Thread: A Pen from last night

It looks ok Willy, how are you finishing them, what polish do you use, and to what grit are you sandpapering??? The wood looks great, i don't know what it is but a few of the others will give you a good idea of what it may be. Try sanpapering to at least 1200 grit, and try EEE wax then Shellawax, you may need to do the polish a couple of times. Amos

Looks like Hairy Oak Will. Here's a site with heaps of pictures of various timbers. Keep up the pen work.

Agree with Neil, looks like Hairy Oak.

What glue are you using?

Also are you taking it nice and slow drilling, most timbers don't like the heat from drilling, which can cause your blanks to explode.

Same as sanding, light touches and if your fingers are getting hot from sanding, you're using to much pressure

Looks really good Will

looks good mate

good link neil

Thanks Peoples,

I have been careful with the blanks when drilling and have been sanding up to 1200 grit but have been pushing the finishing a bit as in prob not spending enough time on the finish.

with this pen I tried a different track and that was coat it in CÃ then used shellwax I dont have any EEE and was going to get some this morning but Carbatec was closed for the long weekend .

Have to go again next weekend.

My chisels are a bit blunt, just got the correct white wheel so will give them a sharpen later today rpob another cause.

Thanks for the site Neil that should help a lot, as for gluing the inners of the pen I have been using CA, but just found some 2 part 6 min Epoxy at the Hobby store so will try that.

A word of warning Willy, about hairy oak - and possibly others in the same family, oaks that is, not Willies. A mate of mine who was into hairy oak in a big way with little in the way of protection, ended up in hospital.
To cut a long story short, his immune system crashed and the docs thought he had AIDS. He had blisters on his eyelids, nose and mouth and almost died from a complicated chest infection.
The villian, it was decided, was hairy oak.
The moral of the story - wear a mask and wash up when you finish.

Thanks for the word of warning Barry, I have been wearing a mask the wife who is a nurse has advised that if she catches me without a mask she will put my lathe on ebay.

hairy oak is prone to splitting.... I've had a couple of blanks split.
It is reasonable just to glue it back together and carry on if the split is nice & clean.

cheers

If this timber is quite dense and hard it is possible it is Hairy Oak,certainly the appearance is similar,the colour does not seem light enough to me,it mostly is very red. Like the pen,I find to use light touch when turning and go thru the grades of paper using the paper to cut and between grades rub along the length,wiping the blank also between grades.Recently I used some Hairy Oak in making a box for my resident Possums and it was dry as and as hard as to drill,it is a distinctive timber with an odour to it.I find it takes more out of drills than ebony with similar brittle characteristics.The large medullary rays are very distinct and beautiful,also if it was found with bark on it it is very like layers of hair,I have some and if you like I will take some pics of it in the rough. It will take a fine and brilliant polish. Peter

Just had another look at your pic I believe it is Hairy Oak or at worst a member of that family. Peter

Will,
Definitely a decent pen. I did notice in your pic, the part that meets the nib has a bit where the contour is not perfectly contiguous. I don't know if my method is "proper", but I turn my blank down to almost what the thickest part of my pen will be. Then I start on my contour. I start from the edge of the blank and work in toward the middle. I do not turn the blanks perfectly flush with the bushing, but very close.
When I was teaching my wife to turn pens, when we got to the part about finishing, I told her the more time you put in at this stage, the better the finished product. I start with the 100 grit to smooth out any uneven parts and to bring the blank flush with the bushings. Also, with the lathe still running, if you carefully and lightly feel the blank with your finger tip, you will feel the rough parts. As you move up in grits, you will be amazed at the feel of the blank. Remember each time you get ready to change the grit, give the blank a good wipe with a paper towel to get rid of any residue from the previous piece of sand paper.
I love EEE and shellawax. That stuff is da bomb! After I sand to 1000 grit, I hit the blank with EEE. I then hit my blank with a lite coat of super thin CA with the lathe on its slowest speed. To do this, I use a small piece of paper towel folded up a few times into a pad, put a couple drops of the CA on the paper towel, and apply to the spinning blank. Once that is good a dry, I go back to 800 and 10000 grit on the blanks. I then use the shellawax and get a great finish. I look at pens I did 3 years ago using this technique and the finish is still extremely glossy.
One thing I learned is..... my method is not the "right" method, nor is it the best. It is what I found that works for me. I still try new techniques all the time, and will add/modify "my" method as appropriate. You will develop your own technique over time.
As for other oak species, I won't ever work with white oak again, even with a dust mask/filter. I never got to turning the pen. I had a small plank of the wood, and when I went to cut my blanks on a table saw, the dust coming off of it caused me to choke up a bit. That was my first and only reaction to wood.

Rick

Originally Posted by ScrollZilla

Will,
Definitely a decent pen. I did notice in your pic, the part that meets the nib has a bit where the contour is not perfectly contiguous.

Thanks rick I was waiting for someone to comment on the nib, I will give what you do a try in the next day or so and see how I go.

Just one question what is Blow I am aware of CA (Superglue) and please keep it clean