PSI Magnetic Graduates. 3 dressed in dyed black ash and boxelder burl blanks. The other 2 dressed in mineral stained curly maple and curly Claro walnut.
Some “Graduates”
- Thread starter Pharmacyguy-Jim
- Start date
Those are gorgeous,nice work.
Excellent Jerry. Love that box elder. Just finished a PSI Graduate pen this morning. Was my Last Graduate kit.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #5
I’m a slave to CA and micro mesh pads then Meguiar’s plastx polish
Thanks, you do a great job. I was having a hard time getting consistent results from CA (I am sure it was operator error). Some would look great and then others would have a cloudy spot or some other similar imperfection that would cause me to sand it back down and start over. I finally started using a friction polish and have been happy with it.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #7
That first one is awesome
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #10
That blank and all the dyed blanks in this post came from Jesse Ulrich Gilbert, on FB his page is “Burls Swirls and Curls” stabilized wood.
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- #11
That actually happened today, just trying to fill in a couple of defects and BOOM. Never had it blow up like that before...OK, well that makes me feel a little better....
All the pens are great. But my favs are the last two. Chuck
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- #14
With a handle like yours I would expect nothing less
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Nicely 
done.
Les
done.Les
I am a bit new to pens. Which friction polish do you use? I have had a little trouble with CA also.
Beautiful pens Pharmacyguy!
Truly magnificent. Any and all are exhibition guality.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #19
Don’t get to carried away.
Not sure how exactly you are applying your CA, but the flood it and spray it method has many issues with unwanted build up, filling in grooves and valleys, wasted excess dripping off, and bubbles when spray with the accelerator. I have more issues with getting a smooth finish out of friction polish, so I usually stick to CA...
Disclaimer - CA Sticks and burns if you aren't careful, and this method is not without it's own need to develop your technique and you can still expect the occasional re-sanding.
Might be for the Finishing forum, but for those on this thread trying to figure out CA, here is what I do - which I learned here in WB from old discussions and I modify as needed as the wood requires. After sanding to 800:
-wrap thumb, fore, middle finger tips of both hands with a wrap or 2 of blue painters tape
-use plain white cheap paper towels torn/cut into about 2" squares
-fold squares twice to make a narrow strip
- Low speed on lathe, ~250 rpm or so
-apply a "small" amount of "thin" CA directly to paper towel
-wipe down the length of your blank to evenly distribute the CA
-QUICKLY discard the paper towel onto something dispensable;it will blister your fingers if you let it stick to the tape
-If the paper towel sticks to your finger, use your other taped hand to tear it away and be happy you had the blue tape on, you can rewrap tape faster than regrowing skin
-first coat of Thin, allow the first coat to soak in a minute or so (especially if wood is not stabilized) before spraying accelerator, ensure it is dry before reapplying another coat
-each thin coat of CA should get a light hit with accelerator to prevent inner layers from trying to dry from the inside out; this will cause bubbles and volcanic eruptions if you hit it will accelerator after the fact
-repeat application for about 5 thin layers of thin
-repeat same steps for 2 layers of CA Medium with light spray of accelerator between coats
Often the second layer of Medium CA will leave some streaking and ridges. I apply 2 more thin layers of THIN to fill in a bit and then use a dry 1000 grit 2" rotary sander to knock the ridges off and make the pen's finish level. I do it dry to make it obvious when I have gotten rid of the ridges. If you do it with wet micro mesh, you will sand the valleys as well as the peaks and end up with a rippled finish.
Can't say I don't find myself occasionally going back if I sand through the CA once and a while, but the CA nightmares I had at start up have stopped and I sleep much better now.
Wet micro mesh to 12K, use #2 scratch remover, plastic polish on the mandrel, blue diamond then wax buffing wheels. Tip, get a piece of dowel with painters tape wrapped around one end to slide your blank onto before introducing it to your buffing wheel. Not only will it help save your blank from being snatched out of your hands, but using a non-metallic dowel will prevent black oxidation streaks from getting into your polishing or waxing wheel.
Hope it helps enjoy CA a little more. ~Mo
Disclaimer - CA Sticks and burns if you aren't careful, and this method is not without it's own need to develop your technique and you can still expect the occasional re-sanding.
Might be for the Finishing forum, but for those on this thread trying to figure out CA, here is what I do - which I learned here in WB from old discussions and I modify as needed as the wood requires. After sanding to 800:
-wrap thumb, fore, middle finger tips of both hands with a wrap or 2 of blue painters tape
-use plain white cheap paper towels torn/cut into about 2" squares
-fold squares twice to make a narrow strip
- Low speed on lathe, ~250 rpm or so
-apply a "small" amount of "thin" CA directly to paper towel
-wipe down the length of your blank to evenly distribute the CA
-QUICKLY discard the paper towel onto something dispensable;it will blister your fingers if you let it stick to the tape
-If the paper towel sticks to your finger, use your other taped hand to tear it away and be happy you had the blue tape on, you can rewrap tape faster than regrowing skin
-first coat of Thin, allow the first coat to soak in a minute or so (especially if wood is not stabilized) before spraying accelerator, ensure it is dry before reapplying another coat
-each thin coat of CA should get a light hit with accelerator to prevent inner layers from trying to dry from the inside out; this will cause bubbles and volcanic eruptions if you hit it will accelerator after the fact
-repeat application for about 5 thin layers of thin
-repeat same steps for 2 layers of CA Medium with light spray of accelerator between coats
Often the second layer of Medium CA will leave some streaking and ridges. I apply 2 more thin layers of THIN to fill in a bit and then use a dry 1000 grit 2" rotary sander to knock the ridges off and make the pen's finish level. I do it dry to make it obvious when I have gotten rid of the ridges. If you do it with wet micro mesh, you will sand the valleys as well as the peaks and end up with a rippled finish.
Can't say I don't find myself occasionally going back if I sand through the CA once and a while, but the CA nightmares I had at start up have stopped and I sleep much better now.
Wet micro mesh to 12K, use #2 scratch remover, plastic polish on the mandrel, blue diamond then wax buffing wheels. Tip, get a piece of dowel with painters tape wrapped around one end to slide your blank onto before introducing it to your buffing wheel. Not only will it help save your blank from being snatched out of your hands, but using a non-metallic dowel will prevent black oxidation streaks from getting into your polishing or waxing wheel.
Hope it helps enjoy CA a little more. ~Mo