1) turn pen blanks to final size/design
2) sand blanks 220, 320
3) wipe on Mylands Cellulose Sanding Sealer, let dry
4) sand blanks using sandpaper 220, 320, 400, then with MM1500, MM1800, MM2400, MM3200, MM3600, MM4000
(note: for oily woods wipe the blanks with DNA prior to starting the finish process)
5) using a small piece of paper towel put a quarter sized amount of Mylands Friction Polish on the paper towel, turning the spindle by hand, wipe the Mylands on blanks making 2-3 passes of each blank
6) wipe of excess Mylands using fresh area of paper towel
7) turn on lathe, using another fresh area of paper towel covering top and bottom of blank - grasped between index finger and thumb, add light pressure with the paper towel on the blank, constantly moving side-to-side, increasing the pressure and movement until paper towel is hot and you basically can't hold it because of the heat...be careful, if you do this too long, you will burnish the blank from excessive heat
8) turn off lathe, let blank cool
9) using a small piece of paper towel put a quarter sized amount of Mylands Friction Polish on the paper towel, turning the spindle by hand, wipe the Mylands on blanks making 2-3 passes of each blank
10) wipe of excess Mylands using fresh area of paper towel
11) turn on lathe, using another fresh area of paper towel covering top and bottom of blank - grasped between index finger and thumb, add light pressure with the paper towel on the blank, constantly moving side-to-side, increasing the pressure and movement until paper towel is hot and you basically can't hold it because of the heat...be careful, if you do this too long, you will burnish the blank from excessive heat
12) turn off lathe, let blank cool
-this step is optional-
13) after blanks cool down, while lathe is off, put light coat of Renaissance Wax -or- TSW on a new small piece of paper towel, wipe evenly on one blank, wait 45 seconds, turn on lathe, move to clean area of paper towel, then put pressure on blank moving side-to-side till hot...repeat this process for second blank
(these are not finishes, just a protectant from finger prints and smudges)
14) let blanks cool, remove blanks from mandrel, using pen mill (squaring tool), very lightly clean off each end of blanks...sometimes a light buildup of the finish will occur and it should be removed prior to pen assembly
sanding note: an option in sanding is to stop the lathe after each grit and sand length wise, even with MM. why?: to remove the circular sanding marks. then wipe the blank with a rag and DNA to remove sanding dust and grit from the previous grade of sandpaper. this will insure the next sanding paper is not picking up grit from the previous paper left on the pen blank.
legend:
MM - micromesh
TSW - trade secret for wood
paper towel - Bounty (regular)
ver 1.1 09.29.2005
09.29.2005