1st CA finish.

[Tim_N]

Slimline pen with a slight twist to the barrel. Lace Sheoak. Finished with CA - only thin, about 10 coats. Polished with micromesh. I managed to turn down enough this time to avoid the lip at the end.
There seems to be some pitting either in the finish or in the wood naturally at the top end of the pen. Not sure which ... any suggestions as to anything that I might have done to cause this ?

306048

[tdrumnut]

Tim, it looks like you are quickly getting the hang of it, the fit on this one is pretty good. As to the question of the pitting, if you start with a couple of coats thin CA then switch to a med CA that will fill in any voids. When sanding back make sure there is no shiny CA left before polishing.

[Dorno]

I am not meaning to sound pick tim but I find it strange that you have the bottom of the pen thicker than the top ? your finish looks great but to me that just puts me off. I may be the only one who feels this way but I am interested to hear what others think ?

Cheers Ian

[Tim_N]

I am not meaning to sound pick tim but I find it strange that you have the bottom of the pen thicker than the top ? your finish looks great but to me that just puts me off. I may be the only one who feels this way but I am interested to hear what others think ?

Cheers Ian

Just trying different looks out :) New to the whole pen turning and exploring different things. I am not sure what I like yet !!

[plantagenon]

If you can hold it comfortably in your hand and write with it - okay. If not then Dorno has made the point. The pitting on your pen is not hard to overcome.

first 10 coats of CA is not enough as the MM will remove most of them, particularly as you begin to practise with it. Try 20 coats of thin but use quite a few drops of it over the blank on each application. As long as you move your paper towel back and forth smoothly, doesn't matter if u overdo the CA a bit.

second sand the blank to 600 grit, then sand with 0000 steel wool. Then stop the lathe and run the steel wool along the blank. Yes you will see metal fibres from the steel wool so turn your lathe back on and rub it down with a paper towel soaked in metho. The metho will remove as fibres and pop the grain which will remove a lot of the dips in the timber. Next go to step one above

have fun