Two Twisted Afzelia Burls On Jr Black Ti Retro!

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CharlesH

Member
Joined
Oct 6, 2009
Messages
600
Location
Canada, Quebec, Laval
Hey guys,

Here is two turned today!

Afzelia is AWESOME! I had two slabs eaten by worms which I made blanks with, very voidy, cracked everywhere, soft but really rewarding when turned right! I prefer non-stabilized wood because the CA glue gets deeper in the wood pores.

Thanks for looking and clicky the thumbnails!

Charles



 
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CharlesH

Member
Joined
Oct 6, 2009
Messages
600
Location
Canada, Quebec, Laval
Hey guys,

Once again I had a few PMs regarding my finish. So I will post here what works for me in case it is useful for others.

When I am done turning, at least when I think I am done, I use a spare pair of new bushings to check the size, the one on the lathe are always a bit worn up. The wood before finishing finishing is dry sanded through: 240, 400, 600, 1000 at 4000 RPM on the lathe johnnycnc's delrin bushings. I usually take down the the blanks to just a hair under the new bushing size because my finish will take some thickness.

I highly suggest that you guys get www.exoticblanks.com
sand papers and you cut it in strips for dry sanding. I usually use a 1" strip of each grit for a single barrel pen. When blank is properly sanded, I clean the sanding dust excess by rubbing a shop towel on the blank from side to side while turning the lathe by hand clock wise and counter clock wise. Sometimes I blow the blanks with a air compressor, this is important, you want to see the grain of your wood when finished.

Then I set my lathe to something around 1000 RPM, then I apply many coats of medium viscosity CA by turning by hand. I use shop towels which I cut in strips of 1 inch, I usually cut 3 pieces of it for a two barrel pen and I rub side to side without stopping and I do this for a few seconds. When you done a few pens you know when to stop before the shop towel sticks to the blank. After each coat I apply 2 push of accelerator on each barrel and I spray from 12-15"
in the direction of the blank while blowing at my blank and I place my other hand behind the blank so I feel if the accelerator mist is hitting the blank. Dark woods get cloudy really easily with accelerator (for me) so the less you use the better.

It is really important to check the blank after each coat to make sure nothing is trapped under, like a dust or something. After 4-5 coats of CA glue I usually wet sand with black MM of 3000 or finer, it really depends on how I feel about the wood. With a dry shop towel you wipe off the water from sanding and make sure you don't have any white fine dust in the wood grain after sanding.

So I apply usually 15 to 30 coats by sanding and at some point you have a nice finish build up. I usually sand the ends of my blanks at about 8-10 coats to make sure it is square. I have good lighting in my shop, when I have a uniform finish and the ends of my blanks are well coated I proceed to go with the next MM's and I finish with plastic polish. I usually start sanding side to side when I am at grit 6000 and up then I apply the plastic polish with shop towels and I buff the plastic polish with paper towel.

I think I covered everything but if you have a question, ask away.

Charles
 

Drstrangefart

Member
Joined
Sep 15, 2010
Messages
4,258
Location
Woodstock, Ga. U.S.A.
Hey guys,

Once again I had a few PMs regarding my finish. So I will post here what works for me in case it is useful for others.

When I am done turning, at least when I think I am done, I use a spare pair of new bushings to check the size, the one on the lathe are always a bit worn up. The wood before finishing finishing is dry sanded through: 240, 400, 600, 1000 at 4000 RPM on the lathe johnnycnc's delrin bushings. I usually take down the the blanks to just a hair under the new bushing size because my finish will take some thickness.

I highly suggest that you guys get www.exoticblanks.com
sand papers and you cut it in strips for dry sanding. I usually use a 1" strip of each grit for a single barrel pen. When blank is properly sanded, I clean the sanding dust excess by rubbing a shop towel on the blank from side to side while turning the lathe by hand clock wise and counter clock wise. Sometimes I blow the blanks with a air compressor, this is important, you want to see the grain of your wood when finished.

Then I set my lathe to something around 1000 RPM, then I apply many coats of medium viscosity CA by turning by hand. I use shop towels which I cut in strips of 1 inch, I usually cut 3 pieces of it for a two barrel pen and I rub side to side without stopping and I do this for a few seconds. When you done a few pens you know when to stop before the shop towel sticks to the blank. After each coat I apply 2 push of accelerator on each barrel and I spray from 12-15"
in the direction of the blank while blowing at my blank and I place my other hand behind the blank so I feel if the accelerator mist is hitting the blank. Dark woods get cloudy really easily with accelerator (for me) so the less you use the better.

It is really important to check the blank after each coat to make sure nothing is trapped under, like a dust or something. After 4-5 coats of CA glue I usually wet sand with black MM of 3000 or finer, it really depends on how I feel about the wood. With a dry shop towel you wipe off the water from sanding and make sure you don't have any white fine dust in the wood grain after sanding.

So I apply usually 15 to 30 coats by sanding and at some point you have a nice finish build up. I usually sand the ends of my blanks at about 8-10 coats to make sure it is square. I have good lighting in my shop, when I have a uniform finish and the ends of my blanks are well coated I proceed to go with the next MM's and I finish with plastic polish. I usually start sanding side to side when I am at grit 6000 and up then I apply the plastic polish with shop towels and I buff the plastic polish with paper towel.

I think I covered everything but if you have a question, ask away.

Charles

So, it looks like the main difference worth noting between your finish and mine is I just do 3 coats thin, 3 coats medium and stop unless there's a huge ****-up I gotta fix. But, that's a me problem. Good work on the dedication to finish.
 

patmurris

Member
Joined
Feb 25, 2011
Messages
357
Location
Nice, French Riviera
Thanks for sharing detailed explanations about your finish. One question if i may: as i understand you apply medium CA with the lath off, three coats, and then you wet sand with a rather fine grain before applying another round. In my rather short experience, medium CA leaves a lot of grooves that require thorough sanding after each layer. How do you manage three coats before sanding?
 

Tage

Member
Joined
Dec 1, 2010
Messages
279
Location
NJ
All I can say is....Wow! You nailed it. Beautiful wood selection, compliments the kit perfectly. Perfect proportions and finish. Nice work!
 

wizard

Member
Joined
Aug 27, 2009
Messages
3,568
Location
Houston, Texas
Charles, Stunning pens and photographs!!! Love the complex figuring of the wood and your finish is your usual outstanding trademark! Like Mark mentioned, IMHO the hand is a little distracting. Nevertheless, its your usual stellar work!! Regards, Doc
 
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