Rifleman1776
Member
Below is a fairly ordinary Slimline. But, for me a couple things are noteworthy. Somehow, my stubborn Italian head has got pounded into it a few tips to improve my finishes. With the help of Lou, and those here, I have changed my finishing recently with improved results. I still do my first sanding at high speed with gold 220, then I stop the lathe and sand with the grain using gold 320, then turn on and sand again with 320, after that I use 800 grit white pad. Then (Lou's suggestion) I clean with denatured alcohol, this has proven to be a very valuable step. Then two coats of Mylands sanding sealer, two coats of Mylands friction finish. Then I rub, with lathe off, lengthwise, with my piece of wool blanket. Then two coats of Mylands melamine finish. Allow to dry then buff with lathe on using the wool blanket. Then a couple coats of Johnsons paste wax, allow to dry and polish with Viva paper towel. Nice finish (I think [8D] ) And </u>NO FINISH RINGS. </u> The second noteworthy feature of this pen is the wasp waist. Those I see here, for whatever reason do not appeal to me with wasp waists. But I make my slims that way. In person, to me, the appearance takes them out of the ordinary and leaves more wood,and that's where the beauty is, IMHO. This pen is made with some of the great cocobolo I got in trade from JByrd, it is lighter and redder and more figured than coco I had used in the past.