Sanding Grits for Pens

[jking]

I turned my first pen & pencil over the weekend. Turned out ok for my first attempt. At first I thought they looked pretty good; the more I study them (under good lighting) I can still see sanding marks.

I'm curious what others recommend for grits & general procedure when sanding pens. I'm a beginner, so, I'm sure I can't produce nearly the same quality of turned surface as others. I went through the follow grits, 180, 220, 320, 400, 600. this was mainly based on what I have read in a couple of books. I sanded cross-grain (lathe on); once I got to 320 I would also sand with the grain (lathe off). Perhaps I should have sanded with the grain on all grits?

[final_t]

I turned my first pen & pencil over the weekend. Turned out ok for my first attempt. At first I thought they looked pretty good; the more I study them (under good lighting) I can still see sanding marks.

I'm curious what others recommend for grits & general procedure when sanding pens. I'm a beginner, so, I'm sure I can't produce nearly the same quality of turned surface as others. I went through the follow grits, 180, 220, 320, 400, 600. this was mainly based on what I have read in a couple of books. I sanded cross-grain (lathe on); once I got to 320 I would also sand with the grain (lathe off). Perhaps I should have sanded with the grain on all grits?

You're probably not taking the sanding grit high enough; I take it to 4000 (common car-body stuff), and others take it to 12,000 with micromesh but I don't. I also buff it out "wet" with a paper towel and a little varnish thinner.

Betcha if you give someone your pen they'll be pleased as punch and never notice what you see.

[Whaler]

I have found that if you go through 600 grit no one will notice any imperfections. I have started using the micro mesh system, just for myself, and like it.

[gerti]

I usually finish each pass of the coarser grids with a pass with the grain. Once past 600 you can skip the labor intensive passes with the grain. Left scratches are sometimes hard to make out, wipe with a bit of alcohol or other fluid to get rid of the dust.

On the softer woods I usually go to about 1000, on the harder woods higher. Some of the harder varieties (blood wood, ebony etc) can be polished high enough to not even need a finish.

[DonHo]

I think you're correct in thinking you need to sand with the grain(lathe off) on all grits. 600 should be high enough on wood pens, you might want to go higher on plastic or other materials. No matter what material you are using, I think you will find using EEE ultra shine will make a big difference.

DonHo

[Ken Massingale]

I use this:



with a different grit on each wheel. The finist is 1000, then I start with 4000 Micromesh up thru 12000. I then use a strong magnifying glass to check that the finish is scratch free.
The link above doesn't have all the grits that are available in the store.

[jking]

Should I be starting coarser than 180? With non-turned projects, I usually start at 120.

John

[final_t]

Should I be starting coarser than 180? With non-turned projects, I usually start at 120.

John

I think you might be starting *too* coarse; the turning tool generally leaves a smooth surface, and I start at 220 if not 400. If you're using 180 or 120, you're more into reshaping the body of the pen or levelling it out. The big grains of materal is probably what is leaving the grooves you're trying to get out.