# Finishing burl



## tjv (Jun 9, 2015)

I'm currently sticking to australian burls for my pens and at the moment I'm not convinced I've found the right way of finishing these suckers.

I've just finished a batch of 5 and I was happy to a point of 11/10.
Today I've looked at one of the pens and I've noticed that I'm not filling gaps and voids correctly.  

Side-step.  I've found CA to be too brittle especially at the barrel ends and also high gloss finishes are not my favourite.  If I do a high gloss CA finish it feels like I'm not touching/feeling the timber (but the finish looks great). I prefer something low to satin.  Call me crazy but it feels like timber.

So I'm back to:

1. sand to 1000 grit
2. 10-20 coats of BLO/CA
3. U-Beaut Shellawax cream
4. U-Beaut EEE Ultrashine
and I just need to work on the effort in 4. above to get the shine I want.

Today I've found one pen that I made over the last weekend and some from before, that are showing 'feelable' cracks/gaps in the timber.

I'm now thinking that I need to introduce some steps before number 1 that goes something like this:
0. sand blank to 400 grit
0. wipe down the blank with metho (denatured alcohol)
0.1 fill gaps with CA

The other possible is to stabilise.

Any suggestions are more than welcome as I don't want pens returning once finished and sold.

Cheers
Tony


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## siric (Jun 9, 2015)

You're using Shellawax Cream before EEE??  I usually 

1. Sand to 400
2. 3 coats of thin StickFast CA finish
3. 3 - 4 coats of medium StickFast CA finish 
4. sand from 400 up to 800
5. EEE

Give a great finish.

If I am doing bowls etc., I sand up to 400, then use EEE and then Shellawax cream to finish.


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## tjv (Jun 9, 2015)

Shellawax before EEE???

It's what the makers tell you to do.  Its stuck somewhere in amongst the doc somewhere.  I'll try and find it.

Its strange but I find if I do EEE followed by a wax it dulls the shine.
I'll also try EEE on its own.

Thanks for replying.

Tony


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## Dan Masshardt (Jun 9, 2015)

tjv said:


> Shellawax before EEE???  It's what the makers tell you to do.  Its stuck somewhere in amongst the doc somewhere.  I'll try and find it.  Its strange but I find if I do EEE followed by a wax it dulls the shine. I'll also try EEE on its own.  Thanks for replying.  Tony



Eee is wax.  With fine abrasive powder.


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## George Watkins (Jun 9, 2015)

the fine cracks in the timber is an indication that it is not 100% dry.

Australian burrs are extremely dense and as such take a long time to season, try roughing the blank into a cylinder then maybe drill a 5mm hole all the way thru the middle and set it aside to dry for 2/3 weeks then make your pen.

and if you want a really high shine, just buff the CA.... or apply the EEE (1st) and shellwax cream (2nd) with buffing wheels this is how I do all of my small turned boxes.


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## PenPal (Jun 9, 2015)

I have worked with most all Aussie Burls and studiously avoid the voided ones and would never entertain the thought of stabilising. I am a great fan of tripple EEE I only give one coat of CA.

You mention you prefer this and that I find for other people without prompting or saying they really like my finish.

I do not think your crazy but having your cake and someone else eating it two different things IMHO.

You have not enclosed a pic of your pen if I may be bold please find a typical Aussie Burl pen finished my way to illustrate what I have said.

Kind regards Peter. Random pics.


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## tjv (Jun 10, 2015)

Dan Masshardt said:


> tjv said:
> 
> 
> > Shellawax before EEE???  It's what the makers tell you to do.  Its stuck somewhere in amongst the doc somewhere.  I'll try and find it.  Its strange but I find if I do EEE followed by a wax it dulls the shine. I'll also try EEE on its own.  Thanks for replying.  Tony
> ...


and since it contains an abrasive is used to polish rather than providing a protective coating that a 'wax' provides.

Cheers
Tony


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## tjv (Jun 10, 2015)

George Watkins said:


> the fine cracks in the timber is an indication that it is not 100% dry.
> 
> Australian burrs are extremely dense and as such take a long time to season, try roughing the blank into a cylinder then maybe drill a 5mm hole all the way thru the middle and set it aside to dry for 2/3 weeks then make your pen.
> 
> and if you want a really high shine, just buff the CA.... or apply the EEE (1st) and shellwax cream (2nd) with buffing wheels this is how I do all of my small turned boxes.



I left a couple of pens at work to use and see how they behave.  So far a red mallee pen has cracked like crazy having spent a day or two in a/c. 

Moving forward I'm going to use a moisture meter to check rather than assuming, followed by your suggestion of turning a cylinder and drilling.  This makes a lot of sense to me.

I've also purchased stabilising gear for those blanks that choose to be that little bit obnoxious.

Thanks for the comments.

Cheers
Tony


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## tjv (Jun 10, 2015)

pwhay said:


> I have worked with most all Aussie Burls and studiously avoid the voided ones and would never entertain the thought of stabilising. I am a great fan of tripple EEE I only give one coat of CA.
> 
> You mention you prefer this and that I find for other people without prompting or saying they really like my finish.
> 
> ...



Its still at work and I'll take a pic in the next day or so.  I suspect I'll bring it home for a weekend of fixing.

Cheers
Tony


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## Ironwood (Jun 10, 2015)

Timber pens, and especially burls will always be prone to problems. To minimise the chances of problems arising after the pen is finished and gone to a new home, I have added a few extra steps to my process.
I make sure my blanks are good and dry, if you are not sure don't use it yet.
I drill my blanks, then run thin CA into inside of the hole making sure it gets full coverage, let it sit for 24 hours to cure.
I only use good 2 part epoxy to glue in the tubes, making sure to get full coverage on the blank and tube, no air gaps.
When doing a CA finish on burls and timber with voids than need to be filled, you need to let the CA fully cure before sanding, because the CA will shrink as it cures and leave an uneven surface. I try to leave mine for at least a week before sanding and buffing. On high end pens, I will even let it sit longer before sanding, and then once I sand it down to size, I let it sit for another couple of days, then sand again with the finest grit, then buff.

I know many people think this is over the top, and want to finish their pens in one day, but I have found that since I stopped treating CA as an instant finish, my quality has improved out of sight. I know I have done all I can to make sure the pens stays looking good. As long as the customer looks after the pen it should look good for a long time.
There will always be the ones that leave the pen in the car on a hot day, or leave the pen in a shirt pocket and put in in the washing machine, these things don't deserve warranty , but I have repaired such things for good customers.


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## PenPal (Jun 10, 2015)

Another tip I found best way I belt my blanks up into the roof space for quite a while with a fan blowing 24/7 especially with burl this was a few one time theres Olive, Mulberry seven types of Burl Mallees etc.

One stack is my test one I weigh it weekly and when it weighs the same for two weeks I give them another few weeks never had a failure. SWMBO gave me a tip also hold the blanks on the inside of the arm blanks not ready feel cold compared with dry blanks that works for me. I put a loft ladder up in the ceiling in the hall can access the roof in a minute laid yellow tongue and timber up on the rafters for easy access and use

In the last couple of years put a simple fan that pulls the air from under the tile ridge where we live we get down to minus 8 C but a real lot of sun in the winter and the house central heating gets a boost with 8 outlets from the ceiling.

Using Solat Cells my last electricity bill was a minus 200 bucks gotta be happy with that.

Peter.


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## tjv (Jun 11, 2015)

Ironwood said:


> Timber pens, and especially burls will always be prone to problems. To minimise the chances of problems arising after the pen is finished and gone to a new home, I have added a few extra steps to my process.
> I make sure my blanks are good and dry, if you are not sure don't use it yet.
> I drill my blanks, then run thin CA into inside of the hole making sure it gets full coverage, let it sit for 24 hours to cure.
> I only use good 2 part epoxy to glue in the tubes, making sure to get full coverage on the blank and tube, no air gaps.
> ...



Thanks for the comments.

The cracks in the pen are getting worse so I checked moisture on some of the other blanks sitting out in the workshop.  The couple I tested were at 13-14%.  Work is air-conditioned and I suspect is a lot dryer than this.  Also, although Adelaide is normally a very dry place it's true of our summer.  In winter the rain usually heads our way and it has been raining on and off over the last couple of weeks.  Humidity is hovering between 50-75% and this isn't helping.

So I'm putting the problem down to moisture and I'll start treating CA as any other finish and not an instant one.  As much as we all would like to finish a pen in a day when I finish a pen and either give it away or sell it I don't want it coming back.  Any of our work is dependent on word of mouth and one bad mouth.....

Cheers for now
Tony


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## farmer (Jun 13, 2015)

*Epoxy*



tjv said:


> I'm currently sticking to australian burls for my pens and at the moment I'm not convinced I've found the right way of finishing these suckers.
> 
> I've just finished a batch of 5 and I was happy to a point of 11/10.
> Today I've looked at one of the pens and I've noticed that I'm not filling gaps and voids correctly.
> ...


 
You can do a epoxy finish !
I use 105/ 207 west systems epoxy on my pool cues.
You will need to rotate the wood for about 4 to 6 hrs at like 15 rpm's.


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