Soft Wood

[G1Pens]

Tonight I was turning a couple of pens. I was using Butternut on both. Butternut is light and relatively soft. I got a couple nice looking barrels and did my normal CA/BLO finish. They looked great. In the assembly process, the clip rubbed against the wood and made a noticeable scratch.

So here is my question. What do you do to keep this from happening. Is it more coats of CA? The other day I posted the question...how much CA is enough. Is this an answer to my question. Does soft wood need more coats than hard wood? I like my wood to look somewhat natural and not have the high gloss finish. Sometimes I like the high gloss but not always.

How does everyone finish their softer woods?

 

[G1Pens]

Any Help?

 

[LarryDNJR]

I would say maybe try stabilizing the wood with a form of hardener or resin injection.

 

[G1Pens]

I don't think I am advanced enought for that yet. Could I saturate it with CA after turning?

 

[ossaguy]

I recently did a couple of slimlines made out of red cedar which seemed super soft to me and they turned out nice.I guess I put about 4-5 light costs of thin,then about 10 coats of med,then wet sand with mm ,then polish with Plast-x,and buff with the Barry Gross wheel setup.

I have such problems with the clip rotating during use,which scratches the surface that I now do this.

I decide exactly where the clip should be positioned on the barrel,then put a piece of blue painters tape around the other end of the barrel so I can mark the exact clip spot on the tap so I don't goof it up when pressing the cap & clip in.

Then I coat the clip-end of the barrel with wax,and put a drop of CA all around the inside of the tube on that end,then carefully press it together with it lined up with the mark on the tape.Then in case any CA seeped out,I give a good wipe from the waxy end-out,so there isn't any that gets on the wood.I sometimes need to use a q-tip dipped in acetone to detail the end cap if any got on it.

As long as I've done this,it's solved my problems.Before if the clip got moved while I was pressing it together,if I disassembled it to try it over,I would see that there was a dent left behind in the cA finish where the clip's ball was.So as long as I do it this way,I'm certain to not have to take it apart again,so if there is a divet there,you can't see it.

Take care,
Steve

 

[oops99]

Hey G1

I always bring it down to near finish size with a tool that doesn't smooth it out too much, like a gouge, if you use a skew, it will close the grain too much, but a gouge leaves it a bit rougher, then apply some thin CA by dripping it on while rotating the lathe by hand, and turn the lathe by hand until the CA sets, repeat a couple of times to let the glue set in.
What you want to do is soak the wood with the thin CA.
It works for me, but you will have to experiment to find out if it works for you.

I hope this helps, Good luck.
Tom/oops99

 

[1080Wayne]

As Steve says for the clip rotating problem , except I use red Loctite . A couple coats of thin CA , followed by several of medium , to harden the wood .