Over the weekend...

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cwasil

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This a few of the pens I got completed over the weekend. I did the blue buckeye burl cigar based on Yo-Yo's interesting shapes, several designer pens including the shown aromatic cedar pen, a bunch of slimlines including the shown afzelia burl and a couple of ligero's using Ilikewood cocobolo's and one bethlehem olivewood.

Quick question...has anyone experience cracking of JOW or BOW. I've made 6 pens out of JOW and so far 3 now have a huge gaping crack in them. While turning I notice small hairline cracks (nothing really unusual) so I filled them with CA, like I normally would, and finished them with, I think, Dougles technique of Behlens. Anyway these small little cracks have grown into a full blow faultline. There is no way to salvage...I just have to turn and finish a new 1/2 of the pen and hope that it matches the original 1/2.


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Olive wood is heat sensitive because of the oils in the wood... to keep my pens from developing cracks, I drill then and then let them sit a day... glue in the tubes, trim and turn them to shape.. sand very lightly so as not to develop heat stress or cracks, then I let them sit again for a day and DO NOT.. I REPEAT, DO NOT use a friction polish on them... you are asking for heat cracks... I only finish olive woods in CA or lacquer...
 
Nice work!

I'll have to disagree with "Old Griz" - I only use friction polish on all my GOW! Hut two sticks.

Now as to cracking the wood you have is young and probably the moisture content high - ie over 12%. I do not wash the blank in alcohol, and I also bring more natural oil to the surface by a final light buffing with a soft cloth and the shavings. Be sure not to overheat as tom says this will cause cracking later - you are driving out the water and sap oils.

You can rescue the pen! Take the last remanent of your blank - put this on your sanding wheel, collect the dust, put thin CA glue into the cracks and back fill with the fine dust. You will have to do this a few times to build up layers, until proud of surrounding blank - then sand back - do not generate to much heat or you will melt out the CA.

I will be bringing out a rescue kit for OW - just got to get around to it!!

I hope this helps let me know, please

Good luck!!
 
Great looking bunch of pens . While I haven't done much with BOW , the ones that I have done were with a friction polish and I haven't had any sort of problems at all .
 
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