Need a master's advice.

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nightowl

nightowl

Member
Joined
Mar 2, 2008
Messages
323
Location
Lexington, Virginia, USA.
I purchased a piece of Black Palm the other day because it looked like it would make an interesting pen. I had never turned any of this before and it tends to be a little stringy. My next thought would be what type of finish would be best for this. I would like to do a CA finish but am not sure if Black Palm has too much oil in it for that type of finish. Can you guys give me some direction here? Thanks.
 
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CA has worked fine for me.

I'm not a master, but I did think about staying at a holiday inn express last night.
 
I'm no Master. No where near..

I've only turned one Palm blank. Yes it was stringy and I too used CA for the finish. Mine wasn't Black Palm (I don't think). It's called a Dragon Palm or something like that. It's an ornamental palm.
 
I have made several and used a CA finish with no problems. I did have a reaction to the wood and dust, however. The first one I turned with short sleeves on, and my arms broke out in a rash. The others I wore longs sleeves and taped the cuffs. No problems. It is quite stringy, so take small bites. It will tear out if you go too fast with it.
 
I have used CA on red, black and snake palm with excellent result....palm is actually a grass so I am not sure if it has much oil at all
 
I have turned a fair amount of black palm, turn it well proud of the bushings and sand it to size for best results, imho. CA finish has worked fine, I usually apply a couple coats of thin, then finish with 6 or so coats medium, which is a bit heavier than I use for less porus woods. Hope this helps.
 
I have turned several black palm blanks. I usually just threw out all the little pieces after attempting to turn it.
 
I have turned a couple and putting thin CA on the blank while turning. The pithy material in the palm really soaks up the CA and bonds to the strnigy parts. It takes a little longer but you can get closer to the bushings before sanding the rest of the way. I have also finished with CA and it looks great.
 
I agree with the thin CA, round off the edges also helps and very sharp tools, the thin CA as said will soak in and help keep it together. I have done several pens and this always worked for me. Good Luck with it.
 
I made a Sierra with black palm.
I finish most of my pens with Craft Supplies friction polish.
I used it on on the black palm.
I don't know how well it will hold up as I finished it two weeks ago and it was virtually stolen out of my pocket. I was donating a couple of pens for a charity auction. It wasn't one that I had offered but the judge's secretary saw it and made that her first choice.

Lee
 
I made a few pens out of it, and have yet to have a pure success. One with a friction polish developed sharp edges on the dark strings edges that gave the pen a rough feel. Not overall bad, as I like to feel the wood texture, but it worries me that eventually they will work free and fall out (like the ones that ended up in my skin while I was turning), This was a Woodcraft Euro pen, so the wood is still relatively thick when complete. Next was a Wall St, and after the "feel" of the other one, I did the whole super thick, glossy smooth CA finish. Not sure if it was the CA or the fact that the WSII ends up with very thin wood in the end (esp. when turned down to allow for a thick CA coating) but this one finished fantastic. After 2 days, I started to notice variation and texture to the CA finish, and a bit later, 3 significant cracks in the wood (must have shrunk consistently). Haven't had the heart to try again, as I have 6 or 7 more blanks, and I love the look of the wood (or grass as was mentioned...) and I hate to make something I like and watch it fall apart. I tossed the WSII barrel and replaced it, but I still have the euro and keeping an eye on it for any other changes...

Glad to hear of others sucesses. Maybe I'll try again...
 
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