I'm no major pen turner but I do visit turning parts on the lathe once in a while. I did these a couple years ago and stored them in my dresser. Then forgot about them. The trouble with pen turning is that they turn out so nice and then you don't want to use them or make them and give away. It's fun to make and addictive for sure!
Thanks Pottz. I can see how additive it can be. I knew a lady who bought a Rikon variable speed lathe just to turn pens. She could barely put food on the table yet she bought hundreds of dollars of pen kits several times a month just to give them away to friends. Generous but maybe not wise.
I have some Shellawax in my fridge, however, it may be 14 years past its use by date... can't remember when I last used it. After that, I used to sand timber blanks to 2,000G and finish off with EEE and Glow
Contrary to seasoned pen turners, I now use 20 layers of CA. After that I treat it like I would a turned acrylic... first sand is at 400G and 600G, then I go up through the acrylic micro mesh sanding pads and finish with this buffing compound, That's how I get a durable glass type finish (though pictures don't give it credit) that back in my heyday, my daughter used to confidently add $10-$20 to selling price... and bloody well get it... I used to get the bird (not the duck type).
I would recommend hitting Mokey for finishing advice... he's been turning pens before he was born.
If your first cut is too short... Take the second cut from the longer end... LBD
Duckie... like you I like the glass look I get with CA. I've used about a half dozen or so other finishes but always find myself coming back to the CA.
'cept he doesn't like CA.... OOPS, that's Pottzy... sorry, damn my bad, all you Yankees look the same... that's why I didn't care who won your elections...
If your first cut is too short... Take the second cut from the longer end... LBD
