New Pen Turner Questions

Re: New Pen Turner Questions

Bob Reeve

>I am no expert but I have been making pens for several months. I rough turn finish turn, sand, and finish using the highest speed on my lathe. I am not sure what that is as I am away from it but I believe it is 3,000 rpm. I also use either a 1/2" skew chisel or 3/8" spindle gouge for all my work. I sand through 400 with convential sand paper then switch to micro mesh.

No expert, but....

Dominic Greco at home in Richboro, PA

>Bart,

I'm definitely NOT an expert. But I'd be happy to pass on what I've learned over the past year or so.

You wrote:

"What is your sanding schedule before getting to the micro mesh set?"

Starting with 150/180, I progress all the way up to 600 before touching the blank with Micromesh. I also stop the lathe from spinning between grits and sand with the grain to remove scratch marks.

"What speed to rough out your blanks?"

Depending on the size, I rough out at about 1700 rpm. Sometimes slower, sometimes faster.

"What speed for sanding?"

When it comes to sanding, remember "speed kills!" You really don't want to have your lathe ramped up to 1700 rpm to sand. That will make some deep scratches that will be almost impossible to remove as well as the heat buildup wearing out your sandpaper too fast. I slow the lathe down to about 300 to 500 rpm and sand at that speed. Sometimes I slow it down even more. As you get used to this, you'll develop a feeling for how fast to sand. The finish will tell.

"what speed for friction polish?"

I usually ramp the lathe up to 1700 RPM and hold the finish-dampened cloth against the pen body until I can feel the heat build up.

I recommend stopping over at Penturners.org and checking out their archives. Trust me, you like what you find!

I also recommend picking up the book "Turning Pens and Pencils" by Rex Birmingham and Kip Christensen. Most of your questions are answered there.

See ya around,

Dominic

Re: New Pen Turner Questions

EagleS.C.

>By using a good sharp skew I can start my "rough sanding" at 320. Might have to frop down to 240 but coarser grits do more damage than what I started with.

Self taught with practice.

Well worth the effort.

Speed is a relative thing.

With micromesh you'll know what is too fast, it melts.

Re: New Pen Turner Questions *LINK*

mainebowlman

>Good questions, Bart. I heartily second Dominic's recommendation of penturner's.org. Also check our Russ Fairfield's articles on this site: http://www.woodturner-russ.com/Pen10.html.

The largest range of all turners' lathe speed choices seems to be in sanding. As with everything, you'll just have to experiment till you find what satisfies you. However forums like this seem to always have me experimenting and stretching my limits.

For example, I just read Bill Grumbine's article below and I'm planning to try his sanding theory today.

Bill also recommends Behlens Woodturner's Finish, which he calls a "padding lacquer". From what I can find it is a shellac based product. Anyone familiar with it? Any feedback on its use? And what is a "padding" lacquer?

Jack


Bill Grumbine on Finishing Pens

Re: No expert, but....

Brad Vietje

>I'm with Dom on this one (and also not a pen expert)...

Generally, sanding at high speed can cause excessive heat, which can lead to heat checks (cracks). This is especially true of endgrain. because most pens are side grain, you can usually get away with higher speeds, but with real temperature-sensitive (and expensive) woods like Ebony, Af. Blackwood, Snakewood, Pink Ivory, and many other hard, dense exotics, you greatly increase the chances of getting a split by overheating the wood.

Just a few pennies worth from someone who doesn't trun all that many pens, but who appreciates how much some wood costs ...

Safe Spinning,

Brad Vietje

Thetford, VT

Remember, sanding speed ...

Fred in NC

>The speed we are concerned with is SURFACE speed.

At the same RPM, as the diameter (larger pieces) increases, the surface speed also increases.

The surface speed of a 4" bowl at 300 RPM is about the same as a 1/2" pen blank at 2,400 RPM.

Pens are in reality very tiny spindles. I sand pens fast, but always use a light touch.