Open grained wood

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havighurst

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What is the best way to make open grained wood look good. I have tried sanding from 80 grit to 600, used MM, but the pores of the wood still distract from the pen. I am not sure if it is sanding dust in the pores or something else, but it really does not look good. Is there a trick for open grained wood look good that I am missing?
 
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...don't know what your definition of "look good" is. The open grain will fill with something and we can only control what that something is. We can't make it disappear. I blow off the blank and then use 400 sandpaper. I catch sanding dust on the paper and then add CA making a slurry. I fill or seal the wood with the slurry then start sanding again starting back at 320. If the open grain wood doesn't look good (in your opinion) then you may need to change woods and use those that don't have that quality.

You can see the slurry technique by reading my CA finish at http://www.RedRiverPens.com/articles I use the slurry on most all woods...it is just part of how I do a CA glue finish.
Do a good turn daily!
Don

havighurst said:
What is the best way to make open grained wood look good. I have tried sanding from 80 grit to 600, used MM, but the pores of the wood still distract from the pen. I am not sure if it is sanding dust in the pores or something else, but it really does not look good. Is there a trick for open grained wood look good that I am missing?
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What you need to do is refer to flat work when working with open grain wood. Most finishing forums explain the use of fillers to enhance the grain patterns and the pores of open grain wood. If you are coloring the wood then use a filler with color to it. In the case of pens which is a small piece you can use the slurry mix such as was mentioned but like I said in flat work you want to enhance the grain more to give it character or else it looks dull. Just my 2¢
 
I sand at 180 saving the dust, make a slurry with BLO and hand rub it into the pen blank. I then begin my sanding of the blank with 220 through 600, finish with either Turner's Magic or a BLO/CA finish. I've been very happy with it.
 
havighurst said:
What is the best way to make open grained wood look good. I have tried sanding from 80 grit to 600, used MM, but the pores of the wood still distract from the pen. I am not sure if it is sanding dust in the pores or something else, but it really does not look good. Is there a trick for open grained wood look good that I am missing?
Click to expand...

I find the best method to be turning the blank just proud of the finished size and then hit the whole blank with thin CA. The stabilization of the soft and /or open grain will turn and finish nicely after this.
 
greggas said:
I find the best method to be turning the blank just proud of the finished size and then hit the whole blank with thin CA. The stabilization of the soft and /or open grain will turn and finish nicely after this.
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+1 on this. Some woods look nice with a slurry filler (I use this on most burls) and some don't look good with the open grain filled. Try both and see what you prefer. :smile:
 
Stabilizing the wood with ca just before getting to final size will help, but you will likely still get dimples in your finish unless you do something to fill in the pores. A ca/dust slurry is the most common filler, and usually looks good. There are others, usually used on large flat surfaces, and as a underlayment for more finishing steps. For pens, I usually just add in an extra sanding step at 320 g, using a fresh piece of sandpaper and a few drops of med ca. Sand till the ca sets up, then move on to 400 and sand smooth again, then start laying up my finish coats.
 
Sure wish I could do the CA slurry. I tried and found out I am highly allergic to the dust. My arms and hands got a rash like poison ivy and ended up at the doctor to get rid of it. :(
 
Richard Gibson said:
Sure wish I could do the CA slurry. I tried and found out I am highly allergic to the dust. My arms and hands got a rash like poison ivy and ended up at the doctor to get rid of it. :(
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Who says you have to use CA. Use regular wood glue such as titebond. There are also putty you can use. Lowes has a good supply of little jars of putty that will match just about any color wood. When final sanding use a hard backer on your sandpaper so as to not dig into the grain with finger pressure. All you need is a very light sanding. Then remember to sand with the grain before applying the finish of your choice. Now if you are allergic to the dust itself and you are getting a rash from the dust and not the CA then you need to find another hobby.:smile: Seriously the dust is also affecting your insides so you better be using dust protection to the fullest. I would either find different woods you are not allergic to or switch to all acrylic blanks. Those allergic reactions are a warning. Be careful.
 
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Depending on the wood, oak and walnut get the CA 400 or 600 quality paper slurry mix. When using sanding slurry, only use high quality paper, 3M, Norton,etc. Some of the cheap papers will loose the abrasive from the paper and it will be in the finish of the pen. Not good. DAMHIKT but i do.
Charles
 
I've been playing with oak and that's about as open pored as you can get. The wood came from the oak threshold of my Grandmother's home. It was torn down this year (it was time) so I'm making pens out of the wood for cousins and My Dad, uncle & aunt. I have been preping the blanks after getting the tubes in place by putting thin CA on the ends. This soaks down quite a ways into the wood. Turn the piece then put on a layer of boiled linseed oil and CA. then I sand with a bit of pressure. This fills most of the pores and gives you a smooth surface to work with. I use 180 / 220 klingspor. Once the surface is smooth finish with...well I use more oil and CA and then sand and buff. Then to get the tears flowing I put a picture of grandma by the front door with a message for each person in the pen tube. I'm a real sentimental ol #$%. Sending out the last one tonight.
Bill
 
You can use different oils (BLO, butcher block oil, mineral oil) & saw dust slurry to make a good filler, so does shellac and sawdust. Sand with 400 grit or higher wet/dry paper when surface is dry. Told cornstarch and oil slurry will dry clear, never tried that.

Commercial paste wood fillers expensive they come in either oil or water based. Water based fillers dry faster but more problems than oil based. I would not use enough to merit buying a commercial paste wood filler.
 
Hi guys;

Been floating around here for quite a while, but never have introduced myself. I will make another post for that. When working with open grained woods like oak & walnut I have always wet-sanded my first finish coat into the wood after that I applied the finish as normal. I have done the same with pens. I wet-sand the BLO using 800 grit and then rub it in using a paper towel. Then I apply my CA as normal. It gave me a glass smooth finish on jewelry boxes and seems to work well with pens.

Ed<><
 
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