Turning Pens.. Make'em Shine

[Joe Scarfo]

This evening I turned a few pens from Curly Maple. They came out nice enough, just not shiny enough after sanding down to about 400 grit or so then applying a polish.

I didn't seal the wood, which I suspect is the secret to a glossy shine.

What are you guys using to seal the wood before applying a polish?

I've turned a ton of acrylic but hardly any wood, I just don't like not being able to get it to shine.

I've got a big hunk of ebony I want to make a few out of, but till I solve this secret, I think I'll wait.

Also, how do you get them apart after they've been assembled? Is there a special tool? If there is, how do you get it started? After all, the 4 entry points are plugged with a part.

Thanks
Joe

[Jason Hallowell]

First off, 400 is very coarse if you want a glossy finish. A glossy finish can be applied even to bare wood if you sand far enough into the grits. The best IMO is using micro mesh which goes about 9 grit levels past 400, but a good shine can be achieved using regular sandpaper also.

Second, wood needs a finish applied if you want it to stay glossy for very long. If you don't care how long it stays glossy, just wax it and buff.

There are numerous types of finish commonly used, and everybody has their own favorite. I use the CA (super glue) finish, but have also had good results using various wipe on poly's, plexi finishes, and laquer dipping. As far as using a sanding sealer, some woods or finishes will require it, and some will not, but it is never a bad idea. Sanding sealer can be found at most hardware stores, and some use CA as a sanding sealer as well.

The best tool for taking apart pens is a transfer punch set, but old drill bits, or several sizes of round metal stock will work also. The exact methods vary depending on the pen kit, but all are pretty similar. Here's how to disassemble a slimline-
1-pull the barrels apart from each other
2-unscrew the refill
3-use the punch that just fits through the transmission to knock out the tip
4-use the punch that just fits in the barrel to knock out the transmission
5-use the same punch to knock out the clip

It helps to wrap the barrels with rubber bands to give yourself something to hold on to. Pen making suppliers also sell pen disassembly kits, but they are pricey, and only work on a couple of pens. The transfer punch set from HF will serve you well if you plan on making many pens.

[Greg Ketell]

quick summary on my pens' high-gloss finish. Sand to 600 then 0000 steel wool. Two coats of thin CA as sealer. 3-4 coats of thick CA as finish. Sand smooth then run up thru 0000 steel wool again. Buff with rubbing compound. Buff with polishing compound. Buff with swirl remover or metal polish. Specifically I use Red Rouge, White rouge (both from TAP Plastics) and Flitz metal polish.

Looking at the attached pic you can almost read the printing on the lights reflected off the pen.

GK
ps yes, I know I assembled the Nib end backwards. It has since been fixed. ;-(

[robert hainstock]

I use wipe on poly, but on maple and other close grained woods I go to 600 grit and then polish with auto body polishing compound oh a texured rag. YThen after the poly has dried a coule days, I buff it the same way. On making pens with ebony, I made two and both cracked within a year. Might be some feedback on that problem on the forums finishing site. Good luck!
Bob

[Ben Gastfriend]

Most of the time, I use BLO (boiled linseed oil), let that sit for about 24 hrs, then follow it with a very fine grain micromesh, top it off with thin CA glue. Nice glossy finish obtained.

[Brad Hammond]

here's my recipe.
sand with mm to 12k, wipe down with dna let it dry, coat em with a coat or two of spray shellac, then spray a couple of coats of deft lacquer spray after the shellac dries. then i buff with the hut crystal, plastic finish stuff. you know, the white stuff. hut ultra gloss plastic polish that's it.

[John Grabowski]

I have to say Greg that the shine on those pens is spectacular. Do you buff on individual buffing wheels with the white and red rouge or do you buff them with soft towel in hand?? I am just curious, I have to try that method!!

John G

[Greg Ketell]

I think I forgot a couple of steps.

After the CA is applied I do the following:
Rough sand with a backing block so you only get the high spots knocked down even with the low spots.
Once smooth, Sand to 400 grit.
0000 steel wool.
Micromesh 4000 (wet sand)
Micromesh 6000 (wet sand).
Dry the blank.

For buffing, I have three buffing wheels on separate mandrels that I chuck into my hand-held drill. I have the blanks spinning slowly on the lathe and then run the drill so the buffing wheels go the opposite direction. I hit it with the red wheel polishing until I stop seeing change in the reflection, then stop the lathe and buff "lengthwise" while turning the blank by hand to remove any possible scratches. Then repeat with the white wheel, then repeat with the metal polish.

Then I apply a 1/4 drop of auto wax by hand, let it haze, buff it off by hand with a micro fiber cloth.

Works perfectly every time! And the whole process from completion of application of CA to completion of the blank takes about 10 minutes.

GK

I have to say Greg that the shine on those pens is spectacular. Do you buff on individual buffing wheels with the white and red rouge or do you buff them with soft towel in hand?? I am just curious, I have to try that method!!

John G

[Greg Deemer]

WOW!!! Thats a lot of differant recipies for finishes!!! I just started turning. My wife set me up last Christmas with lathe, workbench and tools. Best gift I ever received. This is such a relaxing and rewarding hobby... A couple of questions from you seasoned veterans out there: How do you apply the CA glue as a finish? I understand the buffing wheel and differant waxes but the CA I'm not clear on. Can someone help?
Second: There are so many places to buy supplies, ie pen and pencil parts. Any suggestions on where to buy good product at a fair price? Thanks in advance for the advice...

[Joe Chritz]

I don't turn yet but will be soon.

On buffing, I have mirror polished more than a few hunting knife blanks from O1 and 440C stainless. Just keep working up in grits and when you get to buffing use a seperate wheel for each grit.

The ones I used were a white and green, although I don't recall the specifics the white was coarser and was used on a stitched wheel and the green was a finishing compound and was used on a loose muslin buff. I suspect I got them from Koval knives in Ohio but it has been a while.

Knife making supply companies will have lots of polishing and buffing compounds available.

Joe

[Greg Ketell]

We have a lot in common, Greg. Name, how we got started, etc.

Here is how I apply the CA. First buy some good CA from your local wood store or hobby store. you will want thin and thick (medium works but thick builds faster so you can do fewer layers) and aersol acelerator (not the spritz bottles).

You use 2 coats of thin CA as sanding sealer and then 3-5 coats of Thick CA as your finish. You can use the thin either before you sand (if you are using different colored woods and want to seal out the dust to prevent discoloration) or during sanding (if you want to use the sanding dust+CA to fill in any voids) or after all sanding is done. I will describe the latter cuz it is easier.


After you have finished sanding your pen to 400 and 0000 steel wool slow your lathe wayyyy down. Slower the better unless you like CA tossed up your stomach and all over your lathe and shop floor.

You may want to switch to non-adhesive bushings. I use UHMW plastic. This is just so the blanks don't get glued to the bushings. And so you don't change the diameter of your turning bushings by piling on the CA and not noticing it (since its clear) the next time you make a pen. Don't ask how I know that....

Get a nice smooth applicator (I use Viva paper towels (folded over many times so the CA doesn't soak through to my fingers), my friend uses the little baggies your pen parts come in, others use wax paper) and hold it against the bottom of the spinning blank. Now dribble the thin CA on the top of the blank slowly. Move both left to right until you cover the entire blank. Hit it with a little accelerator. Find a clean spot on your paper towel and repeat for a second coat of thin CA. Those two act as the sealer for the wood. For these two coats it really doesn't matter how you apply it because they will soak into the wood pretty thoroughly.

Now you are going to repeat the steps for your thick CA and accelerator. The key here is keeping it as smooth as possible. It is not mandatory to be smooth, but it makes it easier. If it gets rough, just apply an extra layer or two so that the valleys have a good thickness too. 3-5 coats with accelerator between every 1-2 coats and definitely after the last coat.

Now that your finish is on there, you want to smooth it out. Take your sand paper starting at 220-320 depending on how smooth your CA came out and put a backer block of wood behind it. Turn the lathe on and sand with the block until the entire blank is smooth. Be careful not to round over the ends, keep that block flat. If you have to, stop the lathe and spot sand the really high spots down with small circular motions being careful to only hit the high spot.

Once the blank is almost completely smooth, switch to your next finer grit. You must be 100% smooth by about 320 or it won't smooth out with the subsequent grits. Sand with the lathe on slow and the sandpaper moving quickly left to right and back so you get an X pattern in the CA. Stop the lathe and then sand along the length of the blank until the Xs are all gone. Next grit.

Repeat above as needed 220, 320, 400. Here is one trick I have. At this point make sure your blank is on bushings that are smaller in diameter that the blank. Sand/burnish with 0000 steel wool being sure to GENTLY round over the edges of the blank. You are just trying to get rid of the sharp edge, not make it round. This will help to hide any imperfections in your sizing where the blank meets the pen.

Then grab your 4000 grit Micro Mesh and wet sand the blank the same way. Then 6000 grit. If you have the rubbing compound/buffing compound/swirl remover (or red rouge, white rouge, metal polish) then 6000 is as far as you need to go and the buffers will do the rest. If not,
keep going through all the grits to 12000.

Grab your buffing wheels and follow my steps above. You will have the shiniest pen you have seen.

This sounds like a lot of work but once you get used to it you can do the entire procedure from block of wood to drilled blank to turned and finished blank to a completed pen in less than 1/2 an hour (for a single blank pen like a sierra). The finishing part really can be done start to finish in 10 minutes or so.

[Greg Deemer]

Wow Greg that is a great help!!! Your explanation was very thorough. I will try that on my next pen. My wife just gave me a floor drill press for Valentines Day so now I'm really ready to go. Ashamed to say, I was drilling by hand before blowing out blanks every third drill. You mentioned about sealing the blank before sanding to prevent discoloring of different woods. If I understand right, after turning but before sanding, apply two coats of thin CA at slow speed? That’s great advice. I have turned two multi color wood pens and I lost the lighter colors and didn’t know why. Thanks!!!

[Greg Ketell]

Yes, you want to seal as you sand. Seal early and seal often. Between each grit on the rougher grits is not a bad plan. Especially if you are using something really light like holly. Attached you can see a pen I made where I sealed early but not quite often enough. Hard to see the bleeding in person but in the photo it is clear that I blew it.



Others also use an air compressor blowing right below the sand paper so the dark dust is blown away before it gets back around to be pushed into the pores by the sandpaper. I will try adding that to my mix on the next cross pen.

GK

Wow Greg that is a great help!!! Your explanation was very thorough. I will try that on my next pen. My wife just gave me a floor drill press for Valentines Day so now I'm really ready to go. Ashamed to say, I was drilling by hand before blowing out blanks every third drill. You mentioned about sealing the blank before sanding to prevent discoloring of different woods. If I understand right, after turning but before sanding, apply two coats of thin CA at slow speed? That’s great advice. I have turned two multi color wood pens and I lost the lighter colors and didn’t know why. Thanks!!!

[Bob Childress]

EEE and Shellawax. Google is your friend.

[Jason Hallowell]

There are some great tutorials and videos on various CA finishing methods on the IAP penturning forums. It takes some practice and a bit of feel, but it's pretty easy once you get the hang of it.