10th Pen on the books: Whitetail Antler

[QuillandQuiver]

Figured that jumping into the deep end was worth a try so antler seemed like the right stuff for my 10th pen. Other than the fact that it's like working with granite, it was more forgiving than I expected. Shoutout to @southernclay for the pen kit.

Having an issue with a less-than-perfectly-smooth CA finish. Any tips on hor to fix errors once they've happened in a CA finish? (process: 1) 4 coats of thin CA with craft foam applicator. 2) Light sand in case I had some small sports that dried/activated funky. 3) Then 4 coats or more again.)

 

[qquake]

The antler I've turned wasn't that hard. What kind of chisel did you use?

 

[wouldentu2?]

Are you using wet or dry sandpaper, micromesh, polish and or buffing.

 

[wouldentu2?]

With thin you should not need activator. It dries really fast on the first few coats, once it's sanded to a relatively smooth finish it dries quickly again. One drop per half, there should be almost no sign of CA on the foam when you remove it from the blank, when you feel a drag get it off the blank.

 

[QuillandQuiver]

@qquake I'm using this set from PSI: https://www.pennstateind.com/store/LCPM3.html
Just the gouge and the skew. Finally got the hang of the skew.

@wouldentu2? : I'm using dry (to 600), then CA, then wet micromesh (to12000), then microfiber with plastic polish. What I'm realizing from what other people have said is that whatever thin CA I bought is not as thin as tru thin CA. I'm noticing that mine is in between the viscosity of water and medium CA. So sometimes it goes on thicker and requires the activator... Once I get REAL thin CA then I think your tips will definitely help me out.