Thread: Metal contamination

Originally Posted by Tiger

The last couple of pens I've done have had an added feature - metal contamination. Very small particles of metal are finding their way into the grain of the olive wood that I'm turning. I did use 0000 steel wool to sand but not on the last pen, the bushings I stay away from when I sand so why is this happening now? It's like these particles are in the air and happen to land on my blanks before I start sanding, they seem to appear when I'm actually using the tool.

hey tiger
i gave away my 0000 steel wool ages ago i now only use the 3m scotch brite scourers
in the green , red and rarely the grey and the other thing i do on nearly all pens i do in the sanding and finishing of them is to use the a dead centre and a live centre and sand and finish that way also when doing a CA finish less chance of it lifting

Originally Posted by Tiger

The last couple of pens I've done have had an added feature - metal contamination. Very small particles of metal are finding their way into the grain of the olive wood that I'm turning. I did use 0000 steel wool to sand but not on the last pen, the bushings I stay away from when I sand so why is this happening now? It's like these particles are in the air and happen to land on my blanks before I start sanding, they seem to appear when I'm actually using the tool.

I buff and burnish raw and finished material with super fine steel wool (#0000) and clean with a Tack Cloth and have never had a problem.

To avoid getting bushing material from sanding on the blanks I using Corian tube inserts with slimline bushings.

Make sure you clean off you chisels after sharpening to avoid getting fine metal particles imbedded in the material.

Les

I also use the dishwashing scour pads. There are a few cheap imitations pads out there now that help reduce the cost. Go with the finest weave pads.Make sure you stop the lathe and rub along the grain direction.
If I have a very light coloured wood, I will also give the sanded blank a wipe with a cloth wetted with mineral spirts, alcohol or accetone. Again wipe along the grain direction.

What type of paper are you sanding with?

Do your blanks sit in the same area as you have used stainless steel wool in?

Are you hitting the bushes when turning and not wiping down the blanks?

Do you vacuum your bench before putting a turned blank on it to remove filings?

If you have metal filings floating in the air you have real problems.

something others here have not mentioned yet but compressed air, godsend, dont know what i'd do without it.

Neal.

Hmmnn, steel wool for sanding pen blanks ?. Steel wool is for scouring metal, not wood, although some people seem to like it, there are lots of other ways to sand timber without the risk of embedding metal dust & fibers into fast spinning wood. I use 0000 steel wool for hand rubbing out Danish oil finish on box's, then the surface is cleaned off before applying Traditional Wax, but on pens I have only ever used Pen Making :: Pen Making Tools :: Multi-Pack Abrasive Rolls - Pen Kits, Pen blanks, Clock Kits and wood turning accessories. but keep off the bushings as you WILL drag metal color onto the ends of your blank. I always wipe the blank down after sanding with metho applied to a pad of dunny paper, which gets rid of any dirt left on the blank after the sanding process. You will be surprised at the crud that actually comes off the blank & onto the pad !!. Why would you put a fine finish over the top of discolored crud ?. Pen turning and finishing is pretty simple and basic if you follow the KISS principal.

Originally Posted by Tiger

The last couple of pens I've done have had an added feature - metal contamination. Very small particles of metal , they seem to appear when I'm actually using the tool.

Just another thought. After you sharpen your turning tool, do you leave a bur on the cutting edge ?. If so, it might be fragments of the bur snapping off into the wood. (although you'd think this would happen during the initial roughing down of the blank). After I sharpen my gouge I take the bur off the leading edge of the tool with a very fine impresioning file or a bit of 320 grit wet & dry paper wrapped around my finger. Just a thought ??

If they are appearing when you use the tool it may be that there are metal filings trapped in the operating areas of your lathe. Give it a good vacuum to clean it up. I recently had the same problem with a band saw where the blade was not set up correctly. After it was fixed small metal shavings still appeared until I ran the vacuum over it. Don't sand with steel wool while your lathe is turning. It should only be used to run along the blank after the lathe is stopped to remove scratches; if you need to use it at all.

Thanks guys I have only just introduced the 0000 steel wool probably the last 4 or 5 pens so a bit strange that it should happen on the last 2 pens. I do wipe the blanks down but by the time I do so the particles are embedded. I hone my tools after grinding them so wouldn't have thought that was the problem, anyway giving away the steel wool on the next pen.