Regency Twist in Holly

[bliorg]

Hi, all -

Haven't been turning in a while - too many irons, too many fires. Built a new stand for my lathe recently; finally got a chance to turn on it. Product is this Regency twist from exoticblanks.com:

Gun metal/matte black kit (picked by my wife); body is American holly harvested in Delaware. CA finish. This is the smoothest, cleanest, nicest CA finish I've done yet. And the last. Finished the finishing, polish, and assembly, and the finish cracked about 10 minutes later. Drat. Will come back to it at some point, I'm sure, but will be investigating other options in the short term.

This pen is destined to be a housewarming gift for a friend. He won't mind the crack...

Thanks for looking,
Scott

 

[jttheclockman]

I like the combo. Sorry about the crack. Holly is not prone to crack that I know of. Not a critique but a suggestion. I know you were after a fancy photo shot but our pens we make are not meant for extreme temps especially from one to another. I would have tried for a different photo shot. Our pens with wood and other material blanksare turned very thin and they expand and contract enough on their own. Adding extreme temps is not a good idea. That is why over the years you read the warnings many pen turners say here keep your pens out of heat and cold temps in cars and other places. just an opinion.

 

[bliorg]

Thanks. Appreciate the input. Pen was outside literally for about 15 seconds, and the finish (not the holly) was already cracked. So, wasn't concerned.

 

[egnald]

Great looking pen - Dave

 

[jttheclockman]

Thanks. Appreciate the input. Pen was outside literally for about 15 seconds, and the finish (not the holly) was already cracked. So, wasn't concerned.

Then you need to look why did it crack. Did you force the components into the tubes. Or did they not go in straight. Or was the CA good. Did you use excelorator and if so was it too much. You can disassemble and redo the finish if you want to. Anyway good luck and nice looking pen.

 

[d_bondi]

If the wood is not cracked, but the CA is... did you sand the ends of the blank flush to the tube again after application of the CA? Application of the CA typically leaves between large "fingernails" and small ridges on the ends of the blank that protrude beyond the wood and tube. When assembled, the components press directly on that CA and cause it to crack.

 

[sorcerertd]

It may have just been the temperature that caused it to crack, but it's a sharp looking pen. Holly is great to work with. I wish it were easier to source. The wood is plentiful enough for turning stock, but not many know how to, or want to spend time drying it. In any case, I'm glad you got some lathe time in. I find it therapeutic (as long as I don't really screw something up :/ )

 

[bliorg]

Great looking pen - Dave

Thanks Dave!

 

[bliorg]

Then you need to look why did it crack. Did you force the components into the tubes. Or did they not go in straight. Or was the CA good. Did you use excelorator and if so was it too much. You can disassemble and redo the finish if you want to. Anyway good luck and nice looking pen.

Thanks for the possible causes. Assembly went fine - actually, this is a super easy assembly, only the finial gets pressed. CA is old-ish (maybe 10 months?). The accelerator is also as old, and likely used too much, but same process as before, and wipe down with DNA between applications of CA, allowing to dry in between (again, same as I always do). I'd be interested, for future reference, to hear how to disassemble. If this was a different pen, with a different purpose, and I actually had time, I would totally do that. Again - thanks for the info!

 

[bliorg]

If the wood is not cracked, but the CA is... did you sand the ends of the blank flush to the tube again after application of the CA? Application of the CA typically leaves between large "fingernails" and small ridges on the ends of the blank that protrude beyond the wood and tube. When assembled, the components press directly on that CA and cause it to crack.

Thanks David. I always sand the tube ends after finishing with CA, always very slowly with 1000 grit. That said, I don't know if this was flush to the tube, which may very well be part of the issue. That said, the nib on this kit doesn't get pressed, so not sure.

 

[bliorg]

It may have just been the temperature that caused it to crack, but it's a sharp looking pen. Holly is great to work with. I wish it were easier to source. The wood is plentiful enough for turning stock, but not many know how to, or want to spend time drying it. In any case, I'm glad you got some lathe time in. I find it therapeutic (as long as I don't really screw something up :/ )

Thanks Todd! This was a all roadside free wood in Delaware - gentleman had trimmed down some fallen trees from a storm. I snagged all the decent sized logs, mainly for spoon carving, and pens. It's not winter harvest, so not pure white, but loveley anyway. Resawed a few boards the other day for box work, and I have plans on maybe using a little as a one piece rosette on a ukulele I'm slowly working on.

Agree - the lathe time is very therapeutic!

 

[cmiller]

More unsolicited advice : I had a lot of CA cracking/checking happening until I switched to Mercury Adhesives flex CA. I also learned the hard way that I had to be very aggressive when getting rid of the CA on the tube ends. I gave up using sandpaper and now I use a fine grain file. And I keep filing until there's no more shiny CA on the tube ends. Never had a problem with this method.

P.S. I have a decent number of holly blanks if anyone wants to trade...

 

[bliorg]

More unsolicited advice : I had a lot of CA cracking/checking happening until I switched to Mercury Adhesives flex CA. I also learned the hard way that I had to be very aggressive when getting rid of the CA on the tube ends. I gave up using sandpaper and now I use a fine grain file. And I keep filing until there's no more shiny CA on the tube ends. Never had a problem with this method.

P.S. I have a decent number of holly blanks if anyone wants to trade...

Thanks - this is helpful. Will be picking up a file for such use (can always use more files...). Will also check out the Mercury CA.

Always impressed with how helpful y'all are. Thanks, everyone.