Thread: miniumum speed for ca

Speed can be a factor, sometimes 500 is better, then 800 could be around norm, too fast and you will have to learn a whole new process of applying CA, good luck. Amos

I apply at about 1500 rpm because I can't be bothered changing the pully on my lathe

On my old lathe, I turned and finished at 1800 rpm because it was a pain to change speeds all the time, it is easier to put CA on at a slower speed, but you can adapt your technique to put it on at any speed.
Don't lose any sleep over it, just practice and learn to do it on your lathe at whatever your slowest speed is.

Guys, thanks for the replies, I'II just go for it! l forgot to mention l haven't received it yet - as its coming from W.A and that will probably take 2-3 weeks.

I will need plenty of blanks, allowing for a sharp learning curve.

l guess if l keep stuffing up the C.A l can go for the resin blanks, or just use shellawax Glow on the timber.

Thanks again.
Stevo

I'm not sure how much experience you have, but if you havent done a CA finish yet, its best to get a couple of lengths of dowel ( or any cheap or free offcuts ) and practice and hone your finishing skills on them before you try to do it on your pen tubes.
This can save you a lot of heartache and frustration.

Hey Brad, l had a lend of a work mates small "sherwood" lathe, and got bitten by the pen bug, l have made 3 so-so pens (10 stuff ups - various reasons ), the finishing is by far the hardest in regards to the CA glue, l reckon it was going on too thick and the speed was too fast, l tried the "Glen 20" accelerator method but that turned too white and l reckon l put on too much of that as well, plus this time of year it can be between 6-14 degrees in the shed, l watched a video from the forum here and the finish was great i think it from a "dave?" or DJ? So l will cut some pine blanks and stop wasting my good blanks, hate seeing good timber going in the bin! even the little pen bits. Practice - practice etc etc and lots of patience - not my usual forte, l'm afraid, always in a hurry to see the end result. Thanks again for the tips

Everyone who tries the CA finish has to find what works best in their own circumstances ,you start off with a general perception then adapt , as you get more experience it gets easier, mainly their are three grades of CA used ,thin which is very fast drying, a matter of seconds, and activater not needed , one or 2 quick swipes along the blank is all you get this is usually a sealing coat to help later coats have a good bond to work on . too much speed and the centrifigal force will tend to make ridges as it tries to fly off all over things ,can get messy very quickly . The Medium CA coats will tend to try and do the same thing as the dry time is longer so more time to ridge up as well. after a couple of coats you can sand back to smooth again if needed , make sure you have no shiny spots as this indicates a hollow that is hard to get filled with the next coats , I do a couple of thin coats then about three in medium ,sand back to smooth ,then about 3 more of medium , sand again and by then I usually have the amount of buildup needed for micro meshing , again speed is your enemy as when sanding the CA can get hot and it starts to melt , it doesn't like heat at all, wet sanding is preferred You can also use "0000" steel wool, from bunnings or any large hardware retailer, it is less agressive than sandpaper when getting to finish coats . Again it is a balancing act with time and speed and thickness , If you need a thicker coating you use thick CA and then you do have to use the activater or wait a much longer time between coats , some folks use closed cell foam as an applicater and have great success as the CA does not soak in to it nor stick easily ,so giving more time to spread the coats evenly Seems most of my customers like the shiny new glossy look for their pens so thats what I do for them, sometimes its a necessity to protect the pens and enhance their natural attributes. It is a matter of taste in most cases,but a necessity in others Have fun and enjoy the journey ,this addiction has no limits hehe, cheers ~ John

Originally Posted by gawdelpus

Everyone who tries the CA finish has to find what works best in their own circumstances ,you start off with a general perception then adapt , as you get more experience it gets easier, mainly their are three grades of CA used ,thin which is very fast drying, a matter of seconds, and activater not needed , one or 2 quick swipes along the blank is all you get this is usually a sealing coat to help later coats have a good bond to work on . too much speed and the centrifigal force will tend to make ridges as it tries to fly off all over things ,can get messy very quickly . The Medium CA coats will tend to try and do the same thing as the dry time is longer so more time to ridge up as well. after a couple of coats you can sand back to smooth again if needed , make sure you have no shiny spots as this indicates a hollow that is hard to get filled with the next coats , I do a couple of thin coats then about three in medium ,sand back to smooth ,then about 3 more of medium , sand again and by then I usually have the amount of buildup needed for micro meshing , again speed is your enemy as when sanding the CA can get hot and it starts to melt , it doesn't like heat at all, wet sanding is preferred You can also use "0000" steel wool, from bunnings or any large hardware retailer, it is less agressive than sandpaper when getting to finish coats . Again it is a balancing act with time and speed and thickness , If you need a thicker coating you use thick CA and then you do have to use the activater or wait a much longer time between coats , some folks use closed cell foam as an applicater and have great success as the CA does not soak in to it nor stick easily ,so giving more time to spread the coats evenly Seems most of my customers like the shiny new glossy look for their pens so thats what I do for them, sometimes its a necessity to protect the pens and enhance their natural attributes. It is a matter of taste in most cases,but a necessity in others Have fun and enjoy the journey ,this addiction has no limits hehe, cheers ~ John

John, thank you for posting your method, the ridging was happening on the "sherwood" as l just used the one speed. l have brought the thin and medium glue, the micro mesh pads and have the steel wool, so when the lathe turns up l'm going to have a lot of fun, the hours just fly past (wish work was like that) when l'm pen making/wrecking. Protecting the pen is huge concern for me as l want to make them for friends and family (gifts). l spoke to a sparky at work about slowing the speed down(below 1000 rpm) but he said it would be better getting a smaller pulley than the existing smallest pulley, as some motor's haven't enough torque below a certain amount of revs to turn in regards to size of the motor etc Again thanks for the great tips, l'm enjoying this forum, its not clique like some of the photography forums, especially when asking "dumb" questions! Steve

Originally Posted by Not enough!!

I think the minimum speed this lathe can go is 1000rpm, and l notice some of the guru's use 800rpm to apply CA glue, will the extra 200rpm's make a difference?
Stevo

The Specs say 'The 3-belt positions adjust from 650RPM to 3800RPM. - Spindle speed: 650 to 3,800rpm'

If Corbs does it at 1500 rpm, then thats golden... for I have seen him make several pens and the manner in which he applies an absolutely perfect 20 coats of CA is amazing.

The folded tissue, the manner of applying, the spritz of accelerator, repeat.... its perfect.

Yep, i've since found the spec's as well - 650rpm will alleviate my concerns, they emailed me to say it was freighted on the 22nd-7th, so fingers crossed its here Friday next week.

300rpm for me as I don't like being spashed with CA or having the paper towel take the lot and become shiny ratherthan the pen