Open grain

[PMisiaszek]

I apologize if this question has been beaten to death, but I've been away from this site for several months. I'm turning some pens with an open grain (Mango) that I'm trying to fill. I finish my pens with Wayne's two-step Enduro method, but I really have a hard time filling the grain with that process. I wind up putting on many, many coats before I'm satisfied. I don't like using CA. So, my questions are... is there a secret to using Enduro that will be more efficient at filling open-grain, or is there some other pen-maker's magic that I haven't been let in on.

 

[GoodTurns]

dipping lacquer makes beautiful mango (and signature) pens....fills them and makes them nice and solid without matting the fibers.

 

[GouletPens]

I know you hate CA, but you could turn them just a LITTLE bit proud, then fill with a couple coats of thin CA with the lathe on, then sand down to final thickness and finish as usual. The CA would just be in the grain, but sanded away on the wood. It works well for burls too when you have knots and stuff to fill.

 

[fiferb]

Sanding Sealer?

 

[george]

How about a very quick and very sucesfull way with thin CA, showed by R. Fairfield in LIBRARY ? Perhaps someone with more experiences can give opinion on combinating CA and Enduro, but this CA method works really well. Take a look.

 

[RussFairfield]

Enduro works fine on a wood that has been hardened and filled with CA glue.

 

[marcruby]

I'm not sure why this works, but I get everything pretty much to shape and then put thin coat of CA on the blank and that sanding (usually with 320 or 400 grit. The ca/wood slurry gets into the pores and inevitably turns dark. Once everything sets up I finish normally (usually CA). I just finished my first mango pen (a cigar) as a matter of fact. I wasn't sure it would work out, but it did. Quite well if I say so myself.

If I understand correctly Enduro is really just a water-based poly. Rather than use CA I'd suggest a sanding sealer instead of the CA I use.

Marc