Sanding Scratches

[victor2468]

I am new to pen making and am having a problem getting rid of scratch marks on my pen blanks after sanding.What am I doing wrong?

[PaulD]

Probably are going nothing wrong, but there may be things you can do differently to get better results. First, make fewer scratches by doing your final shaping with a sharp skew. Properly done, there normally isn't anything big to correct with sanding. After that it is a matter of progressive sanding. I normally start with about a 180-220 grit initial paper and progress up to about 600 grit paper before moving to the micromesh (MM) pads. Once in micromesh, I go all the way up to 12000 grit. In the final finishing process after applying sealer, boiled linseed oil and the initial CA finish, I typically hit the pen with MM again starting with about 3000 and working my way back up to 12000 again. If I have amy problems with the progression of CA coats from here, I might have to go through another MM round, but almost never need to go back to the rougher paper again. Bottom line, you probably are doing nothing wrong, you just need to do a lot more to get the finish you are trying to achieve.

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

Victor

Welcome to the site. Glad to have you aboard. I too am new to pen turning but I have been practicing a few things and when it comes to sanding I revert back to my finishing abilities doing flat work. You just need to take the steps higher to get that glass finish. There are different ways people go about getting that smooth finish. But here are a few tricks I picked up reading forums.

As Paul said the big key is to get as smooth a feel with the turning tools and there is no better tool than a sharp skew. After that start with about 220 grit paper and have the lathe on a lower speed than what you turned at but not too slow. Some people stay at the same speed that will become a feel thing. I like to use cloth backed paper because it is more flexable. After sanding with the lathe running and here is the big key to a great sanding job, stop the lathe and with the same paper sand with the grain all the way around the pen. It will get rid of the telltale scratches of that grit. Remember you are actually sanding across grain when the lathe is spinning thus making the scratches more pronounced. Now procede doing the same thing with other grits till you get to 600. Making sure you stop the lathe after each grit and sand with the grain on each grit size. Also after each step wipe the pen down with a cloth to get the grit off. Having had grit from the previous sandpaper size only slows the process. Now here is wher people differ. Some go on as Paul mentioned and use Micro Mesh and take it up to 12000 grit. Some stop at 600 and take it to the buffing wheel and use white diamond and buff the pen to a high shine. Some people use the MM and then also hit it with the white diamond. It becomes a matter of obsession I think. Then the top coat you use can make a huge difference in the look and feel and werability. The big craze is CA glue as a top coat. Some like friction finish polish.

Hope this answered some of your questions but if not please ask away. Maybe you can tell us your approach to completeing a pen and we can better break down what you are doing wrong or what you think you are doing wrong. Like I said it is a matter of taste when it comes to finishing anything.