pens from light woods question

Don't touch the bushings with the sandpaper on the last few grits (what I do) or use wooden bushings.

- Andrew

Depending on what kind of sandpaper you're using, it may be particles of the abrasive, rather than material removed from the bushings. I've had problems with off-brand wet-or-dry papers, especially in the finer grits; it seems that the adhesive that bonds the grit to the backing has a very low melting point, rendering the paper essentially useless for anything except wet sanding. I have *never* experienced the type of problem you describe when using good-quality US- or Canadian-made sandpaper.

-- Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

How come we choose from just two people to run for president and 50 for Miss America?

Use light colored sanding cloth and before you sand, put a thin coat of CA glue on the bushing surfaces. It works very well. Just be careful and not glue the blank to the bushing.

Digger

Also, try applying coats of sanding sealer to the wood before sanding, and between grades of sandpaper. This will fill the pores of the wood, so as you approach the final finish there will be no open pores in the wood to absorb the metal debris.

BTW, I have also used this technique to decrease tearout. The sanding sealer not only fills the pores, it stiffens the loose ends of the wood fibres, so sanding cuts them off cleaner.

Rob Clean the pens off as they turn. I use a 50/50 mix of vegetable and mineral oil as a "prefinish" and wipe it down as the pen spins. It removes the dark stuff whether sand paper residue or metal from bushings. Then I apply the final finish.

If you go to your local, well-stocked hardware store, you should be able to find pre-drilled, cylindrical nylon bushings that are the exact inside diameter to fit over your pen mandrel (Hint: Take the mandrel with you.) They are generally found in those little cardboard or plastic drawers we all love to poke through.

These can be easily turned to the same diameter as your metal bushings and serve the purpose nicely. I use these as spacers on the end of the mandrel, for when the blanks and bushings don't take up the whole mandrel.

-- Chuck *#:^) chaz3913(AT)yahoo(DOT)com Anti-spam sig: please remove "NO SPAM" from e-mail address to reply. <

September 11, 2001 - Never Forget

Excellent Idea!!!

I will have to try that!! I was considering turning some bushings from wood but i coudlnt figure out how to do it.

but, nylon makes more sense to me! Plus, I bet that the CA finish does not like to stick to nylon as much as with metal to metal.

Thanks for the suggestions guys!

I will have to try them!

After I turn the ends to size and carefully sand with the first grit (240) I remove the bushings and replace with segments of the brass tubes. At this time I coat ends of blanks and center with wax I then continue to sand, use CA both as a filler and later as a finish. Take care to not sand the ends too much. A little rounding over will make the junction with the metal tip smooth.

Larry Hand Turned Pens at