Well, since I have been sidelined with my knee injury, I thought I would get into turning pens. I've had a lot of fun doing it so I've taken the next step and I have put some up for sale. I have opened a store front on Etsy.com. Right now I only have a few pens up there, but I'm going to be putting more up there so you can subscribe to my store as a feed. Later on, I am also going to build some small boxes and put them up there as well. Again, I'm just a hobbyist, but if you can make a little money here and there, why not. Etsy is nice because it is dedicated to handmade items and their costs are very reasonable. So, check out the store...feedback welcome!
www.vanvleetwoodworking.etsy.com
Be safe!
Showing posts with label wood pens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wood pens. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Saturday, November 7, 2009
CA Finish for Pens - Part 2; An Observation
In one of my previous posts I commented on my success and failures of using a CA finish on some of my pens. I've been tinkering with it a bit more with some more success, but I've made a few observations about the success, or lack of success in some cases, I am having.
First, I've noticed that if you use more than, say, two coats of CA, the pen will have a plastic feel. This makes total sense because the CA is an acrylic of sorts so the more you add, the more "plastic" you get. The advantage to this is you get a rock hard finish that will last nearly forever.
Second, the wood makes a difference. I've tried using a few different types of woods; cherry, tiger maple, paduk and rosewood. For some reason, it seems to me that the harder woods such as cherry, paduk and rosewood seem to do better than a softer wood such as maple. I have had success with maple, but it just seems more finicky than the other woods.
Third, one thick coat goes a long way. How I have had good success is to use a good coat of BLO. I apply this by wet sanding with 1000 grit paper and wiping the access with a rag. Then, with the lathe off, I apply the CA to the pen while rotating the mandrel by hand and quickly rubbing back and forth. I go around, quickly, three or four times, then stop. Next, I let that sit for a while to harden and cure, then I come back and wet sand with BLO, but this time with 2000 grit paper. I then increase the speed and apply BLO to a rag and wipe the whole thing down and apply slight pressure to heat the BLO into the pen, if you will.
This method has given me the most success so far. The other thing I really like about it is you do get a good protective CA finish on the pen, but it does not feel like plastic and retains the warmth of the wood underneath. But, this is all one person's observations, I would love to hear your take and your method for finishing.
Be safe!
First, I've noticed that if you use more than, say, two coats of CA, the pen will have a plastic feel. This makes total sense because the CA is an acrylic of sorts so the more you add, the more "plastic" you get. The advantage to this is you get a rock hard finish that will last nearly forever.
Second, the wood makes a difference. I've tried using a few different types of woods; cherry, tiger maple, paduk and rosewood. For some reason, it seems to me that the harder woods such as cherry, paduk and rosewood seem to do better than a softer wood such as maple. I have had success with maple, but it just seems more finicky than the other woods.
Third, one thick coat goes a long way. How I have had good success is to use a good coat of BLO. I apply this by wet sanding with 1000 grit paper and wiping the access with a rag. Then, with the lathe off, I apply the CA to the pen while rotating the mandrel by hand and quickly rubbing back and forth. I go around, quickly, three or four times, then stop. Next, I let that sit for a while to harden and cure, then I come back and wet sand with BLO, but this time with 2000 grit paper. I then increase the speed and apply BLO to a rag and wipe the whole thing down and apply slight pressure to heat the BLO into the pen, if you will.
This method has given me the most success so far. The other thing I really like about it is you do get a good protective CA finish on the pen, but it does not feel like plastic and retains the warmth of the wood underneath. But, this is all one person's observations, I would love to hear your take and your method for finishing.
Be safe!
Monday, October 26, 2009
CA Pen Finish - mixed results
So I've been in a pen turning mode for a while; I'm having some fun with it, creating different designs on some slim line pens. I've been using a few different finishing techniques as well. One is Shellac/Wax called Shellawax Cream. It is super easy to use, just put some on a paper towel and apply while the lathe is spinning. It creates a nice finish, not super glossy and has a good feel. Next I tried a friction polish, which is a lacquer based finish, in a semi-gloss. This is really easy to use as well; just apply to a paper towel and apply to the piece as it's spinning. I like this finish as well, but I think I would like something with a bit more shine so I might try the high-gloss. Lastly, it brings me to the CA finish. I've tried this a couple different way. First, I tried it by simply applying it to the piece and wiping it on quickly, letting it set, apply another coat, etc up to 3-5 coats. Then I let it dry for a while and then wet sand it up to 2000 grit. This actually came out really nice, but was a bit fussy at first. Next, I read about using BLO with CA so I tried that. That is really easy to do, but I don't seem get the nice high-gloss finish that I do with just the CA build up. I'm applying BLO to the paper towel, and then CA over that. For some reason, it doesn't seem to build up as well. I would love some feedback on how others use the CA process; I've watched a couple videos online about it, and read through some articles, but I'm just not "getting it" so far, but I'm going to keep trying.
The pen below was finished with the BLO and CA combination the I outlined above, it is made from Tiger Maple. It came out well, but I would like a bit more gloss finish on it. I'm thinking I should have put a couple more coats on and then wet sand it. I will try that next.
The pen below was finished with the BLO and CA combination the I outlined above, it is made from Tiger Maple. It came out well, but I would like a bit more gloss finish on it. I'm thinking I should have put a couple more coats on and then wet sand it. I will try that next.
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| From Pen Making |
Monday, October 19, 2009
Pen Making - First attempts
In my other post I mentioned that I had bought the Penn State Industry pen making starter kit (found here) I've been having some fun with the kit; I never knew pen making was so easy. You can whip these suckers out in 15-20 minutes depending on what design you use. Well, I finally got around to taking some pictures of some that I've made.
These are in chronological order from left to right. They are all made from Rosewood except the one on the right, that Padauk. The middle two were made for a friend of mine and it is a pen and pencil set.
So now I'm in the process of making some more from other woods such as cherry, mahogany and tiger maple. I've also ordered different kits from some other sources, specifically www.woodturnerscatalog.com I ordered some roller ball kits from here. I'm looking to try different kits from different sources, but I've only found a few so if anyone has some recommendations, I'm all ears. Thanks for looking!
Be safe!
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| From Pen Making |
These are in chronological order from left to right. They are all made from Rosewood except the one on the right, that Padauk. The middle two were made for a friend of mine and it is a pen and pencil set.
So now I'm in the process of making some more from other woods such as cherry, mahogany and tiger maple. I've also ordered different kits from some other sources, specifically www.woodturnerscatalog.com I ordered some roller ball kits from here. I'm looking to try different kits from different sources, but I've only found a few so if anyone has some recommendations, I'm all ears. Thanks for looking!
Be safe!
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