck higher up, and you;ll eventually turn out clear patches of CA. Sometimes that lets you see strait down to the brass tube, which is ugly and that usually ends it for me. Further, if you are using any kind of finish other than CA, the CA filler itself tends to take on a very shiny appearance when you finish the pen, while woods like Cocobolo will have their natural oily sheen, and the contrast is sometimes quite stark.

With wood filler, it won't seep through thin walls or anything like that, so if you wait to fill until you are nearly at your desired diameter, then press the filler into every void and crack you can find, then do a very thin light turning to bring it all down to the proper diameter, I feel that works better.

Another good option and alternative to normal wood filler, is milliput epoxy putty. Comes in a number of colors, they can be mixed together to make other colors, and they can be pigmented up to like 20% to make them any color you want. Its a putty, fairly thick, but when cured it becomes quite hard. It turns very well, and doesn't take on a super shiny appearance like CA. One package of milliput can last an eon (I still have several packages: black, white, and terracotta that I bought years go, and I don't even think I've used half yet!)

 

[Humongous]

Hi Dave:
I'm in the same boat as you. Being a fellow engineer it's hopeless. We find solutions and fix things, it's just what we do.

 

[egnald]

Hello all - I finally got it finished up and assembled this morning. I think it turned out OK. I will be using it as a personal carry anyway. Here is the link to the other post: Well, Here it Is! - Cocobolo Magnetic Graduate in Chrome.

Dave

 

[derekdd]

I do try to fix errors often, but I have to know when to throw in the towel, otherwise, it will drive me crazy.

When it gets to that point, I used to leave them laying around thinking I'd run across a solution at some point. I've gotten to where I have to throw them away and forget about them.

Some of you guys are more patient than I am.

 

[bugradx2]

I'm in the same boat. I have tempered myself a little by answering the following two questions:

• Is it still possible to achieve a result I'm happy with? This is not the same as the result I was originally going for, but I frequently find that unexpected flaws in the blank or mistakes in the process end up being some of Bob Ross's famous "happy little accidents." So a willingness to pivot is helpful as long as there's a reasonable expectation that I'll end up with something I like.
• Is there a good opportunity for practice and/or learning, even if it's not likely to end up with a satisfactory finished product? I've already found the flaw or made the mistake, so I might as well learn something or try something new so I don't have to learn later on an unblemished/unruined blank. This might turn into an opportunity to try a new finish, finishing technique, inlay material, etc.

If the answer to both questions is "no," then I can chuck the thing and move on without troubling my OCD tendencies.

I'm very much in the camp of answering question 1 and question 2.

Still a pretty new turner so I'll even proceed forward at times if question 2 is "yes" just to learn a little more knowing that I'm going to throw it out anyway. I have a couple gorgeous looking red mallee blanks sitting on my desk as I type this that I screwed up a few months back so I used them to test how the final product looks by seeing what happens if you fill cracks as you go or do you fill at the end. (the answer is fill as you go)

 

[Darios]

I present... the pencil. That @#$2ing son of a inbred weasel sphincter pencil. The color and thickness was set by the recipient.

• The first blank I drilled through too fast and left a melted bubble in the middle, so in turning I cracked through to a bubble.
• New blank ordered and it drilled/turned/polished fine.
• On assembly I found that I'd under turned by a hair.
• On disassembly the fit was tight and I ended up both rolling the lip of the tip and cracking the blank.
  So, I attempt to repair the blank. Do a decent job but will need to hide part of it under the clip.
• I'd shaved off the rolled bit but used a touch of CA on the tip.
• Which spilled out, got on my fingers, and dinged up the finish.
• Repolish very carefully as the tip is still on the blank and I didn't want to mar the metal.
• Assemble, now with the tip on the other end and the cap/clip covering of the slight blemish. Due to disassembly the tube had expanded and I had to use CA on the cap to get it to stick.
• Which spilled out, got on my fingers and then on to the blank.
• The actual pencil mechanism has a plastic collar that would not fit through the cap.
• I ended up breaking off the collar while trying to pull it back out and ended up destroying one pencil mechanism.
• Filed down the inside of the tube and tried with a 2nd pencil mechanism.
• Destroyed the plastic collar but did not destroy the mechanism.
• The whole thing is too long. The pencil eraser is almost completely into the cap.
  
  Fine.
  
  
• Re-dissasemble but there is nothing for the punch to grab and push against, and don't forget I CA'd it in.
• So I end up shoving a large amount of gun swaths into the tube to create a wedge
• Cap pops off. So does the collar on the nib.
• Take this moment to refinish and repolish, again careful of the nib.
• Spend a bit of effort to un-wedge the gun swaths.
• Sand the blank down to the shorter size needed on the disk sander. As the collar free nib is still on, I wrap some more gun swatchs around the punch to try and get the blank 'level'
  • Wisely I sand down the damaged end.

Where was I?

• Re-dissasemble , again.
• This time I manage to not get CA everywhere.
• It goes together nicely, the press fit works again on the clip end so I use a touch of blue loctite
• Click mechanism is tight and lead doesn't feed.
• Stare at it.
• Stare at it some more.
• Hail mary to a 3rd kit pencil mechanism.
• That one works fine.

Sheesh.

So no, Mr. Egnald, you are not alone in not being able to let it go.

 

[Todd in PA]

I saw the pen you posted but missed this thread.

You are not alone. I really have trouble letting go and often spend too much time "seeing it through" even after I know I won't likely be happy with the end result.

We do learn a lot about penmaking by the failures. More from the failures than the successes, or so they say.

I read another line here somewhere which was something along the lines of what separates the good from the great is how the latter execute solutions in the face of problems that arise.

 

[bugradx2]

I present... the pencil. That @#$2ing son of a inbred weasel sphincter pencil. The color and thickness was set by the recipient.

• The first blank I drilled through too fast and left a melted bubble in the middle, so in turning I cracked through to a bubble.
• New blank ordered and it drilled/turned/polished fine.
• On assembly I found that I'd under turned by a hair.
• On disassembly the fit was tight and I ended up both rolling the lip of the tip and cracking the blank.
  So, I attempt to repair the blank. Do a decent job but will need to hide part of it under the clip.
• I'd shaved off the rolled bit but used a touch of CA on the tip.
• Which spilled out, got on my fingers, and dinged up the finish.
• Repolish very carefully as the tip is still on the blank and I didn't want to mar the metal.
• Assemble, now with the tip on the other end and the cap/clip covering of the slight blemish. Due to disassembly the tube had expanded and I had to use CA on the cap to get it to stick.
• Which spilled out, got on my fingers and then on to the blank.
• The actual pencil mechanism has a plastic collar that would not fit through the cap.
• I ended up breaking off the collar while trying to pull it back out and ended up destroying one pencil mechanism.
• Filed down the inside of the tube and tried with a 2nd pencil mechanism.
• Destroyed the plastic collar but did not destroy the mechanism.
• The whole thing is too long. The pencil eraser is almost completely into the cap.
  
  Fine.
  
  
• Re-dissasemble but there is nothing for the punch to grab and push against, and don't forget I CA'd it in.
• So I end up shoving a large amount of gun swaths into the tube to create a wedge
• Cap pops off. So does the collar on the nib.
• Take this moment to refinish and repolish, again careful of the nib.
• Spend a bit of effort to un-wedge the gun swaths.
• Sand the blank down to the shorter size needed on the disk sander. As the collar free nib is still on, I wrap some more gun swatchs around the punch to try and get the blank 'level'
  • Wisely I sand down the damaged end.

Where was I?

• Re-dissasemble , again.
• This time I manage to not get CA everywhere.
• It goes together nicely, the press fit works again on the clip end so I use a touch of blue loctite
• Click mechanism is tight and lead doesn't feed.
• Stare at it.
• Stare at it some more.
• Hail mary to a 3rd kit pencil mechanism.
• That one works fine.

Sheesh.

So no, Mr. Egnald, you are not alone in not being able to let it go.

I feel your pain

 

[ZanderPommo]

I put a couple drops of thick ca in the crack and then use a piece of sandpaper (which heads up, will be unusable after) and turn the lathe on and sand, which fills the crack with dust of the blank you're turning. Best case scenario the crack or void essentially disappears, worst case it matches very closely. Sometimes you need to repeat the process a couple times until it's filled. Afterwards I hit it with a little accelerator to keep any shenanigans from going on after I apply the CA finish.

 

[tyrithe]

I present... the pencil. That @#$2ing son of a inbred weasel sphincter pencil. The color and thickness was set by the recipient.

• The first blank I drilled through too fast and left a melted bubble in the middle, so in turning I cracked through to a bubble.
• New blank ordered and it drilled/turned/polished fine.
• On assembly I found that I'd under turned by a hair.
• On disassembly the fit was tight and I ended up both rolling the lip of the tip and cracking the blank.
  So, I attempt to repair the blank. Do a decent job but will need to hide part of it under the clip.
• I'd shaved off the rolled bit but used a touch of CA on the tip.
• Which spilled out, got on my fingers, and dinged up the finish.
• Repolish very carefully as the tip is still on the blank and I didn't want to mar the metal.
• Assemble, now with the tip on the other end and the cap/clip covering of the slight blemish. Due to disassembly the tube had expanded and I had to use CA on the cap to get it to stick.
• Which spilled out, got on my fingers and then on to the blank.
• The actual pencil mechanism has a plastic collar that would not fit through the cap.
• I ended up breaking off the collar while trying to pull it back out and ended up destroying one pencil mechanism.
• Filed down the inside of the tube and tried with a 2nd pencil mechanism.
• Destroyed the plastic collar but did not destroy the mechanism.
• The whole thing is too long. The pencil eraser is almost completely into the cap.
  
  Fine.
  
  
• Re-dissasemble but there is nothing for the punch to grab and push against, and don't forget I CA'd it in.
• So I end up shoving a large amount of gun swaths into the tube to create a wedge
• Cap pops off. So does the collar on the nib.
• Take this moment to refinish and repolish, again careful of the nib.
• Spend a bit of effort to un-wedge the gun swaths.
• Sand the blank down to the shorter size needed on the disk sander. As the collar free nib is still on, I wrap some more gun swatchs around the punch to try and get the blank 'level'
  • Wisely I sand down the damaged end.

Where was I?

• Re-dissasemble , again.
• This time I manage to not get CA everywhere.
• It goes together nicely, the press fit works again on the clip end so I use a touch of blue loctite
• Click mechanism is tight and lead doesn't feed.
• Stare at it.
• Stare at it some more.
• Hail mary to a 3rd kit pencil mechanism.
• That one works fine.

Sheesh.

So no, Mr. Egnald, you are not alone in not being able to let it go. View attachment 366015

So far my misadventures are trying to use CA glue to glue tubes in. And the CA hardening with like 1/2 inch of tube still standing proud. Or, having a acrylester blank shatter when the drill bit broke through. (I actually glued that back together the best I could, then filled the rest with mica mixed into some deep pour epoxy. It almost worked and you couldn't tell. Or I've had a carbide catch that caused the urethane blank I was working on to just shatter down to the tube..

But never such a story as this one. For all the pain and suffering, it looks really nice though.

 

[WriteON]

Am I alone?

Dave

Not alone .....Group Hug given