Made these this afternoon. My first pen turnings and while not particularly complicated I can see there is a learning curve here to get things just right. Turning with the bushings is interesting as I can see you kind of need to sneak up on them. leave to much and there is too much sanding, get too close and you can cut too much or you have the possibility to sand past the bushings. I did destroy a Cocobolo blank when the barrel trimmer ripped it apart. i guess that for some woods the disc sanding method may be a better option. I also noticed as I sanded that you do get some contamination as some of the fines from the metal bushings get into the grain of the wood.
I also used this as an exercise in experimentation on finishing. It does seem that there are many different options and combinations. The razor and stand I did with the BLO/CA (thin) method and then sanded the finish with the micro mesh pads. The stylus pen I did starting with a coat of thin CA and then 3 or 4 coats of stick fast polish (satin) and then buffed out with micromesh.
I did get some EEE ultrashine and that worked really great. The slimline was sanded to 600 and then I used the EEE and added a coat of wax. Probably not very durable but it feels really nice.
I must admit I am a little confused as many of the techniques seem to be a mix of sanding, finish, buffing and polishing. Some combinations seem redundant, e,g, the stick fast satin and gloss are in essence micro abrasive that take you to around 1500. The pads start there and go to 12000. do you use both, on or the other. There also seem to be sooo many different versions of using the CA as a finish, some say use activatior, some say no. Fat seed o slow speed many swear by both.
I understand it all depends on the desired mix of look, feel, durability etc I would appreciate some general wisdom on best practices from all you pen turners out there to help lessen my learning curve.
I also used this as an exercise in experimentation on finishing. It does seem that there are many different options and combinations. The razor and stand I did with the BLO/CA (thin) method and then sanded the finish with the micro mesh pads. The stylus pen I did starting with a coat of thin CA and then 3 or 4 coats of stick fast polish (satin) and then buffed out with micromesh.
I did get some EEE ultrashine and that worked really great. The slimline was sanded to 600 and then I used the EEE and added a coat of wax. Probably not very durable but it feels really nice.
I must admit I am a little confused as many of the techniques seem to be a mix of sanding, finish, buffing and polishing. Some combinations seem redundant, e,g, the stick fast satin and gloss are in essence micro abrasive that take you to around 1500. The pads start there and go to 12000. do you use both, on or the other. There also seem to be sooo many different versions of using the CA as a finish, some say use activatior, some say no. Fat seed o slow speed many swear by both.
I understand it all depends on the desired mix of look, feel, durability etc I would appreciate some general wisdom on best practices from all you pen turners out there to help lessen my learning curve.
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