Thread: Ooops!

Happens to all of us mate.

The padauk is a ripper!

I have just done a batch of Sierras and slimlines today. The fish on all was 6- 8 coats of CABLO and finished off with 2 coats of Shellawax. Came up a treat.

Originally Posted by jcostab

I tried to turn a pen out of a Wenge blank today, but as you can see in the first picture it didn't turn out as expected It was my fourth attempt at a pen, so I'm surprised it took this long to have such a catastrophic failure!

It happens to the best of us. More often than we'd like.

My next attempt worked out much better, using a Padouk blank and finished with EEE, CA and Shellawax - I'm not sure if it's recommended to use all three finishes on one pen?

The Padauk came up nice.

EEE isn't a finish, it's a cutting compound. Which is why, after applying, you should go over it with a clean cloth until colour stops coming off... so you know you've removed it all. You do this, and it's perfectly OK to use it before almost any finish (instead of sanding to ultra-fine grits) or on top of any finish. (to cut the gloss back to a matte.)

Oh... and the reason I say "almost" any finish is 'cos there's bound to be something it won't work with. As far as I'm concerned it works with everything, but as I haven't tried every possible finish I can't say that for a fact.

Shellawax over CA is alright, but pretty pointless. The CA penetrates the wood and gives a good seal, but Shellawax isn't really durable enough for a pen and wears away in patches, leaving an ugly finish after a bit of use.

CA over Shellawax isn't a good combination. Tha CA doesn't really bond with the Shellawax and sits over the top of it as a plasticky layer. Once it starts to wear, it'll peel off in laminations.

My recommendation would be to use just CA, or just an epoxy or just some other finish. (Like... Rustin's Plastic Coating makes for a good, durable alternative to CA.)

As I said though, EEE can be used with almost anything if used properly.

I really am enjoying this hobby

I agree the paduak looks nice. Haven't tried wenge myself yet, although I do have one blank that gawdelpus gave me I think. My main blow ups have been with my custom resins when I was using a skew. All good now I'm only udsing the roughing gouge.

Oh and don't listen to Artme. You shouldn't use fish on your pens

Russell.

I've tried a couple of wenge with no luck didn't get past the barrel trimming stage - but they were offcuts and cut on the bias ie the corner bits from a square bowl blank

All part of the learning experience and you never stop learning.

The Padauk one looks fine though.