Another question... no doubt it's time for sanding, but what do you use? Dremel, spindle, dowel wrapped sandpaper and elbow grease.... it's the final curves that make it look so outstanding.
Ducky - here's where it get's tiresome and NOT cost effective. I should have mentioned that the blank starts out at about 1 1/8" wide x 2" (or so) long and 1/2'" thick. I found that by starting at 1/2" I can get the 7mm hole centered a lot easier when the blank ends up at slightly less than 7/16" thick and tapered. Then there's a step down process - The first is to get the nose (the smaller end with the 7mm hole) sanded down to a close dimension of the metal receiver pen. I do that on the belt sander then finish by hand. The curve in the end and midway is first cut out on the band saw then finish shaping on the oscillating drum sander.
then starts the tedious hand sanding Actually, I never checked how much time is involved to make the butt end but I pretty sure there's over an hour invested in just shaping and finish sanding the end. Then it has to be finished - I foam brush 4 to 6 coats of poly on it. AFTER I seal it with CA. If it doesn't get sealed properly, it WILL have a visual difference from the fore stock if you finish that piece with the standard ca coating and sanding. Acrylic is a different story -
