Couple weekend pens...

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bliorg

bliorg

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Joined
Dec 13, 2024
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Location
NW Philly, PA
Hi, all -

Finished the last of my kits today, both Gatsbys.

Very old, east Texas cherry, BLO and CA finish:

IMG_9098a.jpg



Some figured, colored maple (again, east Texas, sold as "painted" maple about 28 years ago). Lotsa layers of different Keda dyes. This'n is for a buddy who's partial to green. I was interested in a non-emerald green, and this ended up petty close to what I was shooting for:

IMG_9127 (1).jpg


I'm happy with both, and have learned a lot through my first seven pens. I think I've got a decent hold on a passable CA finish now. Pen assembly is going much smoother. Blank prep has improved, and drilling is usually straight. And I've decided I love coloring things. Feel pretty good.

Now, I will admit I'm not real impressed with the quality of these kits. At least two, maybe a third, don't work well. The green one, in particular, does not retract. Top unscrews before the refill pulls back all the way, and I have to manually shove it back in the barrel. Not sure what to do about that; if I can't figure it out, I'll be posting in another forum here presently.

Anyway, thanks, everyone, for the input and suggestions on technique and improvements.

Scott
 
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Both look great to my eye. I have had the same kits on pens for the past 8-10 years and they are working fine. I hope you have similar results. I love the green! đź‘Ť
 
On those kits you need to have the spring put on refill correctly. That is the case with all those style Sierra kits. Check for that. Also tighten the tranny to body with a pair of pliers. Finger tight is not good enough again with those type kits.
 
I think they look great! I have older Gatsby's (20-15 years old) and they work fine. Twist mechanism is a little sluggish but I work it out. Your finish looks great. I know wet sanding is all the rage now. I've been gone for 15 years. I always micromesh all pads then on to the 3 buffer Beal system. I just tried wet sanding and honestly didn't see any difference. All this new stuff like Pens Plus and magic Juice are new to me. Do they work better, protect better. I throw a little bit of my old Renaissance wax on and it really shines. Today I found a few old jars of TSW. Wiped it on a pen and that looked great…and slippery. People like shiny and it looks like you have that conquered.
 
Tanner said:
I think they look great! I have older Gatsby's (20-15 years old) and they work fine. Twist mechanism is a little sluggish but I work it out. Your finish looks great. I know wet sanding is all the rage now. I've been gone for 15 years. I always micromesh all pads then on to the 3 buffer Beal system. I just tried wet sanding and honestly didn't see any difference. All this new stuff like Pens Plus and magic Juice are new to me. Do they work better, protect better. I throw a little bit of my old Renaissance wax on and it really shines. Today I found a few old jars of TSW. Wiped it on a pen and that looked great…and slippery. People like shiny and it looks like you have that conquered.
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Thanks, Tim. I'm actually not a huge fan of CA finishes, not for feel or anything, but for exposure. I'm sure it's a matter of the garbage materials I got off Amazon (specifically the accelerator I have, Akfix 705), but I end up wear a respirator because the fumes are so bad and, I'm sure, quite toxic. That said, for certain blanks, I think the grain and chatoyance just glows a lot more with a super high-gloss finish. I'm kind of thinking, though, I might try some vinyl lacquer sealer and sprayed lac, then rub it out with the same Micro-mesh I've been using, see if that's an option.
 
bliorg said:
Thanks, Tim. I'm actually not a huge fan of CA finishes, not for feel or anything, but for exposure. I'm sure it's a matter of the garbage materials I got off Amazon (specifically the accelerator I have, Akfix 705), but I end up wear a respirator because the fumes are so bad and, I'm sure, quite toxic. That said, for certain blanks, I think the grain and chatoyance just glows a lot more with a super high-gloss finish. I'm kind of thinking, though, I might try some vinyl lacquer sealer and sprayed lac, then rub it out with the same Micro-mesh I've been using, see if that's an option.
Click to expand...

Scott,

I find that exposure to CA fumes bothers me so 99% of the time that I am working with CA, I wear a respirator with VOC canisters.

Something like this 3M Respirator. With these 3M VOC Canisters.

Makes a HUGE difference.

David
 
Very Cool looking pens. I also learned a lot from reading the other comments, especially from JT about the springs and using tools to tighten. - Dave
 
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